CONSTRUCTION

TECHNOLOGY II

BY
ESTHER NJOKI

LESSON FIVE
 ROOFS
 A roof is an essential part of every
building and it provides protection from
elements of weather

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ROOFS

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Functional requirements of
roofs
 The roof covering should provide
adequate weather exclusion, have
reasonable durability, and be
aesthetically acceptable
 The roof should provide resistance to
excessive heat loss
 The roof structure should provide
resistance to failure due to overstressing.
 It must be able to support its own self-
weight, wind loads and imposed loads
such as snow
 The roof covering should offer adequate
drainage of the roof covering
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Functional requirements of
roofs – cont’d
 The roof should provide the required
degree of sound insulation
 It should provide daylight through the
roof if required
 The roof should provide adequate
provision of:
 Strength and stability
 Weather resistance
 Thermal insulation
 Fire resistance
 Sound insulation

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 Strength and stability
 It is important to keep the dead weight to a
minimum so that the imposed loads can be
carried with the greatest economy of material
 To achieve this, two factors are important:
 The characteristics of the material to be used
 The form or shape of the roof
 If the material is strong, less material is
required to resist given forces
 If the material is stiff, it will deform little
under load and the structure will be of
minimum depth
 If the material is light in weight, the self-
weight of the structure will be small
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 Strength and stability –
cont’d
 Steel, concrete, aluminium, timber and
plastics are all used for roof construction but
the appropriate roof structure must be
chosen
 The roof must resist the effects of wind
 The pressure of the wind varies with:
 itsvelocity,
 the height of the building, and
 the locality of the building

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 Strength and stability –
cont’d
 Wind may exert pressure on some parts of a
roof and suction on others both in varying
degrees at different points according to the
pitch of the roof

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 Strength and stability –
cont’d
 When very light roof covering are used, such
as some forms of aluminium sheeting, the
supporting structure tends to be light and
the weight of the roof structure may not be
enough to withstand suction occurring
during periods of very high wind

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 Strength and stability –
cont’d
 Wind resistance is often aggravated by large
areas of lightly clad wall and roof exposed to
wind with only a small amount of structural
framing

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 Strength and stability –
cont’d
 Many industrial buildings have heavy
foundations as a means of holding down the
building

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 Weather resistance
 Roofs should provide adequate weather
resistance

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 Thermal insulation
 Thermal insulation may be provided by:
 Incorporation of flexible or stiff insulating
material in or under the roof cladding

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Thermal insulation – cont’d
 Use
of self supporting-insulating material such as
wood wool slabs

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 Fire resistance
 Adequate fire resistance is necessary in
order to give protection against:
 The spread of fire from adjacent buildings
 The spread of fire to adjacent buildings
 Early collapse of the roof
 Spread of fire from the source to other parts of
the building

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 Sound insulation
 Sound insulation may be a precaution for
buildings such as concert halls in noisy
localities

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Roof terminologies

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Roof terminologies-cont’d

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Roof terminologies-cont’d

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Roof terminologies-cont’d

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Roof terminologies-cont’d

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Roof terminologies-cont’d

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Roof terminologies

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Roof terminologies – cont’d
 The overhang: The overhang is the
distance between the outside wall and
the end of the roof, which is parallel to
the wall.
 The birdsmouth: An angle cut on the edge
of a piece of timber so that it sits on the
angle of a cross piece. Used at the foot of
a rafter, where it sits on the top plate.

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Roof terminologies – cont’d
 Barge board – A vertical timber or plastic
trim which is fixed to the face of the last
common rafter at the end of a gable roof.
 Common rafter - The inclined members of
a roof between the wall plate and the
ridge which supports the roof covering.
 Ridge - The top horizontal member in a
roof carrying the rafters.
 Eaves - This is the lower edge of the roof
surface that overhangs the walls.

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Roof terminologies – cont’d
 Valley - This is the line formed at the internal
intersection of two sloping surfaces. It runs
from the ridge to the eaves
 Verge – This is the underside surface of the
eaves and the soffit of a gable roof which
overhangs the gable wall.
 Hip – The edge of a hipped roof that runs
from the ridge to the eaves. It is formed
when two sloping surfaces intersect.
 Soffit – This is the underside of the eaves
that is fixed to the back of the fascia and the
wall. It forms an enclosed element all around
the building
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Roof terminologies – cont’d
 Wall plates – The timber component which
sits upon the top of the walls of a building
and to which the foot of the roof rafters are
fixed
 Fascia - A vertical timber or plastic trim
which is fixed to the feet of the rafters and,
along with the soffit, encloses the eaves. It
also carries the gutters
 Soffit board – A timber or plastic trim which
is horizontally fixed to the underside of the
rafters and which, along with the fascia
encloses the eaves

