Old Victorian Roof Architecture

In the years after 1900.

Old victorian roof architecture.

In the southeast specifically florida but also western texas and farther west we see a lot of spanish and barrel tiles says sherrye mccabe of ludowici roof tile inc in lexington ohio. Original victorian ridge tiles are a charming architectural feature well worth preserving and can often be repaired or replicas made using broken old pieces as a template. The best way to restore the victorian roof to its former glory is to match the original roofing materials to modern roofing materials. The victorian era spawned several well known styles including gothic revival italianate second empire queen anne stick style romanesque style and shingle style.

Today mansard style roofs are occasionally used in one and two story apartment buildings restaurants and neo eclectic houses. In the united states second empire or mansard was a victorian style popular from the 1860s through the 1880s. Revival style houses with a mediterranean flavor were commonly roofed in some sort of pantile. Economical to build these two story square homes with hipped or gable roofs saw great popularity in the u s.

But the term victorian architecture actually refers to styles that emerged in the period between 1830 and 1910 during the reign of queen victoria. The boxy four room over four room homes frequently had a. With low roofs wide eaves and ornamental brackets victorian italianate houses are reminiscent of an italian renaissance villa. Should they become loose they can be secured by being re bedded in mortar.

For higher end buildings clay was typically used whereas wood was sought as a less expensive alternative. Ornamental terracotta ridge tiles can be seen adorning the apex of many a victorian roof. But if the roofing details are readily visible their appearance should be based on architectural evidence or on historic prototypes. Wood clay and the beginning of the victorian era when the architectural design choices that have grown to be known as the victorian style emerged wood and clay tiles were the roofing materials of choice.

Historic roofing materials in america. Some even sport a romantic cupola on the roof. For this reason older buildings were often remodeled with mansard roofs. The color material shape and size of the roofing must match as closely as possible to the original.

For instance the spacing of the seams on a standing seam metal roof will affect the building s overall scale and should therefore match the original dimensions of the seams. European settlers used clay tile for roofing as early as the mid 17th century.