When you walk through a modern city or village, looking at the houses around you, you involuntarily pay attention to the roofs of these houses. The design of modern buildings is pleasing to the eye, and various types of roofs and mansards contribute to the variety of forms. But, basically, it concerns buildings of the last years of construction. Houses built 20 years ago or more do not indulge in a variety of roof shapes and roofing.
There are a large number of types and forms of roof structures, which often determine not only the design of the building, but also provide additional functionality.
The roof can not only protect the house and its inhabitants from precipitation, but also significantly increase the usable living area.
Tip! When choosing the type of roof, one should take into account not only its beauty, although this is important, but also the functional features of certain types of roof. Let's look at what types of roofs exist and what is the peculiarity of each type.
The first parameter by which roofs are classified is the slope angle of the slopes.
- A sloping roof is the simplest type of roof that does not require large financial investments. The name itself speaks of the shape of the roof - it is a flat roof resting on walls of the same height and therefore practically does not form a slope. Flat roofs should have an angle of inclination of 2.5-3% to the horizon. These roofs have a big drawback in that, due to the small angle of inclination, precipitation accumulates on the roof surface, which sooner or later leads to roof leaks. Snow from roofs of this type must be removed manually. Such a roof structure is practically not used for the construction of private houses, but is often used in the construction of multi-storey candles, garages and outbuildings. The advantage of such a roof is the possibility of using the surface of the roof. On such a roof, you can arrange a pool with sun loungers, a flower garden, a golf course and more, for which only your imagination and endurance of the supporting structures are enough.
- Pitched roofs are most often used in the construction of cottages and private houses. The angle of inclination of the roof slope of this type starts from 10% or more. Pitched roofs easily cope with precipitation, reduce the pressure of lying snow on the roof.
Structurally, roofs are divided into:
- attic (separate from the main room), which are also divided into cold and insulated;
- non-attic (combined with the main room, the supporting structures of the roof are the floor of the last floor). Attic roofs are also divided according to the method of ventilation into:
- ventilated;
- non-ventilated;
- partially ventilated.
According to the conditions of use, roofs are divided into operated and non-operated.
Also, the division of roofs by type is influenced by the geometric shapes of the roofs.
- Shed roofs are roofs consisting of one plane. The truss system rests on external walls at different heights, which form a slope. These roofs are good for outbuildings. They are easy to build, do not require serious financial investments, a wide range of materials is suitable as a roofing material for such a roof. For example: slate, tile, metal profile, metal tile, ondulin, roofing felt. Shed roofs effectively cope with precipitation, snow practically does not linger on the roof surface. Moreover, everything flows in one direction, which facilitates the task of laying storm sewers. The disadvantage of these roofs is the lack of attic space, as well as the lack of space for design creativity.
- Gable roofs - this form of roofs is often used in the design of private houses. Such a roof consists of two slopes that lie on the load-bearing walls at the same height. This type of roof is also called gable. The space between the two slopes, which is called gables (tongs), has a triangular shape. Such a roof is more difficult to build than a pitched roof, but much easier than all other types of roofs.
Your attention! The gable roof is reliable in operation, copes well with heavy rain and snowfall. Withstands strong wind loads.
Outwardly, it looks quite interesting and much more attractive than a pitched roof. In appearance, the gable roof is known to us from fairy tales - this is the roof of the tower. The design of such a roof allows the use of various roofing materials.
- Mansard roofs are a type of gable roof. The fundamental difference lies in the broken line of the roof slopes themselves. Such a roof is also called "broken". Roof slopes "break" at different angles. Thanks to this break, the volume and useful area of the attic space, which is used as a living space and is called an attic, is significantly increased. Hence the name of this type of roof - mansard roof. The gables of such a roof are shaped like a pentagon. The sloping roof design has features, but it is built quickly and quite simply. This type of roof is used very often in the construction of cottages or private cottages. For this roof, thermal insulation is of great importance, since the attic is built into a gable roof. Therefore, the temperature in the room itself will greatly depend on the availability and quality of thermal insulation. What should be the height of the roof with an attic? It should be noted that the ceiling height is recommended not less than 2.2 m in the living room. The materials for the mansard roof will be the same as for the gable roof.
Hip roof.
Hip roofs are roofs with four slopes. Moreover, two of them have the shape of an isosceles trapezoid, and the next two are triangular in shape. Triangular slopes are located on the side of the gables and are called hips. Identical elements, of course, are opposite each other. For such a roof, a structure with beams and double tightening is used.The shape of such a roof contributes to the rapid discharge of water and snow from the roof. The angles of inclination of the classic hip roof are quite steep and amount to 45º. At the same time, it withstands strong northerly winds very well.
A four-pitched roof, due to the steep angle of inclination, must be equipped with gutters. It is preferable to entrust the installation of such a roof to specialists, since a complex truss system is used here, which requires accuracy and accuracy. Roof materials can be very different, both light and heavy. It should only be borne in mind that heavy roofs live longer, stabilize the roof itself better, and have good sound insulation. But such heavy roofs require a reinforced truss system. Hip roofs are mainly used in the southern regions.
Semi-hip roofs are a hip roof with truncated triangular slopes, while they are located at a lower angle of inclination than trapezoidal slopes. Such roofs are built mainly in windy areas.
Hip roofs are a type of hip roofs, but the house is based on a square or any regular polygon, so all four or more slopes are triangular in shape and converge at one top point. This form of roofs has a beautiful pyramidal appearance and is a decoration of the house. Installing a hip roof is just as difficult as installing a hip roof due to the complex truss system.
Multi-gable roofs - these roofs are used in the construction of houses with a complex polygonal shape with outbuildings and side attics. Such roofs are rich in internal (valley) and external corners. The installation of such a roof is complicated and requires qualified builders. The appearance of such a roof is always distinguished by beauty and originality.
Dome roofs - have now gained popularity among architects in the construction of domed houses. These houses are interesting in that the walls make up only 1/5 of the height of the entire house, and 4/5 is the domed roof. Still such roofs are used to organize the overlap of the whole or part of the building. Such roofs are mounted from curved frame elements and, as a rule, soft materials (roofing material, stekloizol, bituminous tiles) or flexible materials - galvanized steel, plastic tiles are used as roofing.
Above, we have listed far from all types of roofs that are used by modern designers and builders. The roofs of cottages, even in the same village, now amaze with a variety of shapes, colors and materials.
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