builderbill

Hip Roof Addition

Here is a hip roof question from Connie N. in Loogootee, IN.  She says-

"Hi! We have a traditional ranch style home with a hip roof.  I would like to put a porch across the front of the house but my hubby says that it cannot go the full span because of the hip roof.  I think it is possible.  Could you help?
Thanks from Loogootee, IN."



Thanks for this Connie, you have made me do a bit of thinking.  I scratched my head a bit and then took a pencil from behind my ear and did a couple sketches on the back of a piece of sandpaper.  (Just kidding:-)  Here's how I see it.


To the right is a sketch of a hip roof.
I have drawn it with a bit of overhang at the eaves and a 30 deg. pitch.

hip roof addition
Here's the same roof again, with a simple 10 deg. roof extension off it.

This is the easiest way to extend a roof, but unless the house and main roof is built up quite high, and there is a step down to the porch, you very soon run out of head room. Depends how wide the porch will be.

I hate seeing low roof extensions done  like this, just because it was easier and a bit cheaper.
extension to a roof
Where I live we can of course just lift it up higher than the eaves of the house and let the hot air flow out of the top.   roof extension
I am guessing a bit here, but I think Connie's old man is thinking somewhere along these lines.  
By just keeping a plain one surface roof, at the same 10 deg. pitch and keeping the eaves the same height to maintain headroom, he will have to make it a bit shorter so that there is no foul up at the hips.

This means there could be a vertical face each side of the roof extension, which is OK I suppose.

 
roof extension
My philosophy when doing something like this falls into two different parts.

Make it look like it grew there.  In other words make it match the old house just as though it was built with the house originally.

Otherwise make a complete feature of it, make it look different.

To the right is what I'd do to make it look in harmony with the rest of the house, using two hips that are extensions of the side hips of the main house.
hip roof
So here's a thumbnail sketch of what I would probably do, which is the full
length of the house.  It sure is possible Connie!
hip roof

This way of extending a hip roof at a shallower pitch than the main one is a common feature of many beautiful old Queensland  homes.

High ceilings to the main house , with a wide verandah all around.  Totally functional in their day they made for an easy relaxed lifestyle.

On cattle stations in the outback there are many of these traditional designs where they just spread out, no lack of space out there.

Today we seem intent on air conditioners and small block sizes.





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