A gable roof is a

roof A roof (: roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of tempera ...

consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of

rafter A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members such as Beam (structure), steel beams that extend from the ridge or hip to the wall plate, downslope perimeter or eave, and that are designed to support the roof Roof shingle, shingles, ...

s, roof trusses or

purlin A purlin (or historically purline, purloyne, purling, perling) is a longitudinal, horizontal, structural member in a roof. In traditional timber framing there are three basic types of purlin: purlin plate, principal purlin, and common purlin. P ...

s. The pitch of a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

roof can vary greatly.

Distribution

The gable roof is so common because of the simple design of the roof timbers and the rectangular shape of the roof sections. This avoids details which require a great deal of work or cost and which are prone to damage. If the pitch or the rafter lengths of the two roof sections are different, it is described as an 'asymmetrical gable roof'. A gable roof on a church tower (gable tower) is usually called a 'cheese wedge roof' (''Käsbissendach'') in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Its versatility means that the gable roof is used in many regions of the world. In regions with strong winds and heavy rain, gable roofs are built with a steep pitch in order to prevent the ingress of water. By comparison, in alpine regions, gable roofs have a shallower pitch which reduces wind exposure and supports snow better, reducing the risk of an uncontrolled avalanche and more easily retaining an insulating layer of snow. Gable roofs are most common in cold climates. They are the traditional roof style of New England and the east coast of Canada.

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...

’s '' The House of Seven Gables'' and

Lucy Maud Montgomery Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with '' Anne of Green Gables''. Sh ...

’s ''

Anne of Green Gables ''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...

'', the authors of which are from these respective regions, both reference this roof style in their titles.

Pros and cons

Gable roofs have several advantages. They are: * Inexpensive * May be designed in many different ways. * Are based on a simple design principle. * More weather-resistant than flat roofs * May allow an

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

to be turned into living space if the pitch is sufficient to at least allow

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a Roof pitch, pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the ...

s. A steeper pitch will be sufficient on its own. Disadvantages: * Gable roofs are more prone to wind damage than

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...

German terminology

In German-speaking countries, the types of gable roof are referred to as: * Shallow gable roof (''flaches Satteldach'') with a pitch of ≤ 30° * New German (''neudeutsches Dach'') or angled roof (''Winkeldach'') with a pitch of 45° * When the pitch it greater than 62° it is called a Gothic (''gotisches'') or Old German roof (''altdeutsches Dach'') * If the roof has the shape of an equilateral triangle and 60° pitch it is called an Old Franconian (''altfränkisches'') (commonly found in the region of

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

) or Old French roof (''altfranzösisches Dach'')Willibald Mannes, Franz-Josef Lips-Ambs: ''Dachkonstruktionen in Holz'', Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1981, .

References

External links

{{Authority control Roofs

Distribution

Pros and cons

German terminology

See also

References

External links