Beirado, beiral, laró, rincão, tacaniça, empena: if you talk to a Portuguese roofer, you will hear words that quotes and conversations use without explaining. This glossary gathers the most used roof terms in Portugal, with a simple English explanation and equivalent of each. The definitions follow the terminology of the Guia para Projeto e Aplicação de Telhas Cerâmicas (APICER and CTCV, 2018), which warns that the names change from region to region: so we also give the synonyms.
Updated 2 November 2026. The explanations are ours, based on the guide’s definitions. The guide itself says its list does not aim to make terms official.
The essentials
- Água, vertente or pendente (slope) is each flat inclined surface of the roof.
- Cumeeira (ridge) is the top, where two slopes meet. Beirado and beiral (eaves) are the lower edge that projects from the wall.
- Rincão (hip) is the projecting edge between two slopes; laró (valley) is the inward one, where water gathers and runs.
- Ripa (batten, where the tiles rest) and vara (rafter, where the batten rests) make up the structure under the tile.
- Terraço (flat roof), for the guide, is a roof with a pitch of 8% or less (about 4.5°); above that it is a pitched roof.
Roof shapes
- Cobertura de uma água (telheiro) (lean-to roof): a single slope.
- Cobertura de duas águas (gable roof): two slopes that meet at the ridge.
- Cobertura de quatro águas (hip roof): four slopes, with one ridge and four hips.
- Pavilhão (pavilion roof): a form of hip roof where the slopes meet only at four hips that join at one point.
- Água mestra (main slope): the principal slope, usually a trapezium.
- Tacaniça (hip end): a secondary, triangular slope.
- Quebra de mansarda (mansard break): the edge where two slopes on the same side change pitch, forming a projecting angle.
Lines and parts
- Cumeeira (or espigão, fileira) (ridge): the top line, where two opposite slopes meet.
- Beirado (eave, made of accessory pieces): the lower edge, made with accessory pieces (capa and bica).
- Beiral (eave, made of the tile itself): the lower edge made with the tile itself, projecting from the wall.
- Cimalha (cornice): an outer projection, below the slope, that crowns a wall.
- Empena (gable): the triangular wall that closes one side of a roof of one or two slopes.
- Bordo lateral (or de empena) (verge): the edge that limits the slope at the side.
- Rincão (or guieiro) (hip): the edge where two slopes meet forming a projecting angle.
- Laró (or guieiro morto) (valley): the edge where two slopes meet forming an inward angle. It is where water gathers and drains.
- Remate de parede and remate de chaminé (wall abutment and chimney abutment): the line where the roof meets a taller wall or a chimney.
- Clarabóia (roof window): an opening in the slope that lets in light, and sometimes air.
- Trapeira (dormer window): a projection on the roof with an opening for air and light.
What is under the tile
- Estrutura principal (main structure): the load-bearing pieces that rest on walls and pillars.
- Estrutura secundária (secondary structure): the pieces between the main structure and the tile.
- Vara or barrote (rafter): a piece along the slope, which usually supports the battens.
- Ripa or ripado (batten): the timber or metal pieces, laid across, on which the tiles rest. Their spacing depends on the tile model.
- Contra-ripa (counter-batten): a piece along the slope, under the battens, used when there is a continuous layer underneath.
- Madre or terça (purlin): a horizontal piece, across the slope, that supports the rafters and passes the load to the main structure.
- Frechal (wall plate): a timber beam on which the rafters rest.
- Viga de cumeeira (or pau de fileira) (ridge beam): the horizontal piece that forms the top of the structure.
- Tábua de barbate (eaves board): a piece that, at the eave, replaces the batten to keep the pitch of the first row of tiles.
Tiles and accessories
- Telha lusa and romana: tiles of the aba e canudo kind (flap and barrel).
- Telha marselha and plana: interlocking flat tiles.
- Telha canudo: a tile with no interlock, also called capa e canal (cap and channel).
- Telhão (or cume, cruzeta) (ridge tile): the piece that finishes the ridge.
- Remate de cume (ridge end piece): also called babadouro, tamanco, agueiro or cunha, depending on the region.
- Cumeeira a seco ventilada (dry ventilated ridge): a ridge made with accessories and fixings, without mortar, that lets air through and keeps water out.
- Subtelha (under-tile layer): a waterproof element or film under the tile, which gives a second protection against water.
- Rufo (flashing): a sealing piece at delicate points, such as walls that rise above the roof, chimneys and valleys. The guide also mentions “rufos ou caleiras”, rigid or flexible, in valleys.
- Zona corrente (field of the roof): the ordinary part of the slope, where the tiles interlock and overlap.
- Pontos singulares (special points): places where the roof changes shape (ridge, hips, valleys, walls, chimneys). They need more care and accessories.
What we did not find in the guide
- Caleira or algeroz in the sense of a gutter that collects rainwater at the eave. The guide uses “caleira” for the flashings in valleys. For the collecting gutter, we found no definition in the APICER guide.
- Official terminology. The guide itself says it does not aim to make the terms official.
- Terms for other materials (slate, metal, sandwich panel). The guide deals with ceramic tile.
See also
- Clay roof tiles: types and climate
- Roof leaks: causes, where ridges and flashings are the first places to look
- How much a roof repair or replacement costs
- Roof area calculator
Sources (read on 2 November 2026)
- APICER and CTCV, Guia para Projeto e Aplicação de Telhas Cerâmicas, 2018, chapter 2 (terminology and definitions), chapter 3 (commercial tile types and accessories) and chapter 5 (connections to adjoining elements).