What should we know about building roofs?

What should we know about building roofs? In this article, we will consider the construction of the roof from a slightly different perspective. In addition, let’s think at the very beginning what we actually mean when we use the word roof.

What should be behind the construction of the roof? The roof is actually a sloping cover that is designed to adequately cover the house, block of flats or any other building. Remember that the roof can be made of various materials.

Almost every sloping cover placed on a building fits the definition of a roof. Therefore, for the construction of the roof, we can use practically anything that will fulfill its task. How should we understand the roof and the construction of the roof in order to approach the issue in a more professional way?

Let’s start with an explanation that will allow everyone to visualize this topic well. The slope of the roof indicates how technically advanced the roof is. Therefore, we can look back to ancient buildings and see that much more of the buildings resembled today’s old skyscrapers than modern single-family houses or huge office buildings.

In general, we can say that a roof is much more technically advanced if its surface is very low. By analogy with this statement, let’s assume that roofs with high slopes are a low-tech creation. However, if we want to better understand this principle, let’s discuss it with an example.

Take one of today’s roof systems as an example. It is thatch. Most roofs built via this method have a pitch of 45 degrees regardless of the location where it was built.

However, these roofs must have a certain slope as they are not a good example of a waterproof material. However, the lack of adequate watertightness was replaced by the technique used during the construction of the roof. The thatched roof drains water using the natural law of gravity.

It is also worth mentioning that thatch is quite a thick roof. Typically, the construction of a thatched roof provides for a roof thickness of at least 40 centimeters.

The large slope displaces standing water on the roof into the drain and ensures the safety of the building’s inhabitants. Due to the fact that the thatched roof is thick, the construction of this roof means that it does not have to be made of waterproof materials. The system drains water in an extremely trivial way because the roof is so thick that water does not have time to penetrate the thatch before the sloping angles of the roof drain all moisture to the drains prepared for this purpose.

What are the most modern methods for the construction of roofs that we use nowadays?

Thatch is a method of building roofs that provides for lower investments and is used rather as a way to save money in construction. On the other hand, however, we have one of the most modern methods for building a roof. The modern roof construction system we are talking about is corrugated sheet.

This system, of course, provides for the creation of roofs using sheet metal with a very low slope, which is a technological novelty in today’s construction. Some of these systems are installed with a slope of one degree or even less, which is impressive compared to the more than forty degrees required for a thatched roof drain.

So why can sheet metal be made at such a low angle of inclination? This is because the materials necessary for this construction are completely waterproof, therefore the system becomes fully waterproof once the roof is properly constructed. However, the system is an advanced construction method for a reason. In addition to water resistance, corrugated sheeting must meet many other requirements.

First of all, it is very important that it easily holds snow when the weather during the winter ceases to pamper us. Aesthetic values are also important. Since corrugated sheeting projects are usually an expensive expense, it must be presented in an extremely attractive way. The sheet metal finish must be extremely resistant to abrasion and impact so that the structure can serve for many years.

In addition, sheet metal made in a hot climate cannot absorb heat to ensure comfort for people living in a given building.

The earliest roof systems known to mankind

The initial roofs, even before we learned how to work with wood, were probably created by means of a mixture of straw, sticks and other small elements. Despite the fact that this method of building a roof is one of the earliest, we can still observe its use in some parts of the world.

A thick, almost half a meter, thatch of straw, stems, plants and anything else that may be suitable for isolating water from the layers of the roof is still a valid method in primitive construction. This thickness consists of several layers of individual plant fibers. When water falls on a thatched roof, it will flow down from layer to layer as gravity pulls it down.

So the thickness actually creates enough layers for water droplets to travel horizontally out of the structure before they fall into the room. Despite the lack of technological invention, the method seems to be extremely cheap and effective, which makes it attractive.