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36 Types of Roofs (Styles) for Houses

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There are a surprising few types of roofs for the home. While 36 sounds like a lot,
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when you check out our list below, several are variations of one type.  Home Décor
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Discover the 36 different types of roofs for a house. This gallery includes terrific
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roof design illustrations so you can easily see the differences between types of  Home Offices
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roofs. Includes A-frame, bonnet, gable, hip, mansard, butterfly, valley combination,
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shed and more.  Kitchens
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Intricate roofs have many parts that incorporate several of the basic roof designs  Pets
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such as a gable roof sitting atop a gambrel or variations of the gable & valley roof
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design using one or a variety of different types of roof trusses (also see our very  Real Estate
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detailed diagrams showing the different parts of a roof truss).
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Also different architectural styles will use the same type of roof. For example, you  Swimming Pools
can have a gambrel roof on a cape cod or shingle-style home (plus other  Travel

architectural styles).
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That said, in many cases a home will incorporate one roof style throughout.
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Home (Floor Plan)
designs of Tinsmith in Gothenburg.
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Table of Contents [show] Two-Story 4-Bedroom Scandinavian Style New
Cotton Home (Floor Plan)

Related: How Much Does a Replacement Roof Cost? 3-Bedroom Two-Story Scandinavian Oslo Home
(Floor Plan)

Anatomy of a Roof
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Roof Type Chart

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Related: DIY Roof Repair Options | Types of Roof Vents | Parts of a Roof Gutter |
Types of gutters

1. A-Frame Roof
The A-Frame is very easy to identify.

It’s steep, pointed roof which extends all the way to the ground or close to the
ground. The roof makes up much or all off the walls of the home. It’s a very simple
roof design and is inexpensive because the roof serves as both roof and walls.

2. Bonnet
The bonnet roof is identified with the extending ledge around the base of the roof.

The other part of the roof can be many designs such as hip, gambrel or gable…
when adding an extended ledge, it becomes a bonnet variation of that roof design.

3. Butterfly
The butterfly roof is an inverted gable roof.

It’s a V-shape. It’s rather odd looking roof design and is not used much. However,
one benefit of the butterfly roof is you end up with tall ceilings on two sides of the
home.

4. Clerestory
A clerestory roof has an interior wall built extending above one section of the roof,
with this section of wall often lined with several windows, or one long window.

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The sections of roof either side of the vertical wall are typically sloping, allowing a
large amount of natural light into the windows.

5. Combination
A combination roof is, quite literally, a combination of types of roofs.

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Often incorporating two or more designs for aesthetics and practical reasons,
combination roofs can feature a range of styles; a clerestory and hip roof, for
example. This is a great option for a unique, interesting look.

6. Curved Roof
A curved roof adds an extremely modern, interesting feature to any building.
Modern roofs take advantage of the flexibility of metal materials, creating one large
curved structure.

Curved roofs do help to reduce resistance to wind, but are mainly chosen due to
the stunning aesthetic look they can add to a building.

7. Dome
A dome roof, unsurprisingly, is a roof in the shape of a dome.

A complex and durable design, this type of roof adds a beautiful aesthetic to a
building, and can be seen in many historical buildings from the Capitol Building in
Washington D.C., to the iconic St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

8. Dormer
Dormers contain a window that projects vertically from a traditional pitched roof,
creating an extended window in the roof.

This type of roof is most popular in loft conversions, providing an easy way of
expanding the space and natural light in the converted loft room.

9. Flat
While plain looking below, the flat roof is frequently used on modern and mid-
century style homes and can be a striking design if you like the modern look.

10. Box Gable

Box gable roofs have two sloping sides that meet to form a ridge, with a triangular

extension on either side that is boxed off from the walls.

This type of roof is popular for areas with cold weather conditions, providing a
stable design that deals well with rain and snow.

11. Open Gable

An open gable roof is identical to a box gable roof, with the only exception the
boxed offsides on either end.

In this type of roof, the ends are left open to meet the walls directly there are no
added benefits between the two, the choice is purely based on aesthetics.

12. Cross Gabled

A cross gable roof is a design that consists of two or more gable roof ridges that
intersect at an angle, most commonly perpendicular to one another.

This type of roof is often seen in buildings with a more complex layout, for
example, homes with an attached garage.

13. Dutch Gable

The Dutch gable (hip) roof is a hybrid of a gable and hip type of roof.

A full or partial gable can be found at the end of the ridge in the roof, allowing for a
greater amount of internal roof space.

This style also improves the look of the roof providing a more unique and
interesting design than the very common simple hip roof.

14. Front Gable

Front gable roofs have the roof ridge in line with the building’s entrance.

This type of roof is commonly seen on Colonial-style homes, but is an increasingly

popular design for modern buildings.

15. Gable and Valley Roof

The gable and valley roof is a very popular roof design. It’s also known as a cross
gable roof since the home has a cross footprint.

