Gambrel (“Barn”)

The most common style of garage roof is the gable. The roof has two symmetrical slopes that meet to form a triangle over the door. Simple to frame and relatively inexpensive to build, gable-style garages drain easily and have good load-bearing capacity.

Although gambrel roofs (pictured above) are tougher to frame than gables, they provide much more space for storage or even a loft. The roof is essentially gable style, but instead of only one slope on each side it has two, which is what contributes to the extra headroom.

Hip

Hip roof–style garages (shown at right) provide the most protection from the elements because they offer a generous overhang on all four sides of the structure. Hip roofs are four sided, with all four sides sloping up to the apex and ending in either a point or a small platform. They’re less commonly seen, however, because the shape not only decreases upper storage but the roof itself is also more difficult to frame than either a gable- or gambrel-style roof.

Reverse Gable

A reverse-gable garage (shown at left) is a gable-style garage with the door relocated to accommodate the style of the house and the orientation to the street.

Reverse-gable garages have the door under the eaves, on the long wall, rather than under the gable. This allows the driveway to come in straight from the street instead of curving around to the gabled end. Otherwise, reverse- gable garages offer the same storage and load-bearing capacity as regular gable garages. 

Sunset’s Sheds and Garages
Combining design inspiration with construction how-to, Sheds and Garages features 12 projects for backyard builders, from simple to advanced, that complement a variety of architectural styles and explain in layman’s terms the necessary tools and mater