A mansard roof (aka French or curb roof) gives your home a Tudor or a Cottage look. This type of roof is unique and won’t look like the rest of the roofs in your neighborhood.
Due to its uniqueness, replacing a mansard roof is slightly different from the more common roof styles. That’s why you need to know a few things before going through with your mansard roof replacement.
Because we put such an emphasis on educating homeowners like you, we’re going to break it down.
Since 1990, the team at Bill Ragan Roofing has provided high-quality roofing services on all roof types, including mansard roofs. You can count on our workmanship and attention to detail to give you a roof that lasts for decades. That’s why we’re proud to offer you a lifetime warranty.
By the end of this article, you’ll learn what makes a mansard roof unique and the 3 things you need to know before replacing your mansard roof.
What is a mansard roof?
Before we get to what you need to know about replacing your mansard roof, you need to know what makes this type of roof different. What makes a mansard roof unique is that it’s actually the outer walls of your home as well as the roof.
This means the top story of your home will have the roof (shingles) all the way around instead of just at the top. A mansard roof is as close as you can get to a completely vertical pitch.
It will come out about 2 feet from the bottom, then slant up to the ridge so that there’s still enough of an angle for water to run off into the gutters. While a mansard roof has an interesting look, it still serves the same function as other roofs.
3 things to know before replacing your mansard roof
Now that you know what makes a mansard roof unique, you’re ready to learn a few things before replacing it. For the rest of this article, we’ll be covering the 3 things you need to know before replacing your mansard roof.
1. The steepness of your mansard roof impacts the cost
Roof pitch is simply the angle (steepness) of your roof. Your roof’s pitch will be a ratio that is calculated by the number of inches or feet it rises vertically for every 12 inches or feet it extends horizontally.
For example, a roof that has a 6/12 pitch will be 6 inches (or feet) up for every 12 inches (feet) out. Remember, a mansard roof is almost vertical, which means it has the steepest pitch a roof can have.
You might be wondering why this is important for you to know, but your roof’s pitch actually plays a factor in pricing. Because a mansard roof has an almost vertical pitch, it’s going to have a big impact on the cost of your roof replacement.
The steepness causes the roofing contractor to take extra safety precautions, which means it’ll take more time to complete the job. This extra time adds up, but your roofing contractor takes that into account when coming up with your roof replacement estimate.
Your roof’s pitch is just one factor a roofing contractor considers when figuring out the price of a replacement. To learn the other factors, check out this article on 9 factors that impact the cost of your new roof.
2. You shouldn’t use asphalt shingles for your mansard roof replacement
Finding the right type of roofing materials for your replacement is a big decision to make. If you have a mansard roof, this decision is a little bit easier.
When looking for the right roofing material for your mansard roof replacement, I don’t recommend asphalt shingles. The reason for this is because it’s almost impossible to stop asphalt shingles from sliding down the vertical sides of a mansard roof.
The weight of the shingles is too heavy for them to hang at the pitch of a mansard roof. Even when following the manufacturer’s installation instructions, asphalt shingles will eventually start sliding off.
Your roofing contractor can do everything possible to keep this happening, like using 12 nails and using drops of sealer, but even this won’t stop the shingles from coming down. While you can install asphalt shingles on your mansard roof, I wouldn’t recommend it.
3. The right type of roofing materials for your new mansard roof
You just learned why it’s not recommended to install asphalt shingles on a mansard roof. So, you’re probably wondering which roofing materials are right for your mansard roof replacement.
There are two types of roofing materials I recommend for mansard roofs, synthetic shingles and cedar shake shingles. Synthetic shingles are made out of recycled plastic to look like slate or cedar shake shingles.
(Synthetic slate on a mansard roof)
Synthetic shingles are considered a premium line, so they’ll be more expensive than standard asphalt shingles. However, they won’t slide off the vertical sides of a mansard roof.
The other type of shingles are cedar shakes. Cedar shake shingles are a premium shingle made of natural wood (cedar) materials.
(Cedar shake shingles)
Instead of hammering every individual cedar shake shingle to the vertical sides of the roof, they make a strip of 6 cedar shakes to install as panels. The panels give the look that each shingle was installed individually.
Like synthetic shingles, they’ll be more expensive than asphalt shingles. Ultimately, it’ll be up to your budget and the look you want when deciding what type of shingle to put on your mansard roof.
Ready to find a great roofing contractor for your mansard roof replacement?
You just learned the 3 things to know about replacing your mansard roof. If you think it’s the right time for a new roof, you’re ready to start the replacement process.
The first step of this process is to find a great local roofing contractor. Unfortunately, there are a lot of roofing companies out there and it can be hard to find the right one.
This leaves a lot of homeowners asking, “How do I spot a great roofing contractor from all the options that are in my area?” That comes down to asking the right questions and getting the right answer back.
Because we want everyone to find a great right roofing contractor in their area, we’re going to give you these questions.
The team at Bill Ragan Roofing has provided high-quality roofing services to the residents of Nashville and surrounding areas since 1990. Whether you need roof repairs, a replacement, maintenance, or skylight services, you can count on us to provide you an experience rare in the roofing industry. If you’re local to Nashville, don’t hesitate to contact us for any of your roofing needs.
To learn the main questions you need to ask a potential roofing company, check out this article on the Top 8 Questions To Ask A Roofing Contractor.
