Most Popular Roofing Styles to Choose for Your Home

When it comes to choosing a roofing style for your home, there are plenty of options out there.

While picking a style that seems the most attractive to you is not the wrong way to go, it is best to research all your options and understand the pros and cons of each one before you make your final decision.

Here is a list of some of the most popular and unique roofing styles to help you choose the best roof for your home.

Flat Roof

While flat roofs are usually found on bigger, commercial properties, they can also be a great choice for your residential home.

Flat roofs consist of one panel that lies almost entirely flat across the top of a home; however, these roofs are not entirely flat. Every flat roof comes with a slight pitch so that rain or snow can fall off and not pool up on top of it.

Installing a flat roof is usually less complex, it will require less labor, and therefore, might cost less. In addition to that, a flat roof is a great choice because it can actually enhance your home’s curb appeal and make it stand out among the steep-slope homes in your neighborhood.

Gambrel Style Roof  

A gambrel roof is sometimes also known as barn roof, mostly because this style is commonly found on barns. Lately, however, many homeowners are discovering the unique and rustic characteristics of gambrel roofs.

Gambrel roofs have two sides, each with two slopes that come down the sides of the home and form a bulky frame.

The upper slope on each side is gentler and shallower, and can, therefore, make an excellent space for a room or storage space at the top of the house. The lower slopes hang over the sides of your home and are much steeper, thus allowing rainwater to drain easily and efficiently.

However, due to the gentler slopes on the top, this kind of roof is more suitable for areas with milder climates that receive very little snow and fewer storms.

Gable Roof

A gable roof is one of the more classic roofing styles and one of the most popular styles for residential roofing systems.

Gable roofs have a triangular shape where there are two slopes on the opposite sides, forming a ridge on the top. A gable roof is one of the oldest roofs in the U.S., and with it, your home will blend in naturally with the rest of the houses in your neighborhood.

Thanks to their simple design, these roofs are less demanding to build than other types of roofs, and their installation usually comes at lower rates.

AGable roofs are also ideal for areas with a lot of precipitation as water and snow can easily slide off. However, high winds and hurricanes will be more difficult to resist, which is why another roofing style may be a better option for hurricane-prone areas.

Hip Roof

We can say that a hip roof is an enhanced version of a gable roof. It is very similar to it in shape, but instead of two slopes, it has four slopes, one on each side of the house. These four slopes come together at the top to form a ridge along the center of the roof.

As opposed to a hip roof, a gable roof can resist winds and hurricanes much better, precisely thanks to its four slopes. In addition to that, without any flat parts or intersects, the water or snow cannot stay and pool on the roof.

This type of roof is sturdy and durable, and an additional benefit is the possibility of creating a living space in the top area of your home.

Skillion Roof

If you are looking for a modern-looking and unique roof, then this one-surface or mono-pitched roof, as it is also known, is a great choice.

A skillion roof has only one flat surface that slopes to one side of the home. However, it should not be confused with a flat roof because a skillion roof is highly pitched and steep. This allows rain and snow to shed off fairly easily and thus eliminates any possibility of pooling.

A skillion roof will undoubtedly increase your curb appeal, and in addition to that, it is also one of the more affordable roofing styles. Due to its single slope, a skillion roof requires less labor, which means that its installation will also cost less.

Dome Roof

A dome roofing style is not a very common stylistic option, but it certainly is a very interesting one.

If you’re looking for an alternative to all the standard types and styles of roofing systems, or if you want to make your home unique and different in design, then dome roof design is an excellent choice.

As the name itself indicates, these roofs are in the form of a dome, which makes them highly resistant to wind and bad weather conditions. They will shed off snow and rain very easily, so there is no risk of pooling water.

However, these types of roofs are complex and costly to construct, which is why you will not see many residential homes around with such a design.

Saltbox Roof

Saltbox roofs are the typical roofing style of colonial and traditional New England style houses. The distinctive feature of saltbox roofs is that they have two slopes on the opposite sides, but they are unequal in size.

One of the slopes is always much longer and steeper than the other one, which is also why these houses usually have two stories on one side and only one story on the other side.

Due to their distinctive design, they will make your home look unique and undoubtedly increase your curb appeal.

Which Style to Choose?

These are only a handful of examples of roofing styles you can choose from, as there are many more. It is probably best to first understand what type of roofing styles will hold up against the weather in your area and then choose the design you want.

Your local roof replacement contractors will be happy to help you reach the best decision, as well as install your new roof professionally and efficiently.