Mansard Roof

Costs
Durability
History
Popular Roofing and Gutters Topics

Pros and Cons
Questions and Answers
References
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If you want your roof to allow for more interior living space while adding a certain aesthetic appeal to your home, then you may want to consider going with a mansard roof. This roof style has been around for centuries and continues to attract homeowners who want something a bit out of the ordinary. Here is some more information.

Costs

Because of the level of detail involved, mansard roof construction often costs more than other types of roofing. This is due to additional features—multiple window openings and decorative architecture, etc.—used in the traditional 19th and early 20th-century building methods. You can get a few price quotes from local roofers to learn more.

Pros

Mansard roofs provide the most room underneath for additional living space.

They allow for easy expansion (like adding more stories) later on.

Mansard roofs are easy and less expensive to frame than other roof styles.

Cons

Mansard roofs can easily become damaged by the accumulation of ice and snow.

They can make a house look boxy.

Durability

If a mansard roof isn’t properly installed or cared for, it can suffer heavy damage from snow that tends to build up on its flat surfaces. Other than that, the durability depends on the materials used. Ask your contractor how best to care for your mansard roof.

Common Questions and Answers

How can you tell a mansard roof from any other type of roof?

A mansard roof is a type of hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its four sides, with the lower slope being much steeper (almost a vertical wall), while the upper slope, usually not visible from the ground, is pitched at the minimum needed to shed water.

How does a mansard roof allow for additional living space?

Many people use the shape of the mansard roof to build dormers that are set into the lower slope. In fact, dormer window surrounds are considered one of the main contributors to the beauty of the mansard roofs.

Dormers, together with the open framing of the double-sloped design of mansard roofs, provide much more usable interior space than other roof styles.

History

Steep, double-sloped roofs are characteristic of Italian and French Renaissance architecture. The Louvre, originally built in 1546, had high sloping roofs. A century later, the French architect Francois Mansart (1598-1666) used double-sloped roofs so extensively that they were coined mansard—a derivation of Mansart’s name.