Types of Roofing Systems

On residential properties, no feature is more crucial than the roof, which largely determines the security and insulation factors of your living quarters. Depending on the shape and size of your roof, your house could appear unique or conventional to the naked eye and seem compact or spacious from the inside. When choosing a roofing system, you could either replicate your pre-existing roof or opt for a new style altogether.

Common Types of Roofing Systems

Some of the most common roofing systems have been around for centuries. The following list contains variations of flat and sloped-roof styles, as seen on homes and buildings throughout most of the world, some as far back as the Middle Ages.

Flat Roof

A flat roof stands in contrast to the sloped structure of most other types of roofs. Flat roof materials include asphalt, ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber, turbo seal, chlorosulfonated polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride and modified bitumen.

You will usually see flat roofs on city buildings and skyscrapers, as well as on stadiums, railway stations, schools and factories. In overpopulated areas, flat roofs provide usable space that is often unavailable at street level. With a flat roof, you can turn the top of a building into extra space for gardening, parties and storage purposes.

Flat roofs are rare on residential properties, but you can have one installed if your house lacks an attic. Alternately, you could have your attic removed to make way for a flat-roof design. You could use the flat roof to grow crops, build a patio or set up a workspace. Alternately, you could use a flat roof to house solar panels.

One of the most effective ways to insulate a living space is with a grass roof. With a flat roof, you can use the space to lay soil and grow a lawn across the rooftop. Grass absorbs sunshine much faster than concrete. As such, grass roofing can help keep your interior cooler during the warmer months of the year. To absorb rain and irrigation, grass roofs sit on under-layers of waterproof membrane material.

Hipped Roof

A hipped roof sports simple, unadorned slopes on all four sides with no gables. The common design of the hipped roof is triangular. Hipped roofs are frequent on residential houses and bungalows. The style is generally a feature of square and rectangular houses and buildings, though it's possible to add hipped roofs to properties with varied roofing plans. Hipped roofing materials include slate, metal, clay, asphalt or cedar shingles.

For simple one- and two-story homes, the hipped roof is a convenient alternative to the gable roof. Hipped roofs have no slab-sided ends, which makes the design more wind-resistant than gabled roofs. If you live in a windy region, the hipped roof could be one of the most practical options. For maximum hurricane resistance, a hipped roof should have a sharp slope of at least 35 degrees.

One possible disadvantage of the hipped roof is that the design offers little room for attic space because of the four-sided sloping. Hipped roofs are also more difficult to light or insulate because sunlight beams directly down on the rooftop and there is no gable to allow for an attic window. If your house does not have significant attic space, a hipped roof could be a sensible roofing choice. If your house has sufficient attic space and you have already put it to use, a gabled roof would be the better option.

Butterfly Roof

One of the more unique designs in roofing is the butterfly roof, which inverts the shape of standard sloped roofs by slanting downward from the edges and meeting at a valley. The butterfly roof got its name due to its wing-like shape. The style is alternately known as V-roofing, due to the roof’s resemblance to the shape of the letter V. Butterfly roofs are usually symmetrical with the valley placed at the center, though asymmetrical variants do exist with the valley placed to the right or left side.

Butterfly roofs do not have gutters because all rainfall slides to the valley, which has downspouts at each edge that funnel the water to the ground below. Some butterfly roofs feature a seam at the valley, whereas others have flat valleys. You might see the butterfly design on modernist homes built since the mid-20th century. Before its arrival in the United States, the style was a feature of select properties in Europe and Brazil.

If you wish to have a home with a modernist look, a butterfly roof could help the façade stand out among the other properties in your area. With a butterfly roof, maintenance is straightforward, since there are no lengthy gutters to clean. While you won’t be able to have an attic with a butterfly roof, the heightened walls could offer room for additional windows. You could use the space to add awnings, which would provide extra sunlight and ventilation.

Gabled Roof

One of the most common roofing designs for residential properties is the gabled roof, which typically features two slopes and two gables. On most homes that feature the gabled roof, the slopes are on the front and back and the gables are on both sides. On homes with more varied roofing schemes, the roof will feature smaller gables protruding from the slopes, usually with mini-slopes. T-shaped houses with three gables are cross-gabled roofs.

You can see examples of early gables on German houses that remain from the Middle Ages. In the United States, the gable-front design — where the gable faces the front lawn and the left and right sides feature slopes — was popular during the 19th century. Even since the advent of modernism in architecture, gable roofs have remained a popular feature on American homes. Since about 1920, housing designs have favored the side-gable arrangement.

Gabled roofs are ideal for homes with attics because the combination of slopes and gables provides sufficient space and ventilation. Roofing materials for gabled roofs include asphalt, clay, stone and wood. In the U.S., a common choice among homeowners is cedar shingles, made from strong, weather-resistant lumber that originates from the Pacific Northwest.

If you wish to maintain a classic look on your residential property, a gabled roof would be the most authentic style for most houses built in the United States before 1950. With gables, you can use the attic space and even turn it into an additional living area.

