34 Porch Roof Design Ideas for Your Home
A well-designed porch is a great place to relax and get some fresh air. If you have an open porch or patio, adding a roof can increase your comfort by adding shade and protection from the elements.
The type of porch roof you build depends on the style of your home, the look you’re after, and your local building codes. Whether you’re building a porch from scratch or renovating an existing covered porch, look to our best porch roof ideas for inspiration.
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1. Porch Roof for a Bungalow
A bungalow is a single story type of house that may have a partial second story. They’re usually small homes, and a broad, beautiful front porch is a defining bungalow feature.
Bungalows have low-pitched roofs, so a low-pitched porch roof is fitting. These homes often have a gable roof supported by thick, Craftsman style columns made of wood and stone. A bungalow porch is deep and wide, and the porch space is often used as an outdoor living room.
2. Cabin Porch Roof Designs
A rustic cabin porch or deck can support basically any roof style. A gable roof may be a good idea if it coordinates with the cabin’s roof line. Exposed rafters or beams add architectural interest and a country cabin vibe.
If you need a simpler type of porch roofing, a flat roof with metal panels can add to the rustic aesthetic. A shed roof addition is suitable for a cabin that has a smaller porch design.
3. Canopy Roof
A canopy roof is a small structure built over a front entrance to provide some protection from the elements. This small-scale roof addition is rarely big enough to be considered an actual porch roof, although it may extend far enough from the door and wall to feel like a tiny porch.
Small porch roofs like these look best when they coordinate with the rest of the home’s exterior. Use the same type of roofing material that is used on the home’s roof, or get creative with copper or other metal roofing material.
4. Flat Porch Roof
Flat roofs are exactly as they sound: flat and level. Commonly found on historic old house porches, a flat roof is cheaper and easier to build than a sloped roof. Many people like the way a flat porch roof follows the natural landscape’s horizontal lines.
Many people assume these are bad porch roof ideas because they aren’t sloped to enhance drainage. However, flat roofs can be designed to drain water fairly well.
5. Gable Porch Roof
A gable roof is a triangle shaped roof with sloped sides that connect at a ridge down the center of the enclosure. A gable roof matches many house designs, so it may be your preference if you want a new covered or screened porch to look like it was on the home’s original blueprints.
Gable roofs overhang the porch sides and allow rain or snow to run off. Sometimes a gabled roof addition is built on a flat or sloped existing roof, serving as an architectural feature that draws attention to the front door.
6. Hipped Porch Roof
A hipped roof, or hip roof, is more complicated to build than a gable roof. A square hipped porch roof has slopes on all four sides. It is shaped like a pyramid, but with gently sloping sides.
Hip roofs add elegance to a covered patio, porch, or other outdoor space. A hip roof structure is also more stable than a gable roof’s, making them one of the better porch roof ideas if you live in a windy or snowy climate.
7. Shed Porch Roof
A shed roof is attached to the house wall on one side. It has a single sloped roof surface that’s held up on the lower end by columns or other support posts.
Porch Roof FAQs
Overhang is the part of a roof that extends over the edge of the porch. Its primary purpose is to shield your outdoor living space from the weather. If the roof overhang is too small, water can run down the walls and cause building materials to rot.
A typical porch overhang is 12 inches long. However, the size may be significantly smaller or larger depending on where you live. If you live in a wet climate, an overhang up to 24 inches may be necessary. In a dry climate, you may not need much of an overhang at all.