Part of a roof’s frame, a ridgeboard runs horizontally along the peak of a sloped roof. Essentially the spine of a conventional stick-framed roof, the ridgeboard is sandwiched between the meeting ends of roof rafters.

Spelled “hryge” in Old English, the word “ridge” was first used in reference to house roofs in the 16th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries, “ridge-piece” and “ridge-pole” were used respectively to designate a horizontal timber or pole at the ridge of a roof. What was once a pole or timber is now a milled board— typically a 1 by 6 or larger for houses—hence, today’s modification of the term to “ridgeboard.”

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