19/08/2025
This image is a visual glossary of 16 different residential roof types, each with a simple 3D diagram and a label. The roofs are shown on generic house shapes to highlight their unique forms.
Gable Roofs
* Open Gable: A simple, triangular roof with two sloping sides and a vertical end wall (the gable).
* Box Gable: A gable roof where the triangular end wall is extended slightly beyond the house walls.
* Dormer: A vertical window or series of windows that projects from a sloped roof. The dormer itself has its own small roof, often a gable style.
* Dutch Gable: A hybrid roof that is primarily a hip roof but has a small gable at the top.
Hip Roofs
* Hip: A roof with four sloping sides that meet at a ridge. There are no vertical end walls.
* Jerkinhed: A variation of a hip roof where the top of the gable is cut off and sloped inward.
* Combination: A roof that combines multiple styles, often a mix of hip and gable elements.
* Cross Hipped: Two hip roofs that intersect at a right angle, forming a T or L shape.
* Intersecting / Overlaid Hip: A complex hip roof where different sections of hip roofs meet and overlap.
* Hip and Valley: A common roof for L- or U-shaped homes, featuring hips at the corners and valleys where the sections meet.
* Hexagonal: A roof with six sloping sides that meet at a central peak, used for hexagonal-shaped buildings.
* Pyramid Hip: A roof with four sloping sides that meet at a single central point instead of a ridge.
Other Roof Types
* Gambrel: A symmetrical roof with two slopes on each side. The lower slope is much steeper than the upper slope, often used on barns and farmhouses.
* Mansard: A four-sided roof with two slopes on each side, similar to a gambrel but on all four sides. The lower slope is much steeper and often punctuated with dormer windows.
* Saltbox: A single-story house with a two-story section on one side and a long, sloping roof that extends down to a lower point on the other.
* Shed: A simple, single-sloping roof, often used for additions or smaller structures.
* Flat: A nearly horizontal roof with a very low slope, common in modern or commercial architecture.
* Butterfly: A V-shaped roof with two slopes that meet in the middle and angle upward toward the outer edges.
