Most Common Roof Shapes

Roof Shapes have many different types. The 8 most common roof shapes are listed below. Read on to learn more about them. Furthermore, there even more than these 8 common roof shapes.

Types of Roof Shapes

Gabled Roof:

This type of roof has two sloping sides that form an “A”. Formally the “A” shaped side is known as the Gable. Do you remember the first house you ever drew as a small child? It was more than not, a Gabled Roof. It is just a triangle on top of a square. Lastly, the only difference between Gabled homes is the intensity of the slope of the roof.

Clipped Gable Roof

Clipped Gabled Roof:

A Clipped Gabled Roof is also known as a Jerkin Head Roof or Bullnose Roof. This roof shape is similar to the standard Gabled roof but is just a flattened version. The gable end of the roof is flattened or hipped and truncated and it will form a slope back to the ridge line.

Hip Roof

Hip Roof:

A hip roof has four sides that all slope downwards from a peak. It does not have a Gable or a flat end on the roof. What’s more, these tend to be very popular in the suburbs because they are very easy to build.

Dutch Gable Roof

Dutch Gable Roof:

A Dutch Gable Roof has a small gable at the top of the hip roof.

Flat Roof and Shed Roof

Flat Roof:

A Flat Roof is just that a Flat Roof. They do help with giving a lot more room to the top floor of the home. There are many different types of flat roofs, they include, Modified Bitumen Roof, Rubber Membrane, TPO or EPDM. These are very common in the City of St. Louis. Lastly, they do have a very slight slope to help with drainage.

Gambrel Roof

Gambrel Roof:

A Gambrel Roof has two sides. Equally important, each side a a shallower slope above the steeper one. The shape of this roof gives more living space on the top floor of the home. Also, people like to add skylights on the shallow slopes of the roof to allow more natural light into the top floor.

Types of Mansard Roof Shapes

Mansard Roof:

The Mansard Roof is was widely used in Renaissance and Baroque French Architecture. This roof shape is a hipped gambrel roof, which means it has two slopes on ever side of the roof. Furthermore, The Louvre Museum is a great example of a Mansard Roof. You should check it out if you ever have a chance.

Shed Roof:

A Shed Roof is a common roof shape that slopes down in one direction. This roof shape is also known as a Skillion or Lean-to-Roof. This is a new Modern-Era shape on homes. The most common use of this roof shape is for additions or porches but, now some new homes are using this as their whole roof shape.

In the end there are still more other different roof shapes. Some examples are a Pyramid, Saltbox, Bonnet or even a Curved shaped roof. I hope this helps you to determine the shape of your roof. If you would like Spartan Roofing to come out for a free inspection or estimate on your roof you can contact us here.