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Roof terminologies – cont’d
 Gable ladder – This is a framework comprising
two common rafters and noggins. The noggins
and the rafters form a ladder frame which is
built into the top of the gable wall and extends
beyond the gable wall to form the gable eaves
and to which the barge board is fixed.
 Purlin – This is a strong, large sectioned timber
member which, is fixed to the common rafters
midway between the ridge and the wall plate
and runs parallel to the wall and the ridge. On
gable roofs, the ends of the purlin are built
into the gable walls. This component gives
added strength to the roof structure and
allows heavier roof coverings to be used.
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Roof terminologies – cont’d
 Jack or cripple rafters – These are short
rafters that run from the hip rafter to the wall
plate. These short rafters form the lower
portion of a valley or hip.
 Hip rafter – This is the main rafter of hip roof.
It is to this rafter that all jack or cripple rafters
are fixed to form the hip
 Joist hangers – These are metal hangers by
which ceiling joists are fixed to the wall plate,
or they may be built into the supporting walls.
 Ceiling joists – These are timber components
which span from wall to wall and to which the
ceiling covering is fixed.
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Roof terminologies – cont’d
 Roof binder – These are horizontal timber
components which span from wall to wall and
which are fixed to the feet of common and
jack rafters.
 Roof struts – These are angled components
which are fixed to the common rafters and
roof ties. The strut is usually fixed at right
angles to the common rafter to offer greater
strength.
 Roof hangers – Hangers are vertical timber
components similar in size and cross section
to a common rafter and are fixed to the top of
the common rafter close to the ridge and the
ceiling joist or roof binders. 31
 Pitches, Spans and Rises
 When setting out a roof, there are certain
essential factors that must be considered.
 These are:

1. Roof span – This is the distance across the

roof and measured to the outer edges of
the wall plates.
2. Roof height or rise – This is the vertical
height of the roof at its highest point and is
measured from the top of the wall plates to
the intersection of the rafters at the top of
the roof. When measuring rafters, the
length is taken as a straight line running
through the centre of the rafter.
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 Pitches, Spans and Rises –
cont’d
3. Roof pitch – This is the angle or slope of the roof
and can be expressed in degrees or as a fraction
or ratio found by dividing the rise by the span.
Example:
 If a roof has a span of 6m and a rise of 3m then the
pitch would be:

 Since the rise is half the span, the angle of the roof
would be 45°.
 The roof pitch triangle: The roof pitch triangle is
the slope of the roof and is expressed in
degrees.
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Pitches, Spans and Rises –
cont’d

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 Types of roof structures
 Roofs may be broadly classified in three
ways:
According to the plane of the outer
surface whether this be horizontal or
sloping
According to the structural principles on
which their design is based, that is the
manner in which the forces set up by
external loads are resolved within the
structure of the roof
According to their span

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 Flat and pitched roof
 A flat roof is one which the outer surface is
horizontal or is inclined at an angle not
exceeding 10 degrees
 A pitched roof is one whose outer surface is
sloping in one or more directions at an
inclination greater than 10 degrees

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 Flat and pitched roof –
cont’d
 Climate and covering material affect the
choice between a flat and pitched roof
 In hot dry areas, the flat roof is common
because it is not exposed to heavy rainfall
and it forms a useful out-of-doors living room

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 Flat and pitched roof –
cont’d
 In areas with heavy rainfall a steeply pitched
roof quickly throws off rain

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 Flat and pitched roof –
cont’d
 In areas of heavy snowfall a less steeply
pitched roof preserves a useful ‘insulating
blanket’ of snow during the cold season, but
permits thaw water to run off freely

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 Flat and pitched roof –
cont’d
 Coverings for roofs consists of:
Unit materials such as tiles and slates
laid close to and overlapping each other
Membrane or sheet materials such as
asphalt, bituminous felt or metal
sheeting

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 Flat and pitched roof –
cont’d
 Unit materials

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 Flat and pitched roof –
cont’d
 Membrane materials

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Two- and three-dimensional
roof structures
 From a structural point of view, roof
structures may be considered broadly as
two- and three-dimensional forms
 Roofs constructed of two-dimensional
members are classified such as single,
double and triple roofs
 Singleroof
 Double roof
 Trussed roof

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 Single roof construction
 The roofing system is carried directly by one
set of primary members
 Primary members span between the main
supports
 Primary members are spaced apart at an
economical span

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 Single roof construction –
cont’d
 Rafters of single roofs do not require any
intermediate support
 It can only be used for small spans
 If the feet of the rafters are not tied
together by means of a binder or roof
joist, then this type of roof will have a
tendency, under weight, to push the
supporting walls outwards at the top
causing structural failure of the walls.

