"Did You Know?" Know your roof shapes

Much like the UK, roof shapes draw their origins from across Europe. It was the Greeks and Romans who were the first to experiment with roof styles. The Romans introduced slating and tiling to Great Britain as early as 100 BC. Thatch roofs were introduced and implemented around the year 735 AD and it wouldn’t be for another 300 years until wooden shingles were utilized.

It wasn’t until the 12th century that the history of roofing was changed forever under King John, who issued building by-laws for London to eliminate combustible roof coverings and subsequently replace them with clay tiles. This law was passed as a measure against spreading fires and marked the beginning for mass-produced, industrial roofing products and methods.

UK standard roof shapes

Roof shapes differ greatly from region to region. The main factors which influence the shape of roofs are the climate and the materials available for roof structure. Below is five roof shapes detailed common to the UK.

	Gabled Roof; the standard roof shape that is most recognised throughout the UK . It is recognisable by the side walls which continue up to the roof ridge.
	Hipped; slightly more complex than the gabled, a hipped roof has three pitches. Don’t forget your hip tiles.
	Mono-Pitch; a simple single pitch roof. Don’t forget about the ridge line you will need to use mono-ridges to finish.
	Mansard Roof; not to be confused with a Gambrel a Mansard has double pitches on each four sides. This can be tricky so get your measurements right!
	Gambrel; often called a double pitch, as it infers a Gambrel will have a double pitch on both sides

Need help with your measurements don’t forget we do site visits. Contact your local representative for further information