Tuesday, August 5, 2014

A Guide to Common Home Roof Styles and Types


A roof can be the most unique element of your home or business, and really affect its overall look and style. Since all roof types are customized to meet certain needs, it is worth getting to know the diverse roofing styles accessible, and how they vary in form, detail and design. Furthermore, the choice in roof style can very much affect the cost of your construction or restoration plans, as roofs are made from a wide assortment of materials and substances. Read on to get an idea on the common roofing styles available. 
Home Roof Styles

Gable Roof

A gable roof has two sides sloping up that meet in middle at the ridge. To be a spot on gable, both sides have to slope at the identical angle. Seen from the end, the form of a gable roof looks like a well proportioned triangle. Actually, the gable roof is the most popular type of roofing in America. These home roof styles are well-liked in areas that get considerable snowfall.
Cross Gable

Cross gable home roof styles are all about two gable roofs set at right angles to each other, offering more attractive house shapes and styles. This roof design deals with heavy rains with a least of fuss.
Mansard Roof

Typically, mansard type of roofing has four double-sloped sides, the slope on the lower side being considerably steeper compared to the one over it. Usually, the higher slope is not noticeable from ground level, as it is slanted only to the extent necessary to make the water run-off. The framing is very realistic, as it can enlarge the upper stories with no disturbance caused to the building’s height and doesn’t entail any difficult framing, thus saving cash and time.
Hip Roof

A hip roof is a roof type where all the sides slope down to walls, typically with a fairly gentle slope. As a result it’s a house with no other perpendicular sides or gables to the roof. A square hip roof is in the form of a pyramid. The hip roofs that you see on rectangular houses will usually have two triangular sides and two trapezoidal ones. A hip roof on a rectangular plan has four faces. They are always almost at the identical slope or pitch, and this makes them to be symmetrical about the centerlines.
Saltbox Roofs

These home roof styles are formed by the addition of a shed to a fundamental two-story house. This just makes the gable roof deeper on one side, giving the roof its typical uneven shape. The straightforward design offers great water proofing and heat insulation. The main disadvantage however is restricted attic space.
Gambrel Roof

This one is a two sided variety of roof with each side having a double slope. Slopes on the lower side are placed steep, whereas the ones on the top are flat comparatively. Usually, Gambrel roofs arrive in symmetrical form. You can actually portray the gambrel as a merger between a hip roof and a gable, as its sharp slopes work against extreme weather impact like those you see in a gable roof, whereas the flatter top slopes give the extra head room that you get in hip roofs. These roofs are directly related to colonial structural design, and have turned out to be pretty trendy for homes.
Flat Roof

The flat roof home roof styles are a sort of cover for a house or construction. Contrary to the sloped roof, flat roofing is nearly horizontal and sometimes perfectly horizontal. In general, materials that coat the flat roofs let water to run off without restraint from a very minor inclination. More often than not flat roofs employ a gravel and tar surface which, as far as there was no pooling of water, was enough to avoid penetration. On the other hand, these surfaces would tend to fall short in colder climates, in which case ice dams, etc. can actually obstruct the flow of water. Similarly, they tend to be sensitive to drooping of the roof reversing the fine grading of the surface.
Bonnet Roof

You can consider Bonnet as a customized hip roof style although it isn’t the most common amongst roofs. Very common in French Vernacular structural design, bonnet home roof styles come with two slopes for all four sides of the structure. In essence it is the converse of a mansard roof, considering that the upper slope is a lot steeper compared to the slope on the bottom. Usually, the bottom slope hangs above the building to envelop a porch that is open sided and offer protection from the rain or sun.
Shed Roof

A shed roof is a type that covers a shed with a tiny structure that is usually used for storage. Shed roofs can be built in a number of different ways, which differ in complexity. There are issues in each roof style and you need to consider all that when you are setting up a shed roof or adapting an on hand shed roof into a different design. A contractor may have precise advice for a particular region or structure.


photo credit: erix! via photopin cc

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