A mansard or mansard roof is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer windows. The steep roofline and windows allow for additional floors of habitable space, and reduce the overall height of the roof for a given number of habitable storeys. The upper slope of the roof may not be visible from street level when viewed from close proximity to the building.
A mansard roof on the Château de Dampierre, by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, great-nephew of François Mansart
Mansard rooftops along Boulevard Haussmann in Paris constructed during the Second French Empire.
The Landed Gentry House in Szczecin, Poland
The Hôtel de Besenval in Paris. The mansard roof was added in 1866.
A gambrel or gambrel roof is a usually symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, while the lower slope is steep. This design provides the advantages of a sloped roof while maximizing headroom inside the building's upper level and shortening what would otherwise be a tall roof, as well as reducing the span of each set of rafters. The name comes from the Medieval Latin word gamba, meaning horse's hock or leg. The term gambrel is of American origin, the older, European name being a curb roof.
Dwelling with gambrel roof in Amityville, New York, made famous by The Amityville Horror.
If the date of construction and the roof of the Henry Bull House was original to the circa 1639 date this would be the oldest known example of a gambrel in America.
Another candidate for oldest gambrel roof, said to be from 1666, Alexander Standish House
The first Harvard Hall, Harvard University, credited to be the oldest known example of a gambrel roof in North America, built c. 1677, burned 1766
