Mansard Roof Drainage

The steep sided style and the double pitched styles are the two primary styles of mansard roofs.

Mansard roof drainage.

The drainage system of water and snow makes the key distinction between these two styles. Advantages of mansard roof. It provides extra usable space. Design mansard roofs often look dated out of place in a neighborhood or don t match historical details of a dwelling.

Gravity unsightly and unsafe most roofing materials are dragged down by gravity. This means that large amounts of water can end up standing on your roof which can cause leaks and mold growth inside your home. Water could then pour off overhanging roof eaves onto the ground below or in more sophisti cated assemblies flow toward the perimeter and into a clay wood or metal gutter system or through a drainage outlet in the exterior walls. The steep sides mansard roof mostly consist of a sharp point at the top of the roof.

The steep sided roof allows better drainage as it has sharper and longer slopes. More prolonged and sharper slopes are better for the efficient drainage system. On the other hand the style of the double pitched drainage system forms the most reasonable one comparatively. Although the creation of the mansard roof is accredited to françois mansart 1598 1666 he was not the first to implement this roof architecture.

A history lesson on mansard roofs. Drainage and rot water issues with drainage rot and interruptions of the mansard roofline for windows and doors. In france and germany no distinction is made between gambrels and mansards they are both called mansards. The longer and sharper the slopes are the better will be the drainage system.

On the other hand the traditional double pitch mansard roof can produce only reasonable drainage from the low pitch area of the roof. The double pitched and steep styles are two main mansard roof styles that are mostly distinct based upon the drainage system of snow and water. A significant difference between the two for snow loading and water drainage is that when seen from above gambrel roofs culminate in a long sharp point at the main roof beam whereas mansard roofs always form a low pitched roof. The design thus ensures even drainage from all the sides.

The key distinction between these two styles is the water drainage system. The same can t be said about the double pitched style which only has an average drainage capability. Mansard roofs are not ideal for areas that receive heavy amounts of rain and snowfall because the second flat slope on the upper portion of the roof does not allow for rapid drainage of runoff.