How to Install a Dormer

Dormer windows are located on the sloping side of a roof and allow natural light to enter a room with a vaulted ceiling. Unlike skylights, which are located at an angle to the roof, dormer windows are installed vertically. They are housed in a frame structure that projects from the top of the home.

The origin of the term “dormer” is either the French word dormir, which means “to sleep,” or the Latin word dormitorium, which means “sleeping chamber.” Dormer windows were used in Europe throughout the Renaissance and gained popularity in the seventeenth century, especially in France, England, and Scotland.

Also Read: Types of Gable Roofs

Dormer windows: Types

1. Gable Dormer Window

The most popular kind of dormer window is characterised by the presence of a gable, which is a type of roof that is triangular in shape and has slopes of equal pitch above the window.

2. Gambrel Dormer Window

A gambrel dormer has a roof that has a gable at the apex of the roof, but then it drops down into two steeper roof slopes on the sides of the roof. The gambrel dormer will have the appearance of a barn as a result of this.

3. Hip Dormer Window

A hip dormer is distinguished by the presence of three roof planes: one on each side of the dormer and a third that runs parallel to the dormer’s front face. The topmost point of each of the three planes rises to a common point, which serves as the apex of the roof.

4. Shed Dormer Window

There is just one roof plane on this dormer, and it slopes in the same direction as the slope of the main roof, but at a considerably steeper angle. Sometimes the pitch of a shed dormer is so modest that it seems like it’s virtually horizontal. However, for water to drain off, there must be at least a little slope.

5. Eyebrow Dormer Window

An eyebrow dormer roof is distinguished from other types of roof planes by the presence of a softly undulating wave that rises up and fully covers the window. It is possible to create the illusion of an eye peeking out from behind a hooded lid with the help of an eyebrow dormer, which does not have any extra vertical wall sides.

Also Read: Roof Pitch Degree

6. Bonnet Dormer Window

A curving roof and vertical walls on each side of the window define a bonnet dormer as distinct architectural features. It is usual to practise installing windows in bonnet dormers that have arch-tops so that the top of the window can correspond to the arch of the bonnet.

7. Wall Dormer Window

The front of this sort of dormer is an extension of the outside wall below it, and it can have any of the roof types described above. However, this is the characteristic that distinguishes it as a distinct form of a dormer. The siding on the main portion of the house extends right up into the dormer, which makes the front of the dormer flush with the front of the house. This is accomplished by the siding on the main part of the house continuing right up into the dormer.

8. Lucarne Dormer Window

Residential lucarne dormers are often quite tall and very thin, taking their design cues from the dormers seen in Gothic cathedrals. The majority have gable roofs that extend over the window openings.

9. Blind Dormer Window

Blind dormers, sometimes known as “false” dormers, are not functional and are simply there for aesthetic purposes. Most dormer windows let light into the loft. A blind dormer appears exactly the same as an ordinary dormer window when seen from the street; however, rather than the dormer window entering the inside of the home, a blind dormer simply attaches itself to the outside of the roof. There is no sign that the dormer is there while one is inside the building.

Although it is common for a dormer roof to be a replica of the main roof, there are many variations. Architectural preferences dictate whether a gable-roofed home will have a gambrel dormer, a shed dormer, or no dormer at all. Typically, a dormer window’s roofing material will be the same as that of the main roof. In the case of a dormer window, if the main roof is covered in asphalt shingles, probably, the roof above the window will also be covered in shingles.

Dormer window: Guidelines for adding 

If you want to add dormers to an existing building that already has windows, the ideal time to do it is while you are replacing the shingles on the roof. This guarantees that the shingles used on both the main roof and the dormers are made of the same material and have the same colour. 

The windows on dormers have to be scaled down in comparison to the windows on the walls below them. In most cases, the width or depth of the dormer windows shouldn’t be more than half of the total roof area. It is possible to get an aesthetically pleasing effect by aligning dormer windows with windows on the wall below.

Also Read: Storm Window Vs Regular Window