Reference
Every common residential roof shape, drawn the way a contractor sketches them and explained in terms that matter: what it costs to reroof, how it behaves in wind, and what to watch for. Most houses combine two or three of these; identify each section and you can measure and price the whole thing.
also called: peaked, pitched
Two planes meeting at a ridge, the default American roof. Cheapest to build and reroof, easy to ventilate (soffit to ridge), sheds water and snow well. The flat gable end walls catch wind, so edge nailing and rated shingles matter in storm country.
All four sides slope to the walls, meeting at hips and a shorter ridge. Aerodynamically the best common shape in high wind (insurers in hurricane states often discount for it). Costs more than a gable: more cuts, more waste, more hip cap, and ventilation needs more thought with less ridge to vent.
also called: gablet
A hip roof with a small gable perched on top: hip wind behavior below, gable venting and light above. Looks great, frames busy. Extra ridge, extra hips, and the little gable walls all add flashing and cut waste, so expect the complex waste factor.
also called: barn roof
Two pitches per side: steep below, shallow above. Buys a nearly full second floor without full second-story framing, which is why barns and Dutch colonials wear it. The pitch break is a flashing detail that must be done right, and the steep lower slopes earn steep-labor charges.
also called: French roof
Steep, almost wall-like lower slopes on all four sides under a nearly flat top. The lower slopes are finished like siding-grade roofing (often with dormers punched through); the hidden top is a low-slope roof that needs membrane, not shingles. Two systems, two skill sets, one roof.
also called: skillion, mono-pitch
One plane, sloping one way. The simplest roof there is, common on modern builds, additions, and porches. Check the pitch before assuming shingles: plenty of shed roofs sit below 2/12, which is membrane or standing seam territory, and the tall-wall side takes the weather.
Never actually flat: a proper one slopes at least 1/4 inch per foot to drains or scuppers. Residential versions live on modern designs, rowhouses, and additions, and they wear membranes (EPDM, TPO, modified bitumen). Ponding water 48 hours after rain is the failure sign to watch.
A gable with one short slope and one long one running down over a rear addition, colonial New England to the bone. The long slope is a big uninterrupted plane (easy), but the asymmetry complicates ventilation paths and the low rear eave takes ice dams in snow country.
The roof is the building: two steep planes running nearly to the ground. Sheds snow like nothing else, which is why ski cabins wear it. Everything is steep-labor, every fastener is overhead work, and the shingle field is enormous relative to the floor plan below it.
also called: inverted gable
Two planes sloping inward to a center valley: mid-century modern showpiece and a drainage engineering exercise. All the water concentrates in one internal valley with an internal drain, so the membrane, the valley detail, and the overflow plan carry the whole design.
A hip roof on a square plan with no ridge at all: four triangles to a point. Common on bungalows, pool houses, and gazebos. Excellent in wind, awkward to ventilate (no ridge for a ridge vent), and everything is a hip cut, so waste runs higher than the size suggests.
Using this page
The complexity tag on each shape matches the setting in the roof area calculator, and the "measure this shape" links preset it for you. If your roof mixes shapes, measure the main section first and add the rest; pitch matters more than shape for the math, and the pitch calculator settles that in the attic with a level.
FAQ
The gable, by a wide margin, with hips second and everything else regional. Most real houses are combinations: a gable main roof with a hip section, a shed porch, and a low-slope addition, which is why measuring by section beats one-shape thinking.
Simple gables and sheds. Fewer planes, fewer cuts, less waste, easy staging. Hips add cut waste and cap; dutch gables, mansards, and anything with many valleys and dormers push labor and the waste factor toward 15 percent.
Hips and pyramids. Sloping all four sides gives wind nothing flat to push against, which is why hurricane-state insurers commonly discount hip roofs. Gable ends catch wind; big overhangs and A-frames feel uplift the most.
The requirement (1:150 or 1:300) comes from attic floor area, not shape, but shape decides what hardware works. Long ridges take ridge vents; pyramids and hips have little or no ridge and often need box vents; low-slope sections may need their own approach entirely.
From the manual