Every home is different, and each has its own unique character and quirks that require special attention. In addition to the roofing material that your roof is constructed from, your roof is most likely built in one of a variety of common styles, and each style needs its own type of consideration in terms of care and maintenance. Do you know which type of roof you have, or does your roofing IQ only include the rough idea that “some roofs are pointier than others”? We’ll help you to expand your roof style knowledge, and give you tips for caring for each type.
Gable Roof
A gable means a slanted, flat surface, so a gable (or gabled) roof is a roof with two slanted, flat surfaces, resulting in the “classic”, triangular shaped roof that is most commonly seen on homes throughout the US. These roofs are the most common because they are cheap and easy to construct and maintain. Most particularly, the pitch, or degree of slant, of the roof helps water, snow and debris to slide off of the roof easily, preventing damp spots of standing water from forming. If your roof is steeply sloped (most common in snowier areas), you’ll want to be particularly cautious going up onto your roof for any maintenance or repairs, and you might be charged extra for the risk involved when roofers need to climb up on your roof to do work.
Hip Roof
A hip roof is the second most common type of roof in suburban America. A hip roof is a type of roof where four slopes come together to form a ridge (as opposed to a gabled roof that has only two slopes). A hip roof is considered to be even better than a gabled roof for shedding precipitation, but hip roofs can be more expensive to build and install than a gabled roof due to their more complicated construction. Once it’s installed, though, the maintenance of a gabled roof is very similar to that of a hip roof. In fact, since hip roofs are more likely to have gentle slopes, they can be easier and cheaper to repair and maintain, even for DIY roof maintenance.
Mansard Roof
A Mansard roof is a less common type of roof construction, originating in France, which has a nearly flat roof in the center, surrounded by four sloping surfaces all around. The main benefit to a Mansard roof is that no interior space is lost to the roof construction – the upper floor of the home can be full-sized without any height lost to the gables of the roof. The downside, however, is that due to the relatively flat central roof surface, snow, water, and debris can sit up there without clearing quickly, which can lead to damp spots, and eventual water damage. This type of roof is not ideal in particularly wet or snowy areas and does require that the state of the roof be checked more frequently.
Gambrel Roof
A Gambrel roof is often thought of as a “barn” roof – it’s a double sloped roof on two sides with flat surfaces on the other ends (much like a gabled roof, if each of the slanted surfaces had two slopes instead of just one). In some ways, these have the best of all worlds, because the flatter slope on the top of the roof gives added interior space (as in the Mansard roof) while the steeper lower slope comes with the water removing benefits of the gabled roof. Maintenance of the lower slopes of the Gambrel roof probably requires roofing professionals (or at least a lot of confidence on a ladder) because the slope of that portion of the roof is usually too steep to stand on.
Flat Roof
This type of roof requires the least description: a flat roof is flat (or very nearly so) all the way across. These types of roofs are more common in commercial buildings and less common for homes, and sometimes feature a drain or some type of drainage system in the center to help remove rain and snowmelt and prevent standing water. These types of roofs are generally not advised in very snowy areas, due to the heavy weight of snow that can accumulate on a flat roof. On the plus side, maintenance of the surface of a flat roof literally could not be easier (unless you notice places where the drainage isn’t great – then it’s best to call in a trusted local roofing contractor to help you out).
Shed Roof
A shed roof is a single sloped surface, with a high side and a low side, which results in an asymmetrical appearance. These roofs are most common on additions and outbuildings (such as sheds and garages, hence the name). These roofs are great at shedding water and snow, and, depending on the slope, which is usually moderate, can be easy to regularly maintain without professional help.
Whatever type of roof is most common in your area, you might now have a better understanding of why that type of roof is a good choice for your local climate. If you happen to be lucky enough to live in the greater Cincinnati area, and you need help with your roof, call us here at Harper Siding and Roofing – we’re happy to help with your roofing needs, no matter what style of roof your home has!