A hipped roof has four sides that slope towards the eaves and is used in architecture worldwide. It creates a uniform, solid look and requires less support. Variations include the mansard roof and dormers. Hipped roofs resist high winds well, making them popular in hurricane and winter storm-prone areas.
A hipped roof is a style of roof where the roof has four sides that all slope towards the eaves. Hip roofs, as they are also called, are used in architecture around the world and there are a number of variations on the basic design. This type of roof can be a little difficult to build, but it requires less support and reinforcement than other roof types and creates a very uniform, solid look that some people find aesthetically pleasing.
In a square-plan house, the hipped roof looks like a pyramid placed on top of the house. The roof slope is often gentle to avoid creating a sharp point at the top of the roofline. Rectangular houses have two trapezoidal sections meeting to create a roofline, with smaller triangular sections on the short sides of the house meeting with the sides of the trapezoid to form a hipped roof. In homes with irregular floor plans, a hipped roof can be created with a series of shapes that create a series of peaks and valleys.
A variation on the hipped roof is the mansard roof. In a mansard roof, each side of the roof actually has two sections. The bottom is very steep and the top is quite low. The mansard roof design solves one of the most common problems with the hipped roof, namely the lack of space under the roof. This design can be used when people want to create usable space on the attic or upper floors.
The hipped roof can also be mixed with dormers. Dormers can vary in size, shape and style, creating more space under the roof and generating more visual interest. Since a hipped roof can feel a bit boxy or chunky, dormers can also visually interrupt the roofline, making a home seem less cluttered. Dormers also provide a way for more light to enter the structure, which can be useful when the design of a home is a little dark.
While the hipped roof can create a disadvantage because there isn’t much headroom under the roof, it does have one distinct advantage, that it tends to resist high winds better than other roof types. In regions where hurricanes and winter storms are common, hipped roofs can be very popular, as they are more likely to survive. The roof offers minimal wind resistance and the solid design helps it hold onto the walls.
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