What Are the Different Kinds of Roofs?

Types of Roofs

The four major types of roofs you’ll see on most residential buildings are gabled, skillion, hip, or flat roofs.

• Gabled Roofs
  These triangular house-toppers are the most commonly seen and easily shed snow or rain while providing ample room for an attic. If you live in an area with high winds or hurricane-prone, you should opt for a flat roof instead of a gabled one.
• Skillion or Shed Roofs
  These types of roofs sport one steep angle leading from a shorter wall to a taller one. They’re also called half-pitched roofs or angled roofs. A skillion roof doesn’t do well in high-wind areas, and you should opt for a roof with a single seam instead of multiple shingles or tiles.
• Hip Roofs
  With four equal sloping sides coming to one point, a hip roof has a distinctive shape and is excellent for rain and snow drainage. A hip roof can be made of any type of roofing material, but make sure that water doesn’t catch under individual shingles, causing rot or mold.
• Flat Roofs
  With a modern aesthetic, many love the affordability and strong lines of a flat roof. (In fact, “flat” roofs aren’t flat but have a slight pitch to them.) Strong, water-tight roofing material is necessary when choosing a flat roof in PVC, tar, gravel, and metal.

Once you’ve discovered what type of roof you have, you can then determine what type of roofing material you should put on it. Other factors to consider are affordability, longevity, energy efficiency, and durability.

Where you live might also influence what you opt for in the end; if you live in a place that’s often beset with extreme weather events, you should pick a roofing material that can withstand the environment.