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Old 08-17-2019, 11:42 AM
 
Location: Frisco, TX
1,879 posts, read 1,531,045 times
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I attended a dinner party last night in southern Plano, and the host had a flat-roofed house. Their house looked very 70s. I didn’t notice any other houses in the subdivision that had the same design. Is it possible that it was custom?

I thought that architecture choice was only possible in dry climates in the Southwest and Southern California. The siding was composite, and it had this asphalt shingle facade. I wasn’t very impressed with the exterior but loved the interior. The living room had a beautiful fireplace. The chimney extended to the upstairs living space. I was just wondering how common flat-roofs are in the Dallas area. I would think that they’re hard to drain during heavy thunderstorms!
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Old 08-17-2019, 11:53 AM
 
Location: Fort Worth, TX
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They aren't common at all. I've seen some 80s modern homes with them but that's about it.
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Old 08-17-2019, 01:29 PM
 
130 posts, read 151,987 times
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They are super rare from what I've seen... as I have always been big fan of modern 'Bauhaus style' architecture. But Dallas is certainly the wrong city for that. The one house that have always caught my eye in an appreciative way ever since I moved to Dallas in the '90s is this one...

House on Spring Valley Rd

And I don't think the whole flat roof cannot handle "XYZ" type of weather arguement has any strong backing to it. Houses like this exist all over the world, spanning from northern europe to tropical south-east asia, Australia, S. America. Some of those climates offer way more rain, snow and other types of downpour than Dallas. It just has to be architected and built right.
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Old 08-17-2019, 02:59 PM
 
Location: Frisco, TX
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I was a little taken aback because it mostly seemed like your average, older home in Plano. None of the other homes (as far as I could tell) had similar designs. I really liked the interior but just couldn’t get over the exterior.

Maybe I’ll try to find some pictures online of a house that’s similar looking.

Here’s a picture:



It was like that minus the split-level/basement.
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Old 08-17-2019, 10:01 PM
 
5,248 posts, read 6,331,190 times
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There are at least a half dozen houses with roofs like like in central Plano - it's called a mansard roof I think. That style are not that common in DFW, but flat roofs are incredibly common. Every old building has one, every office building, every big box store, and about 30% of the added on patio roofs in DFW are flat. I think they are more common on the east coast, and the builds of them (like that one) are supposed to evoke England (maybe?). They aren't actually flat, they have a small slope.



My opinion: they aren't popular here because that ratio of shingles to front facade is off-putting and ugly. It looks like the Cousin It on the Adams Family.
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Old 08-17-2019, 10:18 PM
 
Location: Frisco, TX
1,879 posts, read 1,531,045 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOverdog View Post
There are at least a half dozen houses with roofs like like in central Plano - it's called a mansard roof I think. That style are not that common in DFW, but flat roofs are incredibly common. Every old building has one, every office building, every big box store, and about 30% of the added on patio roofs in DFW are flat. I think they are more common on the east coast, and the builds of them (like that one) are supposed to evoke England (maybe?). They aren't actually flat, they have a small slope.



My opinion: they aren't popular here because that ratio of shingles to front facade is off-putting and ugly. It looks like the Cousin It on the Adams Family.
That’s true. I didn’t think about that. I suppose there are just some drains.
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Old 08-17-2019, 10:55 PM
 
4,147 posts, read 6,836,352 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soccernerd View Post
That’s true. I didn’t think about that. I suppose there are just some drains.
commercial roofs are mostly 'flat' IOW lop slope/crickets. They either slope to area drains that drain internal to the building to an underground main. Or they are low slope to roof edges to a downspout system that either drains to grade or ties into an overall underground drainage system depending on the site. Commercial roofing systems are much more robust, expensive, and detail intensive as a result though. But due to the size, the fact that equipment is often on the roof etc. it makes sense.
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Old 08-22-2019, 12:17 AM
 
816 posts, read 912,397 times
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Besides commercial buildings, many houses in places like Chicago have flat roofs, which have a gentle slope away from the street to gutters on the back side of the house. I lived in houses like that until I was 13. Besides rain, these roofs could hold several inches of snow for weeks. Usually they had a coat of tar on them.
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