Expert: John Henry Architect - 8/20/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi John
We are in the process of redoing the exterior of our home. We have a ranch with a 4:12 pitch and would like to add front facing gables and dormers but are unsure of the pitch we can add. In the center of the house is our entry where we would like to add a double gable over the porch and extend the entry out 32 feet with limstone pillars. We would also like to maybe add another one on the end of the house. Do you think a 12:12 or 9:12 is too much -we are trying to go with a french country look? any suggestions? It is somewhat long ranch _______------___________________ with these lines.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Rhonda

ANSWER: Hello Rhonda,
You should look at an 8 to 12:12 pitch to see what looks the best.
Construct the new roof over the framing line of the outer walls as your overhangs are too far out to start at that point.  This will give you a 'split pitch' style of roof which would be close to period style as the French did this in different eras.  The pitch of the roof should be proportional to the ground floor floor to ceiling height.  Make sure the roof does not overwhelm the rest of the house.  You can only make a decision when doing an overlay to see several different roof pitches.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi John
Thanks you so much for answering my question so quickly. So that I sort know where to start -the span of the porch area is 18'9". We are doing an overlay. Would you suggest the split pitch be 8:12 for the back pitch which will be the full width and 12:12 over the entry door way? Where would you add an additional gable dormer?
Thanks again
Rhonda  

Answer
Yes, split pitches may work best for you.
Front to back and side to side can be different.
Draw the front elevation the way you would like to see it and then look at roof plan geometry and side elevations to determine what the resulting pitches would be.
This is an aesthetic decision primarily.
The front elevation has to be scaled out and unless you send me your sketch to look over it is too difficult to picture.\
See attached rendering of a French style home we created recently.
Send to: johnhenry@cfl.rr.com

Thx