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Building Architectural Styles Based on Roof Shapes
- POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about how to identify different types of roof architectural styles as an aid to describing the age and architecture of a building.
Photo & sketch dictionary of roof architectural styles:
How to recognize residential building roof shapes, roof architectural styles, building siding materials, window types and systems, and roof dormer shapes and architectural styles.
We also recognize that not every building fits a perfect textbook name or class, building are mixed, mashed, and sometimes. We describe clues that can help sort out combined style buildings. Page top sketch courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection, education & report writing tool company [ carsondunlop.com ].
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
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Relation of Roof Form to Architectural Style
One rapid means to tracking down the architectural style of a building is to look at the general building shape, starting with its roof. Using Field Guide to American Houses (see References) as a starting point, adding extensively from our own notes and photographs, we list below common roof forms and the architectural styles most likely to be associated with that roof design.
[Click to enlarge any image]
Roof Form Photo |
Roof Form Name |
Common Architectural Styles |
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Arched or Bell Gabled Roof [Click to enlarge any image] |
Very wide gell gabled roof, Vassar College, NY |
| (Photo wanted - Contact Us) | Bell Gabled Roof | |
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Centered Gable
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Gothic Revival style More about the Justin Morrill Smith home can be seen |
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Centered Gable using perpendicular central element | Gothic Revival style architecture (left, English Perpendicular Gothic style, Vassar College Library, 1905, Poughkeepsie, NY, Allen & Collens Architects) |
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Centered Gable Moderate or Varied Slope |
Colonial Revival style Georgian style (left, Georgian eclectic, Rockefeller Hall, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, includes Tudor/Elizabethan elements, Edward York, Philip Sawyer, architects, 1897) Adam style Beaux Arts style |
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Centered Gable Low Pitch |
Italianate style Italian Renaissance |
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Cross-Gabled or gable front and wings roof form, steep sloped roof |
|
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Cross Gabled, moderate or varied pitch roof | Carpenter Gothic (1870 - 1910) (left, Rhinebeck NY) |
| (Photo wanted - Contact Us) | Cross-Gabled low pitch roof | Craftsman style architecture Spanish Eclectic style Greek Revival style architecture Monterey style |
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Dormer roofs | Photo: Dormer roof windows, Wolvercote, Oxford, U.K. |
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Arched Dormer Roofs | Photo: arched dormer roofs in a Mansard, Genoa, Italy Bell gabled dormers |
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Eyebrow Dormer Roof | Photo: eyebrow dormer window Roof dormers as architectural features are described separately at ROOF DORMER TYPES - Photo Guide |
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Front Gabled or Tri-Gable, steep pitch | Gothic Revival style (1835 - 1880) |
| (Photo wanted - Contact Us) | Front Gabled or Tri-Gabled, moderate or varied pitch | National Folk style Shingle style architecture Folk Victorian style Neoclassical style architecture Colonial Revival (rare) |
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Cross-Gabled Roof, moderate pitch | Photo: Cross-gabled or tri-gabled roof, Norway Greek Revival (1815 - 1840) |
| (Photo wanted - Contact Us) | Front Gabled or Tri-Gabled, low slope | Greek Revival (1815 - 1840) Italianate style Craftsman style Spanish Eclectic (rare) |
| (Photo wanted - Contact Us) | Neck Gabled Roof | |
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Shed roofs, low slope | |
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Side Gabled, steep pitch | Tudor style architecture Gothic Revival style Stick style, triangular gable Queen Anne style French Colonial style Postmidieval English / Timber Frame(Left, Stuttgart Germany, est. 1640) Adam (Hudson NY, does this belong here?) (Tudor Revival, Pratt House, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY ca 1914) |
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Side Gabled, moderate or varied slope | Cape cod (1710 - 1830 to present) (1940's Poughkeepsie NY) |
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Side Gabled, low slope | Craftsman (left, Poughkeepsie NY) Spanish Eclectic Italianate style (1845 - 1885) Monterey style Greek Revival style Ductch Colonial style Spanish Colonial style Adam style, Hudson NY |
| (Photo wanted - Contact Us) | Stepped Gable roof | |
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Domed Roof, steep pitch, with surrounding gable and shed roofs. | Photo: steep domed roof, Portofino, Genoa |
