Common Roof Designs for Your Home

Posted by Carolyn Lynch on July 24th, 2023

The appearance of your home’s roof is a crucial factor in its overall aesthetic appeal. Roofing materials may affect the visual appeal of a building’s exterior by as much as 40 percent! Besides, we can find many roof types in the United States today. So, let’s look at some of the most popular alternatives.

Typical Roof Designs for Homes

How do business and residential roofs vary from one another? The key factors are the height and pitch of the roof. Typically, we see pitched roofs on homes, whereas businesses have flat or low-slope roofs. The reason for this difference is their larger square area. 

Common residential roof types include:

• Gable roofs and gable variants

A gable roof is a style that kids commonly draw when asked to illustrate a roof for a house. One end is triangular (the gable), while the other two sides rise to meet in a ridge at the top of the house. In the United States, gable roofs are the most common. However, there are many variants of gable roofs. 

Several types of gable roofs exist, including clipped gable, Dutch gable, cross gable, butterfly, and many others. 

• Hip Roofs

Because of their similarity to gable roofs, hip roofs are the second most common style. The ridges of both types of roofs are where the sloping sides meet. The most noticeable distinction is that hip roofs have four sides rather than two. Besides, they lack gable ends. 

A roof’s hip is the angle that forms at the intersection of two of its sides. Thus, these roofs are more rectangular than gable roofs. Hip roofs may take on many forms, like the countless variations of gable roofs. Some examples of hip roof variants are pyramid and bonnet roofs.  

• Gambrel Roofs

The gambrel roof is synonymous with the image of a traditional red barn. Each end of the roof has two different slopes. The one closer to the center is more gradual, while the one farther out is steeper. Traditionally, property owners employ gambrel roofs on agricultural structures like barns and sheds. But they are now very often in homes. People adore gambrel roofs for their traditional style and unique appearance. Moreover, homeowners value the additional loft space they provide.

• Mansard Roofs

We can mention many parallels between mansard and gambrel roofs. Mansard roofs have four sides, while gambrel roofs often have only two. Many people consider a mansard roof to be nothing more than a gambrel roof with an extra side. 

Regardless of the terms we use to refer to them, mansard roofs are popular among homeowners. These roofs maximize the upper-level space while still providing a large attic.

Give Alpha Roofing a call at 318-373-5942. Our expert team is ready to serve you with the best professional attitude and expertise. We service areas in Bossier City and Shreveport, LA.