Roof

A roof is the top covering of a building that prevents the ingress of weather into the building interior. Roofing comes in sloped or 'flat' form; however, roofs should never be truly flat. Flat roofs are often covered with tar and gravel and provided with drains to run off rain and snow. Other materials used include b.e. PVC.

Related Topics:
Building - Tar - Gravel - Drain - Rain - Snow

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Roof shapes and pitches are often the product of material constraints and climactic concerns. Buildings in mild climates or where there is little precipitation tend to exhibit flat roofs; thus the flat roofs of traditional adobe construction in the American Southwest and that of the Middle Eastern deserts. The pitches of most Greek and Roman temples are rather low: most are below 33 degrees. Rain is not a major concern in those areas, and neither were large amounts of snow, for that matter. However, as you go north these concerns grow: in the far north, where snow accumulated on roofs can remain for months and months at a time, roof pitches can exceed 45 or 50 degrees. The sheer weight of accumulated snow can cause major damage to the structure, and the slow melt at the end of winter can cause devastating leaks and water damage (especially when snow melts, then refreezes inside a crack, which then expands) that won't be discovered until too late. High pitches shed snow and rain very efficiently just by the effects of gravity.

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Some building styles, for example, geodesic and A-frame, blur the distinction between wall and roofs. Pitched roofs are often covered with asphalt shingles (in the US) although thatch, wood shake, steel, corrugated galvanised iron, slate and tile roofs are used elsewhere.

Related Topics:
Geodesic - A-frame - Wall - Asphalt - Shingle - US - Thatch - Wood - Shake - Steel - Corrugated galvanised iron - Slate - Tile

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