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Domed roofs, steep slope, arc-sided | Photo: Oslo, Norway |
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Domed Roofs, domes with surrounding flat or low sloped roofs on wings, Palladian windows, or Geodesic domes |
Palladian architecture (1650 - 1670, 1750 - 1820) (see Window Types), Monticello Virgina (1809) |
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Domed Roofs, Geodesic | Geodesic dome roofed modern geodesic dome structure, Holmes NY |
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Domed Roof, Onion Dome | Photo: onion style domed roof, Buenos Aires, Argentina Russian onion dome roof style: луковичная глава, lúkovichnaya glavá |
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Flat Roofed buildings | Beaux arts style |
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Flat Roofed, International style | International architectural style, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY |
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Flat Roofed, Modernistic | Modernistic architectural style, Vassar College, Pougkeepsie, New York, USA |
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French Provincial roof style | French Provincial roof style, sporting ribbon slate, Pougkeepsie, New York, USA |
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Gable Facade, Simple | Simple triangular gable facade - on the 15th century Wooden House, Begijnhof in Amsterdam Original source: h msterdamforvisitors.com/the-wooden-house-at-begijnhof |
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Gambrel Roof | Dutch Colonial style (left, this is a kit home) Shingle style architecture Colonial Revival style architecture Georgian style architecture |
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Gambrel Roof, dormers | Dutch Colonial style architecture(1940's Poughkeepsie NY) |
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Hipped Roof with Cross Gables | Queen Anne style, Photo: Vassar College, Poughkeepsie New York, USA Richardsonan Romanesque (left, Romanesque revival, Ely Hall - Alumnae Gymnasium, William M. Tubby, architect, 1889, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie NY) Shingle style |
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Hipped roof with ridge, steep slope, varied slope at eaves | Photo: Molde, Norway |
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Hipped Roof, with ridge, moderate pitch, varied slope | Photo: Temple/gate Seoul, Korea, ca 1966 French Eclectic style architecture |
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Hipped Roof, with ridge, moderate or varied pitch | Colonial Revival style architecture |
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Hipped Roof, with ridge, low pitch | Italianate style architecture Adam style architecture Greek Revival style architecture Italian Renaissance style architecture Spanish Eclectic style architecture Prarie / Mission, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie NY |
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Hipped roof with ridge, very low slope | Photo: Oxford, U.K. |
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Mansard Roof + Dome | Second Empire (left, Main building, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie NY, James Renwick, 1865) Beaux Arts style Richardsonian Romanesque style Mansard style (1855 - 1885) |
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Mansard roof, varied pitch | Photo: red slate mansard roof, Pougkeepsie, New York, USA |
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Mansard roof, regular pitch, steep slope | Photo: regular pitch mansard roof tower Vassar College, Pougkeepsie, New York, USA Bell-gabled dormer windows. |
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Pent or Visor Roofs | Photo: Chester PA Courthouse, 1724 courtesy of Energy Investors Georgian style |
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Pyramid roof | Photo: pyramid roof with vent tower, Key West, Florida, U.S. (Hemingway) |
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Pyramid roof, hipped, steep slope, hexagonal regular slope |
Photo: Oxford, U.K. |
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Pyramid roof, hexagonal, varied slope, varied face dimensions | Photo: Poughkeepsie, New York, USA |
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Pyramid Roof (hipped, no ridge), steep pitch | Photo: Thatched pyramid roof, La Manzanilla, Mexico Chateauesque style architecture |
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Pyramid Roof (hipped, no ridge), moderate or varied pitch | National Folk style architecture Colonial Revival style architecture Neoclassical style Folk Victorian style Mission style |
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Pyramid Roof (hipped, no ridge) Low slope/pitch |
Photo: Mahr gazebo with low sloped pyramid roof Prarie style |
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Quonset Roofs | Utilitarian buildings, 1940 |
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Salt Box, varied pitch | Photo: Machy-Colby House, Amesbury MA, USA, ca 1651, courtesy of Wikipedia Saltbox (1700-1770) |
Roof dormers as architectural features are described separately at Roof Dormer Types - Photo Guide.
