Currently, the prevailing trend in single-family housing is minimalism. For this reason, newly built houses are usually covered with gable roofs. This shape of the roof facilitates the implementation of energy-efficient buildings. Of course, we don’t have to follow fashion. What are the options when choosing a roof structure?
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The roof affects not only the aesthetics of the house and its appearance but also determines the type of roofing material, the method of making individual layers, the functionality of the solution, and the cost of construction. There are many shapes of the roof. We can choose among the always fashionable and standard gable roofs or opt for impressive multi-hipped roofs. It is worth remembering that the simpler the structure, the lower the construction cost.
Flat roofs
After years of disgrace, flat roofs have returned in great style and we can find them more and more often on both single-story and multi-story houses. The load-bearing structure (it takes all loads) of flat roofs is a reinforced concrete layer, on which insulation is laid, and on top of it the roofing material. The concepts of flat roofs that constitute the top of the last floor vary – they can be ventilated, non-ventilated, or inverted roofs. Non-ventilated roofs are easy to make, but due to numerous disadvantages, they are most often used in outbuildings or over-unheated rooms. Flat, ventilated roofs enable the removal of moisture from the thermal insulation layer, thanks to the fact that the ceiling and the insulation on it are separated from the layers above with a ventilation gap. However, in the case of inverted roofs (it can be used, for example, as a garden), the first layer is waterproofing, and only then is the thermal layer. Gravel can be used as a pressing layer, which protects the structure from precipitation and also increases the evaporation surface. Importantly, a flat roof is not entirely flat – the slope is between 5 and 20 degrees. This allows rainwater to drain freely.
Steep roofs
Steep roofs are practically an unlimited number of variants, ranging from the simplest, single-pitched, through gable, and ending with multi-pitched roofs – everything really depends on the designer’s vision and investor’s preferences. We present the most common roofs in our landscape.
A single-pitch roof (or a single-pitch, shed roof) – as the name suggests – has one rectangular roof. It is usually used on houses whose span between the walls is less than 6 m. For this reason, such a roof is rarely found in single-family houses, it is also unattractive, but in the case of outbuildings or garages, it works perfectly.
A gable roof (two-slope) – as we have already mentioned – is currently the most frequently chosen solution for both single-story and multi-story houses. It is built of two rectangular slopes. Under such a roof, it is easy to arrange a usable attic, also the cost of its implementation is lower than, for example, a hip roof. Interesting variants of the gable roof are asymmetrical or symmetrical barrel roofs (based on an arch).
The hip roof has four slopes. One type is an envelope roof. It is made of four oblique slopes – two are trapezoidal and two triangles, most often with the same angle of inclination. It is very effective, but compared to a gable roof, it is more expensive and more difficult to implement, although the cost of building the gable walls is omitted. In addition, slants on four sides make attic furniture difficult. Envelope roofs look best on one-story houses. Another type of hipped roof is a tent roof. It consists of four triangular-shaped slopes.
The mansard roof is made of two or four slopes, each of which is broken at a different angle of inclination – the lower part of the slope is very steep, the upper part has a much smaller angle of inclination. This solution allows for optimal use of the attic. It is more difficult and expensive to implement.
Half-pitched roof – it is distinguished from the gable roof by the cut corners of the slope, which form the pediments.
A multi-hipped roof is a combination of roof slopes of various sizes and shapes. It is complicated to build, and therefore also expensive.
