Roof Truss Construction in Bungalows

Truss Construction

• Roof trusses, which are triangular, contain metal supports and are often factory-made, support roof decks. To build a truss for a bungalow roof, you have to know the type of bungalow, since bungalows have a variety of roof styles. Most bungalows have gabled or hipped roofs, but some have flat roofs and even saltbox roofs.

Gabled Roof

• Queen Anne Bungalows built between 1885 and 1905 had medium-pitched roofs often with one or two dormer windows. A dormer window protrudes from the slope of a roof. The California Bungalow, sometimes called the California Craftsman, popular between 1900 and 1930, usually had a gabled roof with the gables facing the front. A gabled roof is in the shape of an inverted "V." The gables are at each end. Tudor bungalows, dating from 1890 to 1930, had steeply pitched roofs with gables on the side.

Hipped Roofs

• The Prairie Style bungalow, made popular by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright and dating from 1900 to 1920, had low-pitched roofs, either gabled or hipped, that had widely overhanging eaves. A hipped roof does not have inverted V-shaped gables but rather eaves on all sides. A hipped roof on a rectangular house is roughly the shape of a four-sided pyramid. The Foursquare Bungalow, similar to a Prairie Style bungalow, has a hipped roof with a dormer on the front.

Flat Roofs

• The Pueblo Revival bungalow, dating from 1915 through 1930, has a flat wooden roof beams that extend through the walls. The Streamline Moderne, or Art Deco bungalow, popular between 1930 and 1940, often had flat roofs with rounded curves.

Salt Box Roof

• The Cape Cod bungalow, more commonly called the Cape Cod cottage, had steeply pitched roofs without gables or had a saltbox roof. A salt box roof is a traditional roof with gables in which one side of the roof slopes almost to the ground.