Saturday 20 February 2016

Introduction to Roofing

Everybody needs a roof over their heads, and it being a basic need, that tells you that there is some serious innovation and creativity when it comes to roofing sizes and shapes. One of the primary purposes of having a roof is keeping off rainwater and snow. As such, it is important to consider the angles, slopes and pitch to use depending on what you want to build. 

When designing a roof, the sheeting is determined by the pitch. When looking into slopes, if you live in areas that experience high rainfall, consider roofs that are almost flat, but for areas that are subject to snowfall, it is wise to put up roofs that are steep enough so that they serve as a snow-shedding mechanism.

Common Roof Types

There is the standard hip roof that fits on a rectangular plan. In this case, the four faces are at the same pitch to make them symmetrical around the centre line. Such roofs are consistent in their level fascia such that gutters can be fitted all around.

The hip rood roofing comes on a different set of plan. This is simply because the walls are at different positions, which means the plan must have extra roof faces. The top of the roof is considered the level section. In cases where the building features an internal corner, the roofs meet to from a V-shape. If there are leaks in this kind of roofing, it mostly occurs on the v-regions.

The skillion roof is a standard rectangular plan that tends to keep the ceiling height the same with other parts of the house. This happens to be the most economical way of roofing though it has its drawbacks. For instance, the roofing does not work very well if the pitch is too steep and areas like bathrooms and kitchens may have low head room.

The traditional timber pitched roof is another type of roofing. This roofing is labour intensive and requires expertise when doing the floor plan as well as calculations on the design. If someone builds this kind of roof out of his own pieces of timber, this becomes the cheapest way to construct roofs.

Trusses

There are various trusses to consider, including the standard metal nail plate trusses and gang-nail trusses. The former is used for flat pitch roofs whereas the latter is common with lighter weight timber, which works as a unit once conjoined.

Roofs are always finished up with cladding or coverings. These products come in different materials such as lead, copper, zinc and stainless steel. All in all, consider balancing your time when working on each item to come up with the desired roofing.



If you're interested in more information about different types of roofs you might be interested in reading our blog post on Wordpress here or visit our website.