What is a gambrel garage?

Category: real estate houses
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Gambrel garage and house roofs are commonly found on Dutch Colonial houses and rural countryside barns in the Atlantic region of America. This roof shape received its name because people saw a resemblance between the contour of a horse's hind leg, called a hock or gambrel, and the hip-like silhouette of the roof.



Correspondingly, what is the advantage of a gambrel roof?

Advantages: Maximises Space – The shape of the Gambrel roof maximises headroom and shortens the height of the roof providing more usable space while not adding extra height to the structure. Extra space on the top level makes buildings with Gambrel roofs perfect for storage as well as creating a habitable space.

Likewise, what is a gambrel style house? The Gambrel features the typical two-sided roof but with two slopes on each side; the upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, while the lower slope is steep. The Gambrel is one of the prettiest and most varied vernacular house styles built.

Also know, is a gambrel roof more expensive?

A roof with two pitches, one steep and one shallow, the gambrel roof is generally more costly than a gable roof. While the differences in cost between the two aren't huge, the gable roof is generally less expensive, as it typically uses fewer materials and has lower labor costs.

Where are gambrel roofs most common?

The gambrel roof style buildings are usually found throughout the country on agricultural buildings such as barns, but they can also be found on Dutch and Colonial style homes.

39 Related Question Answers Found

How much do gambrel trusses cost?

For a 2,000 square foot home, roof truss installation typically costs between $7,200 and $12,000. You'll spend anywhere from $1.50 to $4.50 per square foot for materials alone, or between $35 and $150, though extremely long and complex types can reach $400 each.

How do you put metal on a gambrel roof?

How to Put a Metal Roof On a Gambrel Roof
  1. Tear off any old roofing down to the decking.
  2. Start at one lower corner along the gambrel end.
  3. Continue adding pieces along the edge of the roof to the far end.
  4. Install the next row up, overlapping it on top of the first row by 2 to 3 inches, pressing firmly down into the butyl tape.

What is a Dutch hip?

A Dutch hip roof, sometimes called a Dutch gable roof, is a combination of hip and gable roof styles in which a gable is located at the end of the ridge , at the top of a hip roof plane.

How do you measure gambrel roof angles?

How to Calculate the Angle of a Gambrel Roof Truss
  1. Calculate gambrel angles with graph paper and a protractor.
  2. Determine a pitch for the top slope of the gambrel roof, the rise in inches per foot from the midpoint connection to the peak; 7/12, or a rise of 7 inches per foot, is a common top gambrel pitch.

What is the difference between a gambrel roof and a mansard roof?


A gambrel, or barn roof, is much like mansard in a sense that it has two different slopes. The difference between the two is that the gambrel only has two sides, while the mansard has four. Similar to mansard, the lower side of the gambrel roof has an almost vertical, steep slope, while the upper slope is much lower.

What is the pitch of a gambrel roof?

Most of your pre-made trusses that are designed as a gambrel consist of roughly a 20/12 bottom pitch and a 4/12 top pitch.

What does a gable roof look like?

A gable roof is a type of roof design where two sides slope downward toward the walls – and the other two sides include walls that extend from the bottom of the eaves to the peak of the ridge. The purpose of your home's roof is to protect the entire structure (and you) from weather.

What is a gambrel shed?

Gambrel sheds, also called barn sheds, combine traditional styling with generous overhead storage space. The roof on a gambrel shed has two slopes on each side of the ridge with a steeper, lower slope, providing extra headroom.

What is the cheapest type of roofing?

Asphalt. Out of all of the many types of roofing materials available to you, the asphalt shingle is the cheapest. It will cost around $1.00 per square foot for the shingles, making it possible to do an average, single-story home for under $2,000.00. They are also the most popular on the market today.

What is a gambrel roof used for?


Gambrel roofs used in houses and residential buildings often include a dormer (an additional space that juts out from the building with its own roof parallel to the larger roof) and double-hung windows to allow light into the space.

What is the most durable type of roof?

The 5 Most Durable Roofing Materials
  • Asphalt Shingles. One of the most common and popular roofing materials, asphalt shingle roofing is highly favored because of how cost-effective it is without compromising protection.
  • Metal.
  • Clay Tile.
  • Wood Shake.
  • Slate.

What type of roof lasts the longest?

What Roofing Material Lasts the Longest?
  • Wood shakes and shingles: 15 to 20 years.
  • Asphalt shingles: 10 to 30 years.
  • Metal/steel: 50+ years.
  • Slate: 50+ years.
  • Tile and concrete: 50+ years.
  • Foam: 25+ years.
  • Built-Up roofs: 25-30 years.
  • Single-Ply: 30+ years.

What is the typical roof pitch?

Common Roof Pitches
The most commonly used roof pitches fall in a range between 4/12 and 9/12. Pitches lower than 4/12 have a slight angle, and they are defined as low-slope roofs.

What is a house Gable?


A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesthetic concerns.

What is a saltbox style home?

A saltbox house is a traditional New England style of house with a long, pitched roof that slopes down to the back, generally a wooden frame house. A saltbox has just one story in the back and two stories in the front.