Gambrel Roof

A gambrel roof consists of two slides, which each feature two slopes. The top slop dips at a shallow angle, while the bottom slope has a steeper tilt. A gambrel provides enough sloping to drain water and also allow for sufficient interior room directly under the ceiling. Thanks to the shallow upper tilt, the roofs on gambrel-topped houses are generally lower than their gable-roofed counterparts.

The gambrel roof was a feature on some of the earliest houses and schools built in the United States. While the style is similar to the gabled roof, the gambrel offers more interior upper space. One of the earliest known examples of the gambrel roof on American soil was the Harvard Hall at Harvard University, built around 1677 and destroyed by fire in 1766. Though the style has featured on some of the nation’s more elaborate homes, gambrel roofs have become more commonplace on barns.

If you are looking for a unique roofing design, the gambrel roof could make your house stand out among other properties and perhaps increase its market value. With a gambrel roof, you could get a lot more use from your attic’s interior. Depending on the overall dimensions of your house, you could use the extra space for a library, party room or mini-movie theatre. The gambrel design fits with the standard types of roofing material, including asphalt and cedar. The style is especially suitable for classic homes and historic properties, but can also work with more recently built properties.

Mansard Roof

The mansard roof is similar to the gambrel in that both feature two slopes with the upper slope at a shallow angle and the lower slope at a steeper tilt. The mansard, however, adds two distinct variations: The two slopes appear on all four sides of the building, and the lower slopes feature dormer windows. A flat panel at the rooftop adjoins the four upper slopes. When the mansard roof is part of a structure that towers several stories above street level, the upper slope is often not visible from the ground.

The mansard roof is alternately known as the French roof due to the style’s origins on a wing of the Louvre museum, built around 1550. The style was especially popular in France under the 1852–1870 reign of Napoléon III. In the United States, mansard roofs are a common feature of Victorian-era homes and towers built during the 19th and early 20th century, such as the Germania Life Insurance Company Building in New York City.

If you wish to add a touch of opulence and Old World charm to your property, a mansard roof could transform the look and functionality of your house. The mansard roof is a spacious design that effectively adds an extra story to any structure. If your house either lacks an attic or the space is insufficient for personal use, a mansard would give you more than a spacious attic. It would give you a well-lit top floor to use for study, entertainment and parties or to accommodate houseguests or collections of books, records or antiques.

Saw-Tooth Roof

One of the most unusual types of roofing designs is the saw-tooth roof. The design consists of multiple ridges that form a zigzag outline across the tip. As the name implies, the design resembles the appearance of saw teeth. To qualify, the roof must have at least two ridges, though most have four or more. The ridges can either be symmetrical or asymmetrical. On asymmetrical saw teeth, one slope might slant at a 40- or 45-degree angle while the other tilts at 85 degrees. In some cases, each tooth forms a right triangle.

On most saw-tooth roofs, the steep slope or right angle of each ridge has mirrors. These allow vast amounts of natural light into the interior without subjecting the people inside to direct sunlight. For this reason, the saw-tooth roof is a popular choice among designers of shopping malls, factories, museums, recreation centers and other deep-plan buildings.

The design saw its first use during the Industrial Revolution, when factory labor made it necessary to open buildings to as much light as possible without subjecting workers to hot, bright sun rays. After the invention of artificial light, the saw-tooth roof lost its popularity in building design. However, the style saw a resurgence during the latter half of the 20th century, as avant-garde architects came to appreciate the odd appearance and jagged shape of the saw-tooth roof.

If you are in the market for a roof that provides ample natural light and could also add character to your home’s façade, the saw-tooth roof would be a wise choice. The saw-tooth roof is practical on attic-free homes with wide living areas and high ceilings.

Do Contractors Specialize in a Specific Type of Roofing?

When it comes to roofing, there are many different stylistic possibilities. If you wish to use the roof itself for gardening, storage, recreational activities or green space, the flat roof would be the most suitable choice. If you prefer to maximize your attic space, the gable, gambrel or mansard roofs would be the most ideal options. If you are looking for a unique design with enhanced natural lighting potential, consider the options of butterfly or saw-tooth roofing.

With so many possibilities, you might wonder why so many residential homes look alike. Few roofing contractors are willing to offer much beyond the conventional style categories. Most roofing contractors can handle only th common types of roofing systems. Consequently, you could limit your options when dealing with such contractors. Fortunately, other options are available from select contractors.

Custom Roofing Solutions From Huber and Associates

When choosing a roofing system for your home or business, it is essential to work with a roofing company that can meet your stylistic expectations. Huber and Associates specializes in custom roofing applications for large scale residences or organizations. Over the last 40 years, our roofing team has completed a vast array of roof installations and renovations. From our restoration of the Biltmore estate to our work on various private residences, we’ve re-roofed museums, national park buildings, government buildings, university buildings and large private residences in Virginia Beach, Vero Beach, West Palm Beach, Myrtle Beach and Long Beach. Numerous big-name clients have praised our work, including Home Depot CEO Arthur M. Blank and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson.

Whether you want to replace your existing roof or install a totally different type of roof and transform the look and functionality of your property, Huber and Associates will give you a lasting roof in compliance with local codes. Contact Huber and Associates for custom roofing solutions.