Gambrel Roof Barn Designs

The gambrel is the roof most people picture when they hear the word “barn” — two steep slopes rising to two shallower ones, meeting at a ridge. It’s the shape on the red barn in every illustration of rural America.

It’s also the most useful barn roof if you want a second floor, and that’s the real reason to choose one. A gambrel gives you a full upstairs where a conventional gable roof would give you a cramped attic — without raising the walls.

This guide covers what a gambrel is, what it costs, where it works and where it doesn’t, and where to find gambrel barn plans.

What a gambrel roof actually does for your floor plan

The practical case for a gambrel is entirely about the space underneath it.

Under a standard gable roof, the walls of your loft angle steeply inward from the floor. You have floor area, but much of it has a sloping ceiling low enough that you can’t stand or put furniture there. Lofts under gable roofs feel cramped and closed in.

Under a flat roof or full second storey, you’d get maximum usable space — but you’d sacrifice drainage, and on a flat roof water pools and finds its way in.

A gambrel splits the difference, and that’s the whole point. The lower slopes are steep, so the interior walls of your upper floor are close to vertical. The shallower upper slopes sit high overhead where they don’t intrude. The result is an upstairs that feels like a room rather than an attic, on a roof that still sheds water properly.

For a barndominium this matters more than it does on a conventional house. Barndos are usually wide, single-volume buildings, and a gambrel is the cheapest way to get genuine second-floor living space out of that footprint.

It also makes end-wall glazing easier. The near-vertical lower slopes leave room for tall windows or doors at either gable end — so an upstairs that would otherwise be dark gets real daylight, and on a rural site, real views.

Gambrel roofs on pole barns and steel buildings

Worth addressing directly, because it’s where most of the practical questions come from.

Post-frame gambrel. Traditionally built with two pairs of rafters joined by gusset plates at the pitch break. The framing is simple enough that any experienced contractor can handle it — you don’t need a specialist — and it uses less material than more complex roof structures. On a post-frame building the gambrel sits on the same column structure as any other roof.

Steel and metal gambrel. Old gambrel barns were timber, but the profile works in steel, and a metal gambrel gives you the classic outline with far lower maintenance. If you want the traditional look, metal panels can be finished to read as wood from any normal distance.

Truss vs stick framing. Manufactured gambrel trusses are widely available and will usually be cheaper and faster than framing on site, particularly on a wide span. If you’re buying a kit, check whether the gambrel profile is standard or a custom option — some suppliers charge a premium.

One thing to confirm with any supplier: what snow and wind loads the gambrel package is engineered for. More on why that matters below.

What a gambrel roof costs

The short version: a gambrel is one of the more affordable barn roof shapes, and cheaper than its appearance suggests.

The reasons are structural. It needs relatively few components — rafters and gusset joints rather than an elaborate support system — and the framing is straightforward enough that it doesn’t command specialist labour rates. Compared with a monitor roof, a hip roof, or anything with multiple gables and valleys, a gambrel is simple.

Where it costs more than a plain gable: it’s a slightly more complex profile, so expect a modest premium over the simplest possible roof. Where it saves you money: you’re buying second-floor living space for the price of a roof, which is far cheaper per square foot than extending the footprint or raising the walls.

For full build costs — by size, by region, with a calculator — see our barndominium cost guide.

Do Gambrel Roofs Have Any Disadvantages?

Where gambrels struggle: snow and wind

Most guides gloss over this. It’s worth being straight about, because it determines whether a gambrel is right for your site.

Snow load. The shallow upper slopes of a gambrel don’t shed snow as readily as a steeper gable. Snow that would slide off a 12/12 gable can sit on a gambrel’s upper pitch and accumulate. In heavy snow country — the Upper Peninsula, northern Wisconsin, the Tug Hill Plateau, the Adirondacks — that means the roof structure has to be engineered for a real load, not a nominal one.

This isn’t a reason to avoid a gambrel in the north. Plenty of century-old gambrel barns are still standing in Wisconsin and New York. It is a reason to have the trusses engineered to your location’s ground snow load rather than accepting a generic package.

Wind uplift. The gambrel’s broad, relatively shallow upper surfaces catch wind differently from a steep gable, and the connection at the pitch break is a point that needs proper detailing. In high-wind and coastal regions, connection hardware and engineering matter.

The practical rule: in a demanding climate, get the roof engineered for your address and ask the supplier what design loads their package assumes. If they haven’t asked where you’re building, the quote isn’t for your building.

For state-by-state snow load and code requirements, see our state guides.

Gambrel barn plans

The gambrel profile suits some layouts better than others. What to look for:

Plans that use the upstairs properly. The whole point of a gambrel is the second floor — a plan that puts only storage up there is wasting the roof. Look for bedrooms, a loft living space, or a primary suite upstairs.

End-wall glazing. Plans that put large windows or a balcony door in the gable ends are taking advantage of what the shape allows.

Straightforward footprints. A gambrel works best on a simple rectangle. Complex footprints with multiple wings mean multiple roof intersections, which is where cost and leak risk both climb.

[ADD: 3–5 gambrel floor plans from your catalogue here, with images and links — this is the single biggest content gap on the current page. It’s titled “Designs” and shows no designs. Plans with a genuine second storey under the gambrel are the ones to feature.]

Browse more barndominium floor plans, or compare gambrels against the alternatives in our guide to barn roof types.

A short history

Nobody is certain where the gambrel originated — theories point to the Netherlands, Indonesia, and indigenous North America. What’s clear is that the shape has been common in Europe and North America for centuries. In Europe it was called a “mansard” or “kerb”; the American term “gambrel” emerged once the roofs started appearing on barns and houses here.

Confusingly, “mansard” means something different in American usage — the Second Empire roofline with sloping sides, a wide flat top, and dormer windows. Not the same thing.

Some of the earliest surviving American examples include Harvard Hall at Harvard University (1677), the Peter Tufts House (1677–78), and the Fairbanks House (1637, with the gambrel added later).

Is a gambrel right for your barndominium?

Choose a gambrel if:

• You want genuine second-floor living space rather than an attic
• You want the classic barn look — it’s the most recognisable barn roof there is
• You want large windows or a balcony door in the gable ends
• You want a cost-effective roof that doesn’t need specialist framing
• Your climate is moderate, or you’re prepared to have the structure engineered for local snow and wind

Consider something else if:

• You’re in heavy snow country and want the simplest possible structural solution — a steep gable sheds better
• You’re building single-storey and won’t use the upper volume, in which case you’re paying for a roof shape you don’t need
• You want a modern rather than traditional look — a single-slope roof or a simple gable reads more contemporary

Frequently asked questions

Ready to build a gambrel barndominium?

Start with a floor plan — browse barndominium floor plans, including gambrel designs, all modifiable.

Work out your budget — see our full cost guide.

Compare roof styles — barn roof types explained.