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Draw roof faces

Pick Roof (P) and click the corners of one roof face, then click the first corner to close it. Draw each face separately — shared corners and edges snap together — or trace the whole outline and split it with a line from edge to edge.

A roof face is one flat plane of the roof — one slope. Panels, setbacks and the calculation all work face by face, so trace every face you might put panels on.

Trace a face

  1. Pick Roof

    Press Roof in the tools on the left, or P.

  2. Click the corners

    Click each corner of the face in order, around the edge. Hold Shift to keep straight angles. Backspace removes the last corner; Esc cancels the face.

  3. Close it

    Click the first corner again, or press Enter. The face gets a number and a color, and you’ll see Measuring from Google heights… while its pitch and direction are measured.

  4. Trace the next face

    Start the next face on the corners of the first: a click near an existing corner or edge snaps to it, so neighboring faces share them exactly.

Or trace the outline and split it

For a hip roof or an L-shaped house it’s often faster to trace the whole outline as one face, then split it: with Roof still on, click a point on one edge of the face and a point on the opposite edge. The line divides it in two — draw as many lines as there are faces. Each line must run from edge to edge; end it exactly on a corner if it goes through one.

What to trace

  • Follow the roof edge, including the overhang — that’s where the roof ends.
  • Trace faces you won’t put panels on too when they touch faces you will: the shared edges set the setbacks correctly.
  • A garage or an ADU on the same lot: trace its faces the same way — see Panels on a garage, ADU or second building.
What you seeWhat to do
A roof face needs at least 3 cornersClick at least three corners before closing.
The outline crosses itself — move a corner or undo the last one (Backspace)Two edges of the face cross. Press Backspace and click the corner in another place.
This face is too smallZoom in and trace a bigger face — or skip tiny roof parts that won’t hold a panel.
The line runs past a corner of the face — end it exactly on that cornerWhen splitting, click right on the corner the line goes through.
Could not split this face — try clicking exactly on its edgesStart and end the line on the face’s edges.

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