Dormer

Dormer
An English street showing gable dormer windows

A dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.[1]

Often conflated with the term "dormer", a dormer window is a window set into the dormer. Like skylights, dormer windows are a source of light and ventilation for top floors, but unlike skylights (which are flush with the roof surface) they also increase the amount of headroom in the room and allow for more usable space.

A blind dormer or false dormer is a dormer that can only be seen from the outside of the house: it is roofed off on the inside, and does not provide any extra space or light. These are often used to make the house appear more impressive.

A dormer is often one of the primary elements of a loft conversion.

Contents

Types

A link dormer
A shed dormer

The main types of dormer are:

  • Gable fronted dormer: the front of the dormer rises to a point at the ridge of the dormer roof. Also known as a dog-house dormer.
  • Hipped roof dormer: the roof slopes back from front of structure to a point farther back, or, a dormer with a hip roof.
  • Flat roof dormer: the roof of the dormer is flat.
  • Shed dormer: A dormer (window) whose eave line is parallel to the main roof eave line.[2] Shed dormers can provide more attic space and head room than gable dormers, but cannot be the same pitch as the main roof and may therefore require different roof sheeting. Often used in gable-roofed homes, a shed dormer has a single-planed roof, pitched at a shallower angle than the main roof.
  • Wall dormer: A dormer whose face is coplanar with the face of the wall below, breaking the line at the cornice of the building.
  • Eyebrow or eyelid dormer "A low dormer on the slope of a roof. It has no sides, the roofing being carried over it in a wavy line." [3] The bottom of an eyebrow dormer is flat and the top is curved.
  • Link Dormer A large dormer that houses a chimney or joins one part of a roof to another.[4]
  • Bonnetted Dormer. Arched roof of dormer, rounded shape when viewed from front. Popular in Victorian homes, especially in certain areas, like the Southcott-style row-houses called Jellybean Row in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Popularity

Ireland

During the Irish property bubble the popularity of dormers in Ireland soared immensely; they were often fitted to new multi-storey residential homes as well as in smaller houses such as those found in ghost estates. Retrofitting of dormers, however, remained uncommon.

Disadvantages

Improperly constructed dormers are prone to leaks and give rise to expensive repairs.

See also

References

  1. ^ Barr, Peter. "Illustrated Glossary", 19th Century Adrian Architecture, accessed June 17, 2009.
  2. ^ Dictionary of Architecture & Construction, C.M.Harris.
  3. ^ http://buffaloah.com/a/DCTNRY/e/eye.html
  4. ^ A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. Francis D.K. Ching



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Look at other dictionaries:

  • dormer — UK [ˈdɔː(r)mə(r)] / US [ˈdɔrmər] or dormer window UK / US noun [countable] Word forms dormer : singular dormer plural dormers Word forms dormer window : singular dormer window plural dormer windows an upright window in a sloping roof …   English dictionary

  • Dormer — Dor mer, or Dormer window Dor mer win dow, n. [Literally, the window of a sleeping apartment. F. dormir to sleep. See {Dormant}, a. & n.] (Arch.) A window pierced in a roof, and so set as to be vertical while the roof slopes away from it. Also,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • dormer — (also dormer window) ► NOUN ▪ a window set vertically into a sloping roof. ORIGIN originally denoting the window of a dormitory or bedroom: from Old French dormir to sleep …   English terms dictionary

  • dormer — [dôr′mər] n. [OFr dormeour < L dormitorium: see DORMITORY] 1. a window set upright in a sloping roof: also dormer window 2. the roofed projection in which this window is set …   English World dictionary

  • dormer — 1590s, originally window of a sleeping room, from M.Fr. dormeor sleeping room, from dormir to sleep (see DORMANT (Cf. dormant)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • dormer — n *window, casement, oriel …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Dormer — Natalie Dormer (* 11. Februar 1982 in Reading, England) ist eine britische Schauspielerin. Leben und Leistungen Dormer absolvierte ihr Schauspielausbildung an der renommierten Londoner Webber Douglas Akademie, wo unter anderem Rupert Friend,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • dormer — dormered, adj. /dawr meuhr/, n. 1. Also called dormer window. a vertical window in a projection built out from a sloping roof. 2. the entire projecting structure. [1585 95; < MF dormoir DORMITORY] * * * Window set vertically in a structure that… …   Universalium

  • dormer — [[t]dɔ͟ː(r)mə(r)[/t]] dormers N COUNT A dormer or dormer window is a window that is built upright in a sloping roof …   English dictionary

  • dormer — Dormant Dor mant, n. [See {Dormant}, a.] (Arch.) A large beam in the roof of a house upon which portions of the other timbers rest or sleep. Arch. Pub. Soc. Called also {dormant tree}, {dorman tree}, {dormond}, and {dormer}. Halliwell …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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