What to do with a Mansard Roof?

[Mindy Jensen]

I found a really ugly house today. Going for half the price per square foot of the rest of the houses in the area. Huge potential, but one of the limiting factors is the Mansard Roof.

Have you ever purchased a house and changed this roof? What did you do? Would love "after" pics.

[Mindy Jensen]

Yeah, this one definitely is more McDonald's than Louvre.

[Lynel Johnson]

We bought a building like this on Wednesday. Sounds like the roof part is holding up but we still want to update the shingles that are visible.  We want it to look better and we'd like the first change the tenants see to be a positive one. 

We are thinking of replacing the shingles with steel or metal (this is not my area of expertise lol). 

If you have any After pics to show to that end, I would appreciate seeing those. Thanks!

I'll reply to this when the job is complete, too.

[Will Fraser]

Has anyone here toyed with tearing off the shingles, doing lap siding or board and batten siding in its place, and putting a pitched roof on the building?  If so, what were the challenges and can you share some pics of the end result?

[Roy N.]

Originally posted by @Will Fraser:

Has anyone here toyed with tearing off the shingles, doing lap siding or board and batten siding in its place, and putting a pitched roof on the building?  If so, what were the challenges and can you share some pics of the end result?

There are many mansard roofs here in the east which are covered in copper (a little expensive these days), or other metals (some shaped to look like shingles).  Additionally, not all mansard roofs are "flat" on-top, traditionally many/most mansard buildings have a low-pitch hip top.

If your building is a true mansard roof (and not the modern "hat" sitting on the top of a building), it would be big job to rid yourself of the mansard.