The type of exterior you choose plays a crucial role in overall look and style of a house. The most basic purpose of the roof is protecting a house, but roofing also provides additional living space and resilience.
There are different types and styles of roofing. This article helps you to identify the best roof type for your house.
Mansard roofing is a French design that’s why it is also known as a “French roof”. It is a four sided roof with double slopes on each side.
Pros & Cons: This style allows for more living and storage space. Not ideal for snowy areas.
Material to be used: Use wood or slate shingles and metal for the steep portion of the roof.
This exterior looks like an upside down V. Gable roofing is also known as a pitched or peaked roof.
Pros & Cons: Gable exteriors easily shed water and snow but are not suitable for high wind areas.
Material to be used: This type of roofing can be covered with shingles, shakes, tiles and metal.
Bonnet roofing is double sloped with the lower slope hangs over the side of the house. This type of roofing is most commonly used to cover an outdoor porch area.
Pros and Cons: Bonnet exteriors provide protection to the porch area and the walls from water leaks from the roof. The complex design requires more material for construction, which is costly.
Material to be used: Bonnet exteriors can be constructed with shingles, metal and stone.
A butterfly roof is a V-shaped roof. This roof is constructed with two pieces which are angled up outside and the center is angled downward. So this style gives the look of butterfly wings. This type is popular for tropical home designs.
Pros & Cons: This style provides plenty of options for ventilation. This style gives more natural light and open feel. But the complexity of design makes it expensive in terms of construction and maintenance. This style is not effective when it comes to water drainage.
Material to be used: It is suggested to use solid and no seam membranes for butterfly roof type.
Flat roofing is ideal for commercial roofing. However, they can also be used for residential buildings.
Pros & Cons: Flat roofing is simple to install. It also provide extra living space and is very convenient for the installation of PV solar panels.
Material to be used: The suggested material for flat exteriors is rubber membrane, metal sheets, PVC and TPO.
Skillion roofing is a single sloping roof surface and also referred as a shed roof. This type is mostly used for home additions, sheds and porches.
Pros & Cons: The steep pitch allows water and snow to easily run off. They also add aesthetic appeal to overall look of building. Skillion exteriors are not suitable for high wind areas.
Material to be used: You can use standing seams and large PV solar panels.