Readers should see ARCHITECTURE & BUILDING COMPONENT ID for illustrations of building architectural types shown here are provided courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection, education & report writing tool company [ carsondunlop.com ].
Readers should see the additional photo and drawing guides to building architectural styles in the links listed at page top or at the MORE READING links at the bottom of this article
see ARCHITECTURE & BUILDING COMPONENT ID for illustrations of building architectural types, roof shapes, dormers, windows, and other architectural features.
Also see AGE of a BUILDING, HOW to DETERMINE where we illustrate many building styles, materials, and components, as well as individual building component links listed at
the ARTICLE INDEX the bottom of this article .
At FIELD GUIDES TO NORTH AMERICAN HOUSE ARCHITECTURE we list (and you can buy at Amazon) books we have found particularly helpful in identifying architectural style
Details About Roof Shapes, Types, Materials
See the page top sketch of basic roof shapes, courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection, education & report writing tool company [ carsondunlop.com ].
See our photo-table guide to the Relation of ROOF FORM to Architectural Style above.
For a full list of roofing materials, including roof covering identification photos, (asphalt shingle, cement asbestos shingles, roll roofing, slate roofing, wood shingle roofs, wood shake roofs, etc), & identification photos as well as roof inspection, diagnosis, repair,
see ROOFING DIAGNOSIS INSPECTION & REPAIR
...
Continue reading at CHIMNEY ARCHITECTURAL STYLES - Photo Guide or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.
Or see these
Recommended Articles
- ARCHITECTURE & BUILDING COMPONENT ID - home
- CLAY TILE ROOFING - home
- LOW SLOPE ROOFING - home
- MEMBRANE & SINGLE PLY ROOFS
- METAL ROOFING - home
- ROOF DORMER TYPES - Photo Guide
- ROOFING INSPECTION & REPAIR - home
- ROOFING MATERIALS, AGE, TYPES
- SLATE ROOF INSPECTION & REPAIR - home
- STONE ROOFING
- THATCH ROOFING
- TILE ROOFING - home
- WOOD SHAKE & SHINGLE ROOFING - home
Suggested citation for this web page
ROOF ARCHITECTURAL STYLES at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.
Or see this
INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING ARCHITECTURE
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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING DAMAGE, DISASTER, REPAIRS
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Citations & References
In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.
- Vassar College Architecture, Main Building, James Renwick, Jr., architect, William Harloe, builder, Second Empire style, http://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/buildings-grounds/buildings/main-building/
- Vassar College, Maryann Bruno, Elizabeth A. Daniels, Arcadia 2001 ISBN 0-7385-0454-8
- Vassar College, The Campus Guide, an Architectural Tour, Karen Van Lengen, Lisa Reilly, Princeton Architectural Press, 2004, ISBN 1-56898-349-2
- Main to Mudd, and More, Elizabeth A. Daniels Poughkeepsie, NY, 1996.
- Historical Sketch of Vassar College, Benson Lossing, New York, 1876.
- "Field Guide to Old House styles", the Old-House Journal, 1979 (pamphlet), http://www.oldhousejournal.com/
Some of the estimated dates or years of original construction listed with the architectural and roof styles in this article are also presented in this pamphlet. - Soiling and Cleaning of Building Facades (RILEM Report), L.G.W. Verhoef (Editor), Routledge; 1 edition (November 3, 1988), ISBN-10: 0412306700, USBN-13: 978-0412306709
The report of a comprehensive investigation by RILEM which examines all aspects of the cleaning of facades, subject to soiling by both biological and non-biological agencies. The contributors are international authorities working in this field giving essential advice to all those who need to know how to approach the problems connected with the soiling and cleaning of building facades. - In addition to citations & references found in this article, see the research citations given at the end of the related articles found at our suggested
CONTINUE READING or RECOMMENDED ARTICLES.
- Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. Tel: (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 Email: info@carsondunlop.com. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The HOME REFERENCE BOOK - the Encyclopedia of Homes and to use illustrations from The ILLUSTRATED HOME .
Carson Dunlop Associates provides extensive home inspection education and report writing material. In gratitude we provide links to tsome Carson Dunlop Associates products and services.
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