In this article, readers will get acquainted with such a concept as “soft roof technology”, to be more precise, detailed instructions for laying it will be described here. Quite often you can hear that soft tiles are called flexible roofing, flexible tiles, and sometimes bituminous tiles. But these are all erroneous names.
In fact, soft roofing is a reliable material with excellent waterproofing properties. It is distinguished from other materials by its unique design, simple installation and accessibility for users.
Due to its excellent qualities and properties, soft roof is very popular with builders and homeowners.This is explained by the fact that it is based on the use of the latest technologies and developments.
The soft roofing technology uses mainly fiberglass sheets impregnated on both sides with bitumen rubber. It is this impregnation that provides a special tightness to the material.
And in order to avoid mechanical damage of various kinds, the outer side of the soft roof is covered with stone chips. Stone chips also protect the roof from ultraviolet rays.
So that's why soft roofing is very popular - the technology for its installation is not at all expensive. Even a non-professional can lay such a roof without any problems.
Hence the conclusion suggests itself: since ordinary people without special knowledge can independently install do-it-yourself soft roof, then the services of a specialist will also cost a little.
I would like to note one more point: when laying a soft roof, you will never have a lot of waste. Although this is a modern technology: a soft roof does not require special knowledge and expensive equipment when installing it.
The only thing that can stop the work in this case is the reluctance or fear of a new type of work, of gaining new knowledge and experience, as well as of possible difficulties, which absolutely cannot be avoided in any business.
So, the soft roof coating technology is as follows. First you need to prepare a tool, carefully check it before starting laying a soft roof. Do not forget about the preparation of the base for the roof.
When purchasing roofing material, be sure to make sure that there is a laying instruction.No need to try to save time, read the instructions.
Watching videos on the World Wide Web will not interfere with you, it will tell you in detail how to cover a soft roof on your own. Of course, it is assumed that a person skillfully handles the necessary tools.
Necessary tools and preparation of the base for laying a soft roof
The most interesting thing is that for laying a soft roof there is no need to purchase any special tools.
Here is a list of tools for roofing work:
- sharpened pencil;
- the most common hacksaw;
- measuring tape;
- sharp knife.
Agree that the list of tools is more than elementary. Still, perhaps, here you can add a trowel, which will be needed to apply a special mixture on bitumen.
Marking is recommended to be done with a skein of chalk rope. Yes, and wear gloves, it is more practical to work in them.
The next step in laying a soft roof will be the processing and preparation of the base for the roof. This operation must be approached with all seriousness.
Firstly, it should be ensured that the entire surface where the roof will be laid is perfectly cleaned, leveled and dried. Do not apply base to wet or uneven surfaces.
It is generally recommended to lay OSB boards in the base of the roof if you have shingles. Well, or moisture resistant plywood. The most important thing in this matter is to avoid the deflection of the roof, otherwise the flow of rain moisture cannot be avoided.
Therefore, try to carefully approach the issue of preparing the foundation so that in the future the roof does not cause trouble and trouble.
When preparing the base for the future roof, make sure that the angle of the soft roof is not less than 11 degrees.
This will avoid large loads that entail damage to the material itself. You can make a soft roof slope more than this figure, but not less, remember this!
Do not worry if you have to lift the roof sheets up with a large roof slope. . The roofing sheet does not weigh that much, the weight is about one and a half kilos, so there will definitely not be any difficulties with raising the material.
Also keep an eye on the shades of the sheets in the different drawers. It often happens that the elements of a soft roof from different packages are somewhat different from each other.
Advice. Be prudent, try to avoid misunderstandings with the coloring of the roof in advance. It is much more pleasant to look at a roof of one color than a multi-colored one. If the colors are very different, alternate the colors by randomly alternating shades.
Roof insulation
The roof itself is initially considered a good waterproofing material, but it is recommended to play it safe and make additional waterproofing of your tiles.
The hydro and vapor barrier of a soft roof will be of excellent quality if rolled self-adhesive materials are used, which include polyethylene or anti-adhesive films impregnated with bitumen.
roof material lay strictly in rows so that it is parallel to the eaves of the roof. As a result, you should get an overlap: a vertical one of 20 centimeters or more, make a horizontal one of 10 centimeters.
Any roof should be insulated. But if steam gets under the roof, it will form condensate in the future, and the thermal insulation properties will drop significantly. Knowing about this threat, you should be careful when warming.
Vapor barrier will be excellent if you put a diffusion vapor-tight film under the insulation. It will help to avoid steam entering the insulation, therefore, it will retain thermal insulation characteristics.
You can also pay attention to soft roof aerators that can prevent swelling. It can occur due to the difference in pressure outside and inside the roof during wind load.
Roof installation
To date, there are several house roof optionsincluding using various materials.
Therefore, when wondering how to properly lay a soft roof, remember the most important rule - it is recommended to install such roofs in the warm season, then there will be a strong bonding of materials during installation.
Do not forget about some structural differences between residential roofs and industrial ones.
For example, if you decide to make a roof in your garage on your own, then you should definitely follow the advice for installing the roof of this room, and not an ordinary building. Therefore, on the Internet it is worth entering a request like “soft roofing of the garage with your own hands”, and then the result will not upset you.
The peculiarity of the roof of the garage is that it does not have a cornice, and if it does, then with its own specific features. In addition, the angle of the roof in the garage, as a rule, is less than that of conventional roofs of houses.
So, how to properly lay a soft roof, the main stages of its installation are as follows:
- It is necessary to fix the first sheet and the cornice row;
- Fasten off the rest of the rows.
- Install "ridge" sheets.
As mentioned earlier, installing a soft roof is not very difficult.
Despite the uncertainty before starting work, the main thing here is to carefully study the recommendations and boldly start a business. The most responsible and, perhaps, the most difficult stage is the laying of the main, lower row of the roof.
Then everything will go on knurled. Do not forget to perform waterproofing before laying a soft roof. To do this, spread the valley carpet along the ridge across the entire roof.
Advice. The color of the valley carpet should be in the tone of the roof.
After the installation work on laying the roof is completed, it will be necessary to take care of its ventilation. The aerator, which was mentioned just above, is perfect here. But before installing it, carefully watch the video instructions for installing it.
Now let's recap our story. Before you start installation work yourself, really weigh your abilities, strengths and capabilities.
Special attention and serious attitude to this work should be shown. Only in this case you will be successful and proud of the work done.
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