Roof Styles

Roof Styles/Designs Part 1

In the Sims, I find roofing to be a bit problematic. So I decided to do some research on Roof Styles/Designs. Here is the First Part of the information that I have gathered.


Gable Roof

The gable roof is a popular choice when deciding a style of a roof. It has two roof surfaces of the same size, that are pitched at the same angle back to back, making a ridge at the top and forming a triangular roof.

Common Variations of Gable Roofs
Side Gable Roof


One of the most common roofing syles.

Front Gable Roof


The gable end is placed at the front(entrance) of the house. It is often used for cape cod and colonial style house.

Cross Gabled Roof


Simply two gable roof sections put together at a right angle. The two ridges formed by these gable roofs are perpendicular to each other. Lenths, pitches and heights may or not differ from each other. The cross gabled roof is often used on tudor and cape cod style houses.

Dutch Gable Roof


A hybrid type of gable and hip roof where a full or partial gable is located at the end of ridge, which sometimes offer more internal roof space.

Mansard Roof


A mansard roof has two distinct different slopes on each side. The upper portion has a very steep pitch and often has dormers attached. The offer so much attic space that it is often used as an extra story for the house with additional space known as "The Garret". Builds with Mansard roofs (sometimes referred to as Second Empire) was popular in North America in the mid to late 1800s as a part of Victorian Style Architecture.

Hip Roof
The hip roof is another very common roof type. It does not have flat sides like the gable roof instead all sides of the roof slope down to meet the walls of the house. Hip roofs offer less internal roof space which offers less pontential free attic space. Hip roofs are often found on French Inspired and American Four Square homes.

Common Variations of Hip Roofs
Simple Hip Roof


The simple hip roof is the most common hip roof. It has a ridge over a portion of the roof that creates two polygon sides and two triangular sides of the roof.

Pyramid Hip Roof


The pyramid hip roof has four equal triangular sides that meet at a single point at the top of the roof.

Cross Hipped Roof


Similar to putting two hipped roof sections sections together that meet and forms a seam called a valley.

Half Hipped Roof
A standard hip roof that has had two sides shortened to create eaves. Instead of rising to a point, the gable is clipped short and appears to turn downwards. It is also known as the Jerkinhead Roof. The half hipped roof can sometimes be found on bungalows, cottages and assorted victorian styles.

Saltbox


The saltbox roof is most similar to a gable roof. The saltbox style rose from a need to create more space for cramped colonial homes.

Gambrel Roof


Is somewhat like the mansard roof. It has two distinct different slopes on each of its two symmetrical sides. The bottom slope has a steep pitch, sometimes nearly vertical while the top slope is lower. But unlike the Mansard roof, the gambrel only utilizes this method on two sides of the structure rather than four. The gambrel roof is often referred to as a barn roof, in that it is commonly seen on many barns. Dormers may also be seen on gambrel roofs as to provide more head space or extra lighting. You can find gambrel roofs on a lot of Dutch Colonial architecture from the 1700s and into the 1800s.

Flat Roof


Flat roofs have traditonally been very popular in dry climates, including the southwestern portion of the United States. You may see this type of roof on Ultra-Modern Homes and Comtemporary Modern Homes.

Shed Roof


A shed Roof is typically a single roof face that slopes down the entire structure. This roof type is associated with home additions, sheds and porches. When used as an addition to a structure, the roof is typically attached to a structure and it is attached to the building wall on the high side.

Bonnet Roof


One of the least common roof types. The Bonnet roof is considered to be a modification of the hip roof style. It is usually found on French Vernacular architecture. Bonnet roofs have two slopes on all four sides of a structure. It is the opposite of a Mansard roof in that its upper slope is steeper than the bottom slope. The bottom slope ofthen hangs over the house to cover an open sided porch and provide shelter. Bonnet Roofs are sometimes referred to as "Kicked Eaves" Roofs.

Butterfly Roof


Well the butterfly roof is shape like well a butterfly's wings. A butterfly roof dips down in the middle and slopes upward at each end. They are often associated with Mid-Century Modernism. the butterfly roof can be found on Googie architecture and mid-twentieth century homes.

Skillion Roof


A skillion roof slopes from one side of the building to the other in a single span and no ridge. as a result the external walls are varying heights.

M-shaped Roofs


A type of roof similar to a double pitched roof except that it rests on two load bearing walls only.

Gazebo Roof


The gazebo roof is often hexagonal or octagonal. It is not uncommon for a gazebo roof to augment any other roof styles. Particularly found on variations of Victorian Architecture.


So there you have some common roof styles to get you started on making those roofs.