Covered patio: Which roof?

5 years ago

I'm building a 13'x15' covered patio, attached to my garage. My primary goals are to: 1) provide a shelter from rain (want to sit out in rain storms), 2) maintain as much of the view of the surrounding trees as possible (primarily to the west and north), 3) minimize upkeep (surrounding trees cause A LOT of debris), and 4) plan for the possibility of adding screens later. I'm in Ohio, where the summer storms typically come from the southwest.

Pros/Cons butterfly:

Better view; concerned about more rain coming in; like the aesthetic better (there's another patio from the view of the south elevation that will be looking toward it); less gutter to clean; not sure if cricket would be visible from the other patio (would like it to not be), or if cricket would sufficiently prevent tree debris from collecting in the valley.

Pros/Cons gable:

More protective from rain (intuitively... is it actually?); limits the view more; more guttering, but no hard-to-access areas; not as attractive from south patio.

Can anyone with a similarly sized structure with a butterfly roof (at about that pitch) weigh in on how protective that design is from the rain?

Featured Answer

Indecisiveness

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

The valley on the butterfly roof is a soot for snow and debris to build up, in addition to being a challenge to drain properly. I also don’t get how it would have a better view for those sitting underneath?

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Comments (7)

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BeverlyFLADeziner
5 years ago
How does each design tie into the architecture of the home?
CMac thanked BeverlyFLADeziner
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CMac
Original Author
5 years ago
Beverly, the house is minimal traditional, build in the early 50's with stone and siding, with some MCM accents. Some neighboring homes are Usonian. My garage is detached, so the new structure itself won't be connected to the house. The second patio I refer to is between the house and new structure.
CMac
Original Author
5 years ago
Sasha - those were some concerns I had as well. My architect made it sound like I was over thinking it.

The reason the butterfly has a better view of the sky and tree foliage is because as you're sitting underneath, the roofline is flat at about 11 ft. high all the way across (facing west), whereas the gable is ~11 ft only at the peak and tapers down from there.
Indecisiveness
5 years ago
Both roof lines have a horizontal support beam at roughly the same height across the front..

How much time are you outside looking at the sky and foliage when it’s raining out?

Also, the opening is facing due west so there will be limited shade from the afternoon sun?
latifolia
5 years ago
I'm guessing your architect doesn't own a house with butterfly roof. My brother had an MCM house with one. No end of trouble: leaves, snow, ice. You can put leaf covers on your gutters, if you have to have gutters.
CMac
Original Author
5 years ago
Sasha - Yes, it's the difference in the space above that horizontal beam that I'm pondering. I will be spending a lot of time looking at the sky/trees... as a nature lover, that's a thing I do. There are trees to the southwest that will provide enough shade from the afternoon sun.

I will also want to sit out while it's raining... and it's protection from rain that I'm concerned about with the butterfly roof. I'm looking for anecdotes from people who have a roof that's this open to give me insight as to whether it is in fact something I should be concerned about.