Tudor Gable Roof Home Styles

The Cross-Gable Roof

• When designing your Tudor home, a characteristic gable roof is the first consideration to achieve the overall architectural style. Opt for a roof design that is pitched at an extreme angle; in snowy climates, you'll appreciate this element of the traditional Tudor design. For the full Tudor look, the roof will need a dramatic cross where two gables meet, which gives the house's facade its characteristic look with one of the roof beams jutting towards the front facade and another running parallel to it. For the roofing itself you can emulate the look of traditional thatched roofing used in medieval England. Instead of using actual thatch, evoke the same look with contemporary roofing that rolls around the eaves, softening its appearance.

Gabled Dormers

• Adding gabled dormers will give your Tudor home an added touch of authenticity. If your home doesn't have a cross-gable roof but you'd like to update its look to resemble a Tudor home, simply adding gabled dormers can effectively change the roof style without presenting complex structural issues or costing a fortune. Whereas a full cross-gabled roof is essentially composed of two intersecting roof lines, a gabled dormer is like a smaller version of the intersecting gable. In addition, adding gabled dormers to your upper story will give the rooms inside additional light and ventilation. According to CalFinder.com, a four-foot gable dormer costs around $3,000 as of January 2011. The exact price varies widely, depending on your location and preferred building materials.

Parapeted Gables

• Among Tudor homes, the parapeted gable is a relatively unusual feature of one subset of the aesthetic, the Jacobean or Jacoban style. A parapet is a tower structure, usually topped with a cone-shaped roof. When used on a house, it adds a rounded form, providing an alternative shape for the rooms indoors, ideal for dining or living rooms. Apart from the parapet itself, a Jacobean roof is relatively flat, compared with the highly sloped cross-gabled roof more typical of the Tudor style.To finish off a Tudor house along specifically Jacobean lines, add columns and pilasters to the facade in addition to the parapets.