Gambrel And Mansard Roofs

The cross section of a gambrel roof is similar to that of a mansard roof but a gambrel has vertical gable ends instead of being hipped at the four corners of the building.

Gambrel and mansard roofs.

The cross section of a gambrel roof is very similar to that of a mansard roof. Mansard roof type of roof having two slopes on every side the lower slope being considerably steeper than the upper. 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. A gambrel or barn roof is much like mansard in a sense that it has two different slopes.

Although the style was used as early as the mid 16th century in england and italy and was employed by pierre lescot at the louvre it was named for the 17th century architect françois mansart who used it on paris hôtel s. Similar to mansard the lower side of the gambrel roof has an almost vertical steep slope while the upper slope is much lower. A gambrel roof is positioned such that it overhangs the façade of the building. You can consider gambrel roof to be a modified version of a gable roof.

If you are not familiar with a gambrel roof then let us first explain its architecture in brief. A gambrel roof overhangs the façade whereas a mansard normally does not. The difference between the two is that the gambrel only has two sides while the mansard has four. The only significant difference is that a gambrel roof consists of vertical gable ends and is not hipped at the four corners of the building structure.

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.