Interestingly, you can mix and match roof styles when building a gable and valley
roof designs for a cross footprint home.

16. Gable Roof with Dormer Window

The gable roof with dormer is extremely popular and again you can mix and match
roof styles.

For example, you can have the main roof gabled with a gambrel dormer or vice-
versa.

17. Gable Roof with Shed Addition

Some gable roof designs have a shed roof addition on the side.

This is a popular alteration to the standard gable roof, providing more headroom
and space for an extension without having to completely alter the existing roof.

18. Gambrel
The gambrel roof has a distinct look for sure. It’s a 4-sided roof. The top 2 sides
extending from the peak are not as steep as the bottom 2 sides.

Gambrel roofs often include window dormers, but not as always.

19. Hexagonal Gazebo

This complex roofing design makes any garden gazebo really stand out.

Formed of six triangular identically pitched roof panels and six supporting rafters,
this type of roof is most typically used for a beautifully unique gazebo addition to a
home or commercial garden lawn.

20. Jerkinhead
Jerkinhead roofs, also known as clipped gables or snub gables, are essentially a
gable roof with the two peak ends are clipped off.

The advantage of this design is that the clipped ends to reduce potential wind
damage to the home, making the roof more stable.

21. Hipped
The hip roof is identified with inward sloping ends on the roof. If the four sides of
the

roof meets at a point, it’s a pyramid hip roof. When they don’t, it’s a simple hip roof.

American Foursquare homes’ key feature is the hipped roof.

See our hipped roof gallery here.

22. Hip and Valley Roof

The hip and valley roof is similar to the gable and valley except the roof ends slope
inward.

You can combine gable and hip designs with a cross footprint home as well.

23. Pyramid Hip

The pyramid hip roof is one where all four sides meet in one point.

It can include dormers, but is often used on ranch style homes which has no upper
floor and therefore dormers aren’t necessary.

24. Cross Hipped

A cross hipped roof is a common roof type, with perpendicular hip sections that
form an “L” or “T” shape in the roof hip.

This is a great option for buildings with more complex layout than a simple
rectangular of square, and is a type of roof that will hold well in rain, snow or windy
conditions.

25. Half-Hipped
A half hipped roof is almost identical to a simple hip roof design, but instead, the
two sides of the roof are shortened, creating eaves at the either side of the house.

This type of roof provides more options for extending the loft and installing
windows, allowing a greater amount of natural light into the room.

26. Simple Hip

The popular simple hip roof is a type of roof where all four sides feature
symmetrical gentle slopes towards the walls, with no gables or vertical sides to the
roof.

The defining feature of hip roofs is that the roof faces are almost always identical in
pitch, making them symmetrical from the center point.

27. Mansard
A mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel roof, with each side having a double slope
of one steep slope and one shallow upper slope.

Mansard roofs are a popular option for buildings wishing to maximize the amount
of living space in the building, providing the option to use the loft as an additional
living space.

28. Mansard with Dormers

Mansard roof with dormers built-in.

29. Pyramid Mansard

The mansard roof is identified with steep sides that create a cap effect. This is a
French roof historically and the design has a functional purpose which is to create
more usable space in upper floors. Mansard roofs can include window dormers
and often do since the space is usable and therefore the dormers provide natural
light.

The pyramid version of the mansard roof includes a pyramid design on top of the
steep sides instead of a flat top.

30. Flare-Out Mansard Roof

This mansard style roof flares out at the bottom.

31. M-Shaped
An M-shaped roof is double-pitched roof; essentially a double gable.

The roof rests on two bearing walls with two sloping walls meeting in the middle to
form an “M” shape.

Central guttering runs between the two pitches to stop any snow or rain building up
in the winter season.

32. Parapet
A parapet roof is a flat roof with the walls of the building extending upwards past
the roof by a few feet around the edges.

The addition of a parapet makes a flat roof far safer, providing a small barrier that
provides additional security to reduce the likelihood of anyone standing the roof
falling over the edge.

33. Saltbox
While not popular, the saltbox roof is great for creating vaulted ceilings in part of a
home and a corresponding loft overlooking the vaulted ceiling rooms.

34. Shed or Sloped Roof

The shed roof is a very simple roof. It’s essentially a flat roof that’s sloped.

It allows for vaulted ceilings or an upper floor for part of the home, depending on
the slope and design of the home.

Additionally, the clipped ends provide more headroom in the loft than a traditional
hip roof.

35. Shed Roof or Skillion

A skillion roof has a single flat surface pitched at a steep angle to allow water
runoff.

Also known as a “shed roof”, skillion roofs are extremely easy and cheap to
construct as they are made of simply one piece of roofing.

36. Skillion and Lean-To

A lean-to roof, similar to a skillion roof, is composed of one angled pitch.

The roof is supported at one end by a wall raised higher than the other, enabling
the roof to be pitched at a steeper angle to allow runoff in heavy rain.

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