Which describes a hip roof?

• A. A roof with two intersecting gables.
• B. A roof containing sloping planes of the same pitch on each of the four sides. Contains no gables.
• C. A flat roof
• D. A dome roof

Answer: (B)

A hip roof has four sloping sides with no vertical gables. Each side slopes down toward the walls and the planes meet at hip edges, wrapping around the building. The description that there are four sloping planes with the same pitch on every side and no gables captures this essential shape and behavior, distinguishing it from roofs with end gables or flat or curved forms. If a roof has two intersecting gables, there are gable ends and distinct ridge lines, which isn’t a hip roof. A flat roof or a dome roof obviously doesn’t have four sloping planes around all sides, so they don’t fit either. On a hip roof, you’ll also deal with hips along the edges and careful shingle layout around them, but the defining idea is the four sloping sides and lack of gables.