Benefits of a Hip Roof
What is a Hip Roof?
The most common types of roofs are gable and hip roofs. Both styles are two of the simplest roofing designs and arguably the two easiest to implement on a home or building. A hip roof has four slopes that meet at the top, forming a riding. Essentially, the roof is on all four sides of the home, whereas a gable roof is fitted over the front and back of the building, with no slopes on the sides.
The structure and shape of a hip roof is unique and provides homeowners and building owners with a multitude of advantages. When constructing a new roof, considering a hip roof style should be at the top of your list. There’s a reason why it’s among the most popular roofing designs.
Stability
Although a traditional gable roof is a popular design choice, a hip roof style has an advantage over the gable roof you’d find across the pond in Europe and here in North America in the field of stability. The hip roof encases the home with inward slopes on all four sides of the structure, and the way that this is designed solidifies the home against the outer elements.
Think of it as a shell that resists against strong winds, heavy storms, and large amounts of precipitation that can include thick layers of snow or ice. For homes located in tumultuous climates, the hip roof can add extra support and protection against Mother Nature. That could be the difference between costly repairs from storms and never having to worry about your roofing system fail in a weather-related emergency.
Channels Away Water
A roof at its most basic function is meant to keep debris and water out of the home—to offer protection from the outside. A hip roof holds an advantage over other designs in that it is superior in directing water out and away from the home’s foundation entirely. While gutter systems serve as runoff guides on all roof types, the hip roof alone ensures that water and debris are channeled to the gutter system because of the depth of its slope.
The design is one of the most effective in water drainage and will reliably move the runoff into your gutters to prevent moisture penetration. The slanted design will also prevent seepage, baring that the shingles are kept in prime condition. If you are meticulous about having your roofing system inspected, then this shouldn’t be a problem.
Additionally, you can place a gutter system in each bottom section of the roof. Every side of the hip roof can outfit a gutter, so if your property struggles with good drainage, a hip roof equipped with gutter runs on each section will drastically help in alleviating this issue.
More Usable Space
A hip roof offers the ease of extra living space inclusion. It’s not difficult for your contractors to include the addition of a dormer or crow’s nest while implementing the hip roof onto your home. They simply place the structure on the already existing house, cut through the roof for the addition, and plumb pipes and electric into the added space. This gives you more square footage to enjoy thanks to the hip roof design.
Weather Ready
If you live in an area that experiences adverse weather like hurricanes with fearsome winds or cold winters that bring heaping tons of snow and ice, then a hip roof will work in your favor. You’ll see fewer problems caused from the weather with a hip roof, much of playing back to the advantage of its stability and sharp sloping.
Snow doesn’t stand a chance to linger on most hip roofs because of the dramatic slope. This means you can avoid the nuisance of an ice dam and the damage that they cause. Similar to how the hip roof pushes off water with its sharp sloping, snowfall will slide right off, thus helping regulate the internal home temperature and elongate the lifespan of the roof.
Hip roofs are best at negating the effects of strong winds. For regions prone to hurricanes, a hip roof is the solution to stabilize the home against their damage. Contractors will often advise in having a slope of at least 35 degrees to reduce updrift, to which a hip roof design fits the bill.
On roofs with not as much of slope, the wind meets the stalling effect when it breaches over the roof and presses the roof down against the wall plate due to the pressure. A hip roof has a steep enough slope where it moves around issues with a hurricane’s wind updrift completely, which is why you’ll see some homes completely undamaged post-hurricane. The reason is that they have roofs with the best angle to fight against updrift.
Endless Design Options
A hip roof offers homeowners an array of flexible designs that can be implemented into the basic outlined structure. You could include have two different angles, making it into a mansard roof, with one steeper than the other, you could tent the roof with steep slopes that meet at a peak, or you could include a gable roof with a hip and small gable that allows for the easier addition of windows.
This style of roof can also support different types of shingles. You can use nearly any kind of texture or material for a shingle on a hip roof, from slate to clay, and even the traditional asphalt.
Always Go with Professionals for Roof Replacement
When you decide which roofing system is right for your home, always want to go with professionals. This is essential to quality, safety and security. Enjoy your home for years to come knowing there’s a solid roof over your head.
At Feldco Roofing, we provide breakthrough design and triple layer protection to keep your roof insulated throughout the year. For a roof replacement, our installers are factory trained, experienced and professional to get the job done correctly. Speak to a product specialist and get a free quote online today.
