The Right Mansard Roof Materials from Sacramento Roofing Contractors

The Yancey Family, Serving Sacramento Since 1888

The Victorian era gave the world Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens’ lauded novels like “Great Expectations” and “A Tale of Two Cities,” and Victorian architecture. While Victorian architecture is rooted in England, it did make its way to the United States. Today, Victorian-style homes are still among the most popular architectural styles in cities like Sacramento, and HGTV’s Liz Gray writes that a key element of this style is the Mansard roof.

Steep, multi-faceted roof or Mansard roof. Victorian homes often have steep, imposing rooflines with many gables facing in different directions. The Second Empire Victorian style has a flat-topped Mansard roof with windows in the side to allow for maximum space inside the house.

• One-story porch. A large, wraparound porch with ornamental spindles and brackets is common, especially in the Queen Anne style.

• Towers. Some high-end Victorian homes are embellished with a round or octagonal tower with a steep, pointed roof.

• Vibrant colors. Before the Victorian era, most houses were painted all one color, usually white or beige. By 1887, bright earth tones like burnt sienna and mustard yellow were in vogue.


To stay true to their home’s architectural style, homeowners must find roofing contractors in Sacramento that can provide them with the most suitable roofing materials for their Mansard roofs because the wrong choice for this type of roofing will most likely ruin their home’s overall aesthetics. Among the most ideal roofing options for Victorian-style homes are wood shakes and asphalt shingles. Wood’s natural beauty perfectly complements Mansard roofs, but it needs to be regularly treated and maintained to better protect the roofing from natural elements.

Meanwhile, asphalt shingles are the most common materials used in the United States, so homeowners will have an easy time finding roofers that can provide them with this choice. However, it’s best to consider hiring experienced roofing contractors in Sacramento who have been certified by GAF, one of the leading manufacturers of top-of-the-line asphalt shingles. Only those roofers who have earned their Master Elite GAF certifications know the exact techniques and methods to install GAF roofing materials to ensure a structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing roof.

Homes are defined by their architectural styles, and thus it’s worth the effort to make sure that distinguished style is preserved. However, aesthetics should go hand-in-hand with efficiency too, and roofers like the ones from Yancey Home Improvements know exactly how to balance style with function to ensure a lovely and functional roofing system.