Gable vs Skillion Patio: Which Suits Your Perth Home?

Gable and skillion are the two most popular patio roof shapes on Perth homes, and both come off the same production line: Australian BlueScope steel frames, Colorbond roofing, free onsite measure, council-approved engineering, and a two-to-three-day install once the permit is through. So the decision isn’t really about quality or price — it’s about which roofline suits your house and how you’ll use the space.

The short version

• Choose gable if your home already has a pitched roof, you want maximum headroom and cross-ventilation through the apex, and you want the patio to look like it’s always been part of the house.
• Choose skillion if your home is more contemporary, you’re working with a lower eave line or a narrower side return, or you want a bold single-pitch statement rather than a traditional roofline.

Roofline and how it reads on the house

A gable patio has a pitched, triangular roof that mirrors the shape of a standard house roof — it’s why it’s the most common patio style in Perth and usually the easiest to make look original to the home. A skillion patio is a single sloped plane, set at an angle anywhere from about 10° to 25°. It reads as a distinct, modern addition rather than a copy of the existing roofline, which is why it tends to suit newer builds and architecturally contemporary homes better than a gable does.

Headroom, ventilation and staying cool

Gable’s apex lets hot air rise and vent out the peak, and the pitched shape gives standing headroom right out to the edges — there’s no low corner to duck under. Skillion trades that even headroom for a tall wall on the high side, which opens the space to cross-breezes (useful for catching Perth’s afternoon sea breeze) but leaves a lower edge on the opposite side, so the usable headroom depends on which way you face it.

Drainage and weather

Both shapes are engineered to shed water fast in a Perth downpour, but they do it differently. Gable splits the water two ways off a central ridge. Skillion runs it all one way off a single edge, so where that edge points — away from a doorway, into a garden bed, wherever — is a design decision worth making deliberately with whoever measures your job, not an afterthought.

Size and fit on your block

Gable patios typically span 3m to 10m-plus wide. Skillion patios typically span 3m to 9m wide, with the pitch angle tuned to clear your existing eave line, which makes skillion the more common choice when there’s a tight gap between the house and the boundary or an existing structure to work around.

Does one cost more than the other?

Not because of the roof shape itself. Both use the same steel, the same Colorbond finish, the same engineering and permit process, and the same four-to-eight-week signed-quote-to-handover timeline. Price is driven by size, span, and any add-ons (insulated roofing, lighting, enclosures) — not by whether the roof is pitched or single-slope. Anyone telling you one shape is inherently cheaper is guessing.

Which one is right for you?

A few questions worth answering before you book a measure:

• Does your house already have a pitched roof you want the patio to match? Gable will look original to the house; skillion will read as a deliberate addition.
• Is there a tight gap under an existing eave, verandah, or upper-storey window? Skillion’s adjustable pitch usually clears these more easily than gable’s taller apex.
• Do you want even headroom across the whole space, or are you happy with a taller wall on one side in exchange for a bolder look?
• Which direction do you want rainwater directed — split two ways, or off one edge you can control?

Still not sure? That’s exactly what the free onsite measure and consultation is for — our designers will look at your actual roofline, boundary gaps, and orientation and tell you honestly which shape suits the block, rather than which one’s easier to sell.