Australian Roof Styles

The gable and valley roof is a very popular roof design.

Australian roof styles.

Here are some of the more common roof shapes. Depending on your area s climate and topography here are the australian roof types that you can choose from. A gambrel or a barn roof is much like mansard in a sense that it has two different slopes. Below are australia s five most well known styles of roof.

Australian residential architectural styles have evolved significantly over time from the early days of structures made from relatively cheap and imported corrugated iron which can still be seen in the roofing of historic homes to more sophisticated styles borrowed from other countries such as the victorian style from the united kingdom the georgian style from north america and europe and the californian bungalow from the united states. Hip roofs or hipped roofs are very popular in australia. Collegiate gothic style roof of the sage hall at cornell central campus. A gable has two roof planes with a centre ridge line and is known as a pitched or peaked roof.

These are good all weather. The difference between the two is that the gambrel only has two sides while the mansard has four. This type of roof is the most popular in australia. Interestingly you can mix and match roof styles when building a gable and valley roof designs for a cross footprint home.

Gable roof with eaves exposed decorated rafters and soffits and stepped incrementally ascending apexes. Hip depending on the shape of the house a hipped roof has three four or more pitched planes and all planes slope downwards from a ridge at the top of the roof. A helm roof on the two towers. Similar to mansard the lower side of the gambrel roof has an almost vertical steep slope while the upper slope is much lower.

The pavilion style hails from ludwig mies van der rohe s famous farnsworth house 1951. A hipped roof has 3 or more planes angles in the roof structure. While there are a variety of architectural styles of houses existing in australia today roof types also play a big part in the look of a home. The australian modernist pavilion is well suited to the the australian climate and lifestyle and its low pitched roof is even reminiscent of the white sails that fill our harbours and blue waters on sunny days.

Hip a hipped roof has three four or more pitched planes depending on the shape of the house and all planes slope downwards from a ridge at the top of the roof. Hip roofs also often have shady eaves and offer strength and excellent resistance to strong winds. Hipped roofs often offer shady eaves and great strength which makes them good for high wind rated areas.