Hip Roof Design Styles

Simple

• Choose a simple hip roof design style for your home if you live in an area known for high winds, so you don't have to worry about wind whipping or lifting up your roof materials and blowing them off your house.

  Select this style, also, if your home is a structure in which two sides are longer in length than the other two sides, as polygon shapes will fit those two longer sides and the two shorter sides will be a good fit for the triangle-shaped portion of the hip roof.

Pyramid

• Put a pyramid hip roof on your home if all four sides of your home have the same measurement in length. This hip roof design style will consist of a singular pyramid for each side of the home, slanting upward until they each meet in a specific point at the top of your house. Pyramid hip roof designs, as well as other hip roof styles, are recommended in geographical areas that experience hurricanes. This is because the steepness of your pyramid hip roof makes it harder for the strong winds experienced in hurricanes to get up under your roof tiles when they are angled this way, according to Roof 101.

Cross-Hipped

• Your home may not be a typical square shape. It may have the standard base structure with an added-on section that juts away from the rest of the house, similar to an "L" or "T" shape. If so, put a cross-hipped roof design on this type of home. Like the simple and pyramid styles of hip roofs, this one will prevent strong winds or hurricanes from stripping off the roof from your dwelling. In addition, the cross-hipped design style, like the other hip roofs, are good choices for homeowners building in areas with strong sunlight or snowfall conditions, as they protect your home better from these elements due to the roof's unique shape.

  Cross-hipped roof design styles don't have just two triangles and two polygons; they also have an additional roof section (or seam) known as a "valley." This section connects the two roofs while still maintaining a hip roof design.

Half-Hipped

• The half-hipped roof design looks exactly like the simple hip roof on the two longest sides, with overhangs on each. But it differs on the two smaller sides, resembling the gable roof style more. The two shorter sides of this roof style have eaves, offering protection from rain.

  Half-hipped and other hip roofs have some common disadvantages: they offer less attic space and make it more difficult for repair personnel to maneuver in the limited area.