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Contents
A building without a roof is inhabitable. Even if you choose to pay less attention to your roof type, it remains an essential part of building construction.
A beautifully designed roof also defines the overall look of a house. The shape creates a unique appearance for your home.
Roofs also provide insulation and ventilating properties. The structure of your roof can determine how energy efficient your home will be.
Here’s a compilation of the best types of roofing, the materials that best go with constructing them, and their pros and cons.
Go through the list and choose the roof type that best suits your needs.
Gable roof is also known as a pitched roof. It is a common type of roof and can easily be recognized by its triangular shape. The roof is simply one side up and the other side down, just like a dog house.
Gable roofs are friendly to all types of materials. But if they contain hips and valleys, consider using metal shingles or standing seam to avoid leaks.
There are four types of gable roofs; crossed gable, side-gable, dutch gable, and front gable.
A crossed gable roof is constructed by putting two gable roof sections together at a right angle with two ridges perpendicular to each other. They may or may not have equal heights, lengths, and pitches. A side gables, on the other hand, has two equal sides pitched at an angle in the middle of the building. It is the primary type of gable roof, which can be constructed in two ways. The triangle section can be left open or close, forming open or boxed gable.
A Dutch gable is constructed as a hybrid of gable and hip roof by placing a gable roof on top of a hip roof for more space. The front gable is usually placed at the entrance of a house just as you see in colonial style houses.
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This is another popular type of roofing. It is four-sided with a double slope on each side. The sides are constructed to meet a flat top forming a low-pitched roof. Mansard roof is also known as a French roof. It looks like a comfortable building hat.
Metal, copper, or zinc materials are most suitable for a durable mansard roof design but may be expensive. You can also use wood or slate shingles. Mansard roof comes in straight-angle, concave, or conveys silhouettes, depending on what you desire.
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Hip roofs usually have four sides, just like the mansard roof, but two sides are triangular and the other two are trapezoid. All sides of a hip roof slope downwards towards the walls, with equal lengths. Almost all types of materials are suitable for constructing a hipped roof house.
There are three types of hip roofs; simple hip, crossed hip, and half-hipped. Simple hip roofs are most common. The two sides of this roof form a single ridge at the top. Crossed hip roofs have separate hip roofs like a crossed gable. The two roofs meet at a valley. The half-hipped roof is a standard hip roof with two of its sides shortened to form eaves.
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Also referred to as lean-to, a shed roof is a single sloping roof attached to a taller wall. It doesn't have any adjoining roof and can be installed on an independent building or leaned into an already existing one.
Shed roofs were mostly used for home additions but are getting popular for modern home roofing. This type of roofing can be used for building eco-friendly homes or homes with PV solar panels. Standing seam roofing materials can be used for shed roofs.
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Gambrel roof has two different slopes – one side is an almost vertical steep slope while the other slope is lower. They are common on barns but are getting popular in modern home constructions.
Wooden, slate, or asphalt materials are suitable for installing a gambrel roof. Use metal roofing materials to cut maintenance costs and make the roof more durable.
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Flat roofs are not as flat as the name suggests. There is a slight pitch of around 10 degrees of slope that allows water run-off. Flat roofs are common to commercial and industrial buildings.
With a flat roof, you can have an outdoor living space that can be enclosed for a penthouse. The roof usually has centrally located drains or gutters to evacuate rainwater.
Roll roofing, metal sheets, tar and gravel, and rubber membrane are the most suitable materials for flat roofs.
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Bonnet roofs are like a reverse of mansard roofs. They have double slopes – upper and lower slopes. The lower slopes are at a lesser angle than the upper slopes. This means that it has a steep top and a flat bottom. They are often called kicked-eaves.
The lower slopes that overhang create a cover for an open porch. Bonnet roof can be constructed with any type of roofing including natural stone.
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Also known as the jerkinhead roof, the English hip roof is a hip roof with two sides. It looks like a gable roof with two hipped ends. An English hip roof can be constructed with any roofing material, depending on your choice.
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The saltbox roof is asymmetrically designed to having two stories in front and one at the back. One side of the roof is like a slightly sloping flat roof and the other side is more of a lean-to roof. All roofing materials are suitable for constructing a saltbox roof.
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Butterfly roofs are aesthetically unique. They look like a butterfly in flight and are V-shaped with two sides of the roof adjoined at the center. This style of roofing is popular for modern tropical and eco-friendly home designs. Use solid continuous membrane without seams to keep the roof watertight. You can also use metal roofing materials.
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Consider the pros and cons of a roof type before choosing it for your house. The weather condition of the location of your site should be at the forefront when making a choice.