TL;DR
A roof scupper is a drainage opening cut through the parapet wall or raised edge of a flat or low-slope roof, letting ponded water exit the roof field directly through the wall into a downspout or leader head. Building codes treat oversized versions as the required secondary drainage when primary roof drains clog, sized to keep accumulated water below the structure's design load.
What it means
A roof scupper is a drainage opening cut through the parapet wall or raised edge of a flat or low-slope roof, letting ponded water exit the roof field directly through the wall into a downspout or leader head. Building codes treat oversized versions as the required secondary drainage when primary roof drains clog, sized to keep accumulated water below the structure's design load. A lined metal box and through-wall sleeve keep the penetration watertight; staining below one signals routine overflow.
Where it sits in the glossary
Roof scupper is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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