Gambrel Vs Mansard Roof

In the united states second empire or mansard was a victorian style popular from the 1860s through the 1880s.

Gambrel vs mansard roof.

A mansard is a gable or hipped roof each of which was nodded. 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 has two sides with two slopes and the bottom slope is much steeper than the upper slope. The term gambrel is nowhere to be found nor can i find a translation for in in a dutch dictionary however on one site which details a wide variety of roof shapes we find the following entry for mansard dak dak like the german dach meaning roof.

However a gambrel roof only has 2 sides while a mansard roof has 4 sides. A gambrel roof overhangs the façade whereas a mansard normally does not. The sides can either be flat or curved depending on the style. It is very similar to the gambrel roof style but this style utilizes all four sides of the house.

The lower slope is much steeper than the upper. A gambrel or barn roof is much like mansard in a sense that it has two different slopes. The lower side of the roof will have a steep slope almost vertical while the upper side of the roof will have a much lower slope. You can consider gambrel roof to be a modified version of a gable roof.

Both mansard and gambrel roofs fall under the general classification of curb roofs a pitched roof that slopes away from the ridge in two successive planes. If you are not familiar with a gambrel roof then let us first explain its architecture in brief. This structure is more like a tent. 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.

Similar to mansard the lower side of the gambrel roof has an almost vertical steep slope while the upper slope is much lower. Gambrels are not only seen on top of barns farm houses and log cabins. The hip roof style features straight gentle slopes extending downwards on all four sides to the walls. Here s how to think about the two different slopes.

Mansard roofs were considered especially practical because they allowed usable living quarters to be placed in the attic. The difference between the two is that the gambrel only has two sides while the mansard has four. When it comes to technical terms you can call a mansard roof to be a four sided hip style gambrel roof. For this reason older buildings were often remodeled with mansard roofs.

However the mansard is a curb hip roof with slopes on all sides of the building and the gambrel is a curb gable roof with slopes on only two sides.