Mansard Roof Description

The steep lower portion often features dormer windows.

Mansard roof description.

Mansard roofs can help create a great deal of extra living space. A mansard roof also known as a french roof is a four sided roof with a double slope on each side that meet forming a low pitched roof. The ends may alternately attach to the base flashing where a change in roof slope occurs. In basic terms a mansard roof has 4 sides with each side bearing two slopes.

The lower slope is so steep that it can look like a vertical wall with dormers. Simply put the mansard roof also known as the french roof or curb roof is a hybrid between a gambrel roof and a hip roof. Both of the aforementioned roof types can provide extra attic space or other room without building an entire additional floor. When napoleon iii ruled france 1852 to 1870 paris became a city of grand boulevards and monumental buildings.

A mansard roof has two slopes on each of the four sides. The lower slope is much steeper than the upper. The sides can either be flat or curved depending on the style. They do however have a slight pitch one that enables water run off and drainage.

The steep roof with windows creates an additional floor of habitable space a garret and reduces the overall height of the roof for a given number of habitable stories. It was widely used in renaissance and baroque french architecture. This roof type a combination of hip and gambrel roofs consists of a double sloping roof. The second empire style eisenhower executive office building in washington dc has a high mansard roof.

The shorter upper slopes not visible from the ground give the appearance of a flat roof. Flat roof shapes as the name suggests look completely flat to the naked eye. Mansard roofs come in a variety of shapes the most common being straight angle convex and concave silhouettes. The lower slope is steep enough to sometimes appear vertical.

If you are not familiar with a gambrel roof then let us first explain its architecture in brief. Mansard roofs are for the most part based on standing seam or batten seam construction. A mansard roof has no gables. You can consider gambrel roof to be a modified version of a gable roof.

The mansard roof is a hipped gambrel roof thus having two slopes on every side. What distinguishes a second empire style house from an italianate is its high mansard roof. A mansard or mansard roof also called a french roof or curb roof is a four sided gambrel style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope punctured by dormer windows at a steeper angle than the upper. The upper slope has a low pitch and is not easily seen from the ground.

The lower ends of the pans are typically hooked over an edge strip to form a drip.