Hip Roof, Gable Roof or Flat Roof Carports -what are the advantages?
One of the most common questions new customers ask is Hip Roof, Gable Roof or Flat Roof Carports -what are the advantages? It’s probably best to explain what these carport roof terms mean when looking at the pros and cons of each metal carport roof design. There are many different manufacturers in Australia, most use inferior imported steel to keep prices down but even the best manufacturers, like Lysaght (a division of Bluescope/Colorbond) do not manufacture to Australian minimum standards! If you want best value and something absolutely guaranteed to be up to Australian Standard in sheds or carports, then your only choice is Professional Choice Sheds, Carports and Awnings. We’ll start with one of the most popular carport roof designs in Australia; the hip roof carport to understand why it’s so popular.
Hip Roof Carports
A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof carport, has a roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly slope. A hip roof carport has no gables or other vertical sides to the roof.
A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid but you can also have a rectangular Hip roof on carports so you could have two triangular sides and two trapezoidal ones. A hip roof on a rectangular plan has four faces and a flat top. They are almost always at the same pitch or slope, which makes them symmetrical about the centre-lines. The standard pitch on the hip roof carport is 22 degrees although this can be ‘customised’ to be steeper. Hip roof carports often have a consistent level fascia, meaning that a gutter can be fitted all around.
Advantages and disadvantages to the Hip Roof Carport
A hip roof carport is self-bracing, requiring less diagonal bracing than a gable roof carport. Hip roof carports are thus much better suited for high wind or cyclonic regions than gable roofs. Hip roofs have no large, flat, or slab-sided ends to catch wind and are inherently much more stable than gable roofs.
Easier Installation
Generally, Hip roof carports are a little more difficult to construct, but the state-of-the-art engineering with Q-Reader help makes the job easy even with a slightly more complex system of purlins or trusses. Usually they are more expensive than gable roof or skillion carport but again, Professional Choice will supply at around the same price … and they will be 30% heavier than anything else on the market! Tradesmen who know about building will almost always choose a hip roof carport for their own use. They look great and the extra durability guarantees a long life.
Dutch Gable Carport or Dutch Roof Carports
The Dutch gable carport is a variation on a hip roof carport. The name Dutch gable roof is used in Australia and the USA. In the UK they are usually called a gablet roof carport.
Basically, the Dutch gable carport is a hip roof carport with a small gable (the gablet) above it. Apart from looking great, often with a two colour Colorbond roof, the Dutch Gable carport simplifies the construction of the roof. No girder trusses are required, but it still has level walls and consistent eaves like the hip roof carport.
The advantages and disadvantages of the Dutch gable carport are like the hip roof carport.
Flat roof Carport or Skillion Roof carport
Technically, we do not sell flat roof carports. A Flat roof carport probably does not need any explanation, it’s just a flat Colorbond Roof! In fact, it’s not a flat roof – it is on a slight slope to allow the water to run off into a gutter on one side of the carport and it’s that small angle that makes it a skillion (or sloped) roof carport and not a flat roof!
The Standard Skillion Carport by Professional Choice is simply the best value and strongest carport available in Australia, an incredibly strong and probably the best-made skillion carport in Australia. Unlike most carports, you can retro- fit solar panels to the roof in the ‘solar ready’ design. They are less expensive than a similar Lysaght flat roof carport!
Budget Skillion flat roof carport
The Budget Skillion Carport is 100% Australian made with imported steel and a great value, easily assembled product for the budget-conscious buyer. The solar carport series of single and double carports are skillion or flat roof carports but a much better looking and cheaper option is a Professional Choice solar ready and retro-fit the solar panels after installation.
Advantages and disadvantages- Flat roof or skillion carport
Customers often prefer flat roof carports or skillions roof carports as they should be called, because they
are relatively inexpensive and easy and quick to install. They are not as noticeable in the yard as other roof styles. The cheap skillion carports from some of our large hardware warehouses tend to come in thousands of parts that can take a couple of batteries and a morning’s work to put the pieces together before you start assembling the carport! Obviously, because of their pitch roof, skillion roof carports enable water to drain off effectively.
Gable Roof Carports
The Gable roof carport or gable carport is also one of the most popular styles. Typically, a gable roof is what a child will draw if asked to draw a house. The gable roof carport is the classic, most commonly occurring roof shape in parts of the world where rain and snow is common. The gable roof has two roof sections sloping in opposite directions (upside down V shape). The highest, horizontal edges meet to form the roof ridge. The design of this type of roof is achieved using roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of the roof and the height of the gutters can vary greatly.
Gable Choices
The standard pitch is 15 degrees but can be customised to suit whereas the Budget Gable Carport is 15 degrees. The open front and back of the inverted V shape can be left open or filled in. It is filled in the Budget Gable Roof Carport, but you should order the gable roof with front and rear infill if you want this in the Lysaght gable carport range. If you want a gable twice as strong and less expensive then choose the Professional Choice range of Gable Carports which can be strong enough to retro-fit solar panels on the roof and less expensive than Lysaght.
Advantages and disadvantages to the Gable roof carport
Gable roofs have several advantages. They:-
- are not expensive
- may be designed in many ways and colours for roof, gable ends and guttering.
- are based on a simple design principle.
- and are very weather-resistant
Apart from the most severe cyclonic zones, it’s difficult to identify any real disadvantages to the gable carport design. The Colorbond metal gable carports are easily installed. They are relatively inexpensive, and the colour matches between existing homes, roofs and gable ends can make a very attractive, long-lasting carport.
Hip Roof, Gable Roof or Flat Roof Carports -what are the advantages? This should help you to choose.