Mansard Slate Roof

Straight mansard slate roof.

Mansard slate roof.

A history lesson on mansard roofs. Slate laid in multicolored decorative patterns was particularly well suited to the mansard roofs of the second empire style the steeply pitch roofs of the gothic revival and high victorian gothic styles and the many prominent roof planes and turrets associated with the queen anne style. 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 mansard or mansard roof also called a french roof or curb roof is a four sided gambrel style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope punctured by dormer windows at a steeper angle than the upper.

That honor would have to go to pierre lescot 1510 1578 who used this roofing style on a part of the louvre museum in the year 1550. Use of dormer windows allows more natural light inside. Dormer windows may be gabled round pointed or rectangular. Aesthetically the design is classic and elegant architects can use multi colored slate.

A type of roof with four sides that each have two slopes the lower one steeper than the upper. Maximizes interior attic space. The design allows for future expansion. Download this free 2d cad block of a slate roof mansard detail including annotations and dimensions.