Fashion for oriental traditions from time to time rolls around the world. However, there are those who are not influenced by it, and are a firm adherent of the East in everything from food and philosophy to architecture. How the Chinese roof is arranged, whether it can be equipped in a residential or utility room on its own - later in this article.
The building, erected in the style of Far Eastern architecture, can be distinguished from afar and at a glance.
The main reason is the characteristic Chinese roofs (which eventually migrated to Japan), with smoothly curved corners. For a non-specialist, this form of roofing is absolutely original and original.
Although, upon closer examination, one can find analogues in the European architectural tradition - these are the so-called half-timbered, or "Dutch" roofs. They are distinguished by a break at an angle, and the absence of a reverse bend of the ribs.
So in appearance for the Western classification, the design of the Chinese roof is not a revelation, but a hip with a broken slope (where different parts of the slopes have a different slope), or a half-hip, if gables or dormer windows are installed on two opposite slopes.
However, this is true only for the shape of the roof, since the supporting structures in Europe and Asia differ dramatically. Accordingly, before building a Chinese-style roof, it is necessary to determine whether it will absolutely repeat the original design - or just imitate it.
The first option is much more complicated, and in fact it requires the construction of the entire building according to the Chinese canon. While imitation is relatively easy to implement using the usual design solutions.
ADVICE! Not every coating material is suitable for curved roofs. The traditional Chinese-style roof in poor houses was covered with cypress bark, shingles or bamboo, in rich houses with clay tiles. Now it makes sense to use soft bituminous materials - euroroofing material, shingles, or - various types of sheet metal coatings.
Difference in approaches
The easiest way to explain the difference is with the example of hanging rafters:
- brace
- rafter leg
- grandmother
- puff
- support beam
- trimmer
- bolt
- overlay
In this design, the puff works to break - it does not allow the rafters to part and burst outward the supporting walls. The main load from the roof is taken by the struts.
In contrast, Chinese struts do not have roofs in principle, and the load is transferred through horizontal puffs B and C directly to vertical supports (pillars, since in the eastern tradition load-bearing walls, given their material - bamboo, paper, raw clay, were not arranged) .
And the puffs here work for bending. Considering that bamboo trunks were most often used for these purposes, it is no wonder that the corners of the roof naturally bent upwards, especially under the weight of the tiles.
Later, this form entered the canon, and was used even when using harder materials.
As you can see, the European tradition relies on the distribution of loads on a triangular shape, while the East prefers a rectangle.
Based on the foregoing, we can deduce the following characteristic features that a “classical” Chinese-style roof has:
- Frame structure, where all loads are distributed only in the horizontal and vertical plane
- Upturned corners
- Roof overhangs are placed far beyond the perimeter of the outer walls of the building to protect the walls from rain, and the interior from excessive sunlight
- The roof has a very steep slope at the top, the angle of which decreases quite sharply at the bottom.
- To discharge precipitation from the roof, a part of the overhangs located between its corner ribs is used.
- Often there are multi-tiered solutions
Japanese specificity
Although in Japan you can often also find a "Chinese type" roof - however, historically, the Japanese-style roof still did not have corner bends, and was generally distinguished by its simplicity of construction.
Here, architectural decorations typical of continental architecture were practically not used, everything was subject to common sense.
However, similar cultural traditions, climate and environment contribute to the similarity of architecture in other aspects - the frame system, the roof with a varying slope, the tendency to multi-tiered solutions.
A separate nuance that historically Japanese roofs have is their special lightness, which is explained by the constant threat of earthquakes.
multistory roof
Religious buildings in Japan, and in China, and throughout the surrounding region, were traditionally high and had several floors.
At the same time, the design of the roof of the pagoda is highly dependent on the region, the religion of the population, and the era. At first, it was as simple as possible, the tiers were separated only by a narrow cornice.
These structures were built of stone and had monumental strength. Later, the Chinese began to build them from wood, due to the ease of its extraction and processing.
Thanks to this, the roof of the pagoda acquired characteristic curved corners, and also began to be richly decorated with various decorative elements.
Features of the construction of the eastern roof
ADVICE! Since sufficiently thick walls are needed for the northern climatic zone, and they are usually made to be load-bearing, it makes no sense to copy the Chinese structure on supports, it is much easier and more economical to use ordinary rafters. The exception is frame structures, where the weight of any roof rests on vertical supports.It is worth paying attention to half-timbered projects - they are closest to the desired forms of roofing.
Possible options for how to build a Chinese roof:
- Copy the original design of the building in every detail, "from the foundation to the ridge"
- Install the truss truss of the desired shape with support on the walls
- With the help of decorative elements, give the appropriate characteristic shape to the roof on ordinary hanging rafters
- Refuse wooden solutions, and make bent supporting structures from more flexible and technologically advanced metal beams
roof truss
- Construction according to all historical canons and roof rafters- the solution is not very practical, and makes sense for those for whom an exact match to the original is more important than possible costs and inconveniences. Such a house will be less durable than one built using modern technologies, it will require insulation and strengthening of the walls.
- Complex house roof truss system, which does not carry a functional load - this is an additional complication of work on the installation of the roof and their rise in price. But the roof will be almost identical to natural Chinese
- The use of decorative elements - skates, pads, etc. - a very economical way that will allow you to create a fairly close to the desired appearance. At the same time, the owner of the building can arrange the remaining structures without any restrictions. The only inconvenience is that not every form can be achieved by using decor.
- The metal support structure is quite expensive, and it is more difficult to sheathe it with roofing materials. But when using light alloys, the shape of the roof can be any, and the strength will be very high.
ADVICE! If the building is unequivocally planned in the oriental style, the Japanese roof will cost less than the Chinese one, since the main difficulty in the design is precisely the curved edges of the roof ribs, and in this option you can do without them. In addition, the choice of coating materials is expanding.
Roofs in the East were arranged in accordance with the local natural and cultural features, and they coped well and continue to cope with this task.
However, before you make a Chinese roof in your Russian house, you should weigh all the pros and cons: how it will suit the local climate, will it be practical (for example, in terms of snow removal), how much will it cost, and what will it give in return.
If the arguments "for" outweighed - you can take on architectural catalogs and start designing.
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