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Single roof construction – cont’d

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 Single roof construction –
cont’d
 Single roofs can be categorised as follows:
1. Couple roof – These can be used for
building with a clear span of not greater
than 3m and pitches less than 40º.
2. Collar roof – These can be used for
buildings with a clear span not exceeding
4m.
3. Close couple roof – These can be used for
buildings with a clear span not exceeding
5.5m and with pitches less than 25º.

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 Couple roof
 This type of roof structure is very limited in
its use.
 The roof consists of common rafters fixed at
the ridge and at the wall plate.
 When subjected to any type of load or force
acting vertically downwards the rafters will
move outwards at their feet thus exerting
thrust to the walls forcing them outwards
and causing possible failure of the wall
structure.

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Couple roof – cont’d

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Couple roof – cont’d

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 Collar roof
 A collar roof incorporates a horizontal roof
member positioned approximately one third
of the distance from the ridge to the wall
plate line.
 This extra roof member helps prevent the
rafters from spreading when under load; this
allows this type of roof structure to be used
for greater spans than the couple roof.
 This design also gives a greater ceiling
height if required.

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Collar roof – cont’d

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 Close couple roof
 This roof incorporates a main tie which is
secured to the feet of each rafter and spans
the width of the building.
 This added member forms a triangle which
introduces the triangulation of forces within
the structure.
 To stop the ceiling joist from sagging, a
hanger is fixed to the rafter at the top and
the ceiling joist at the bottom.

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Close couple roof

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 Close couple roof – cont’d
 To further increase the strength of this
structure, a binder is fixed to each ceiling
joist and hanger.
 This binder runs parallel with the main
wall and at right angles to the ceiling
joist.
 This type of structure ensures that this
type of roof can be used for great spans
without the fear of the roof spreading
under loads.

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 Double roof construction
 A double roof is a roof whose rafters are
of such a length that they require an
intermediate support.
 This support is usually a beam which is
secured under the rafters at a point half
way between the ridge and the wallplate.
 This beam is known as a purlin.

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Double roof construction –
cont’d

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Double roof construction –
cont’d

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 Trussed roof construction
 The majority of double roofs that are
constructed today make use of trussed
rafters
 Trussed are used if the roof requires added
support.
 This will depend upon the size of the roof
and the type of roof covering the roof has to
support.

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Trussed roof construction –
cont’d

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Trussed roof construction –
cont’d

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Trussed roof construction –
cont’d

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Long and short span roofs
 Roof structures are classified in terms of
span as:
 Shortspan – up to 7.60 m
 Medium span – 7.60 m to 24.40 m
 Long span – over 24.40 m

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 Single flat roofs in timber
 It consists of joists spanning between supports
 Joists may be of sizes of 225 mm x 50mm
 The roof joists bear on 100 mm x 75 mm
timber members called wall plates
 Wall plates provide a bearing for the joists and
distribute their loads uniformly to the wall
 The slope of fall of the roof is obtained by
laying the joists to fall in the required direction
 If a level ceiling is required firrings or firring
pieces made of timber varying in depth are laid
on top of horizontal joists

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Single flat roofs in timber

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 Eaves treatment
 When the supporting walls carry up as
parapets the roof will be enclosed by the
walls

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 Eaves treatment – cont’d
 Below is a flat roof built into a parapet wall

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 Eaves treatment – cont’d
 If the roof is carried over the top of the
walls, its edge will be exposed as an eave
which can be finished:
Close to the outer wall face to form a
flush eaves
Beyond the outer wall face to form a
projecting eaves

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 Flush eaves
 The ends of the joists terminate at the outer
wall face and are covered or finished with a
25 mm or 32 mm fascia board nailed to the
joists ends tight against the wall
 The bottom edge of the fascia should be
splayed to form a drip

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 Projecting eaves
 The ends of the joists project beyond the
outer wall face and are finished with a fascia
board
 A closed eave is formed by fixing a soffit to
the underside of the joist formed using 19
mm tongued and grooved boarding

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 Open eave
 An open eave is one that is not applied a
soffit

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 Beam filling
 Beam filling between the beams should be
done as this becomes a continuation of the
main wall

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 Reinforced concrete flat
roofs
 The construction of one-way spanning roof
slabs of in situ concrete is the same as for
floors

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 Reinforced concrete flat
roofs
 A flush eave may be formed by fixing the
fascia to fillets cast in the edge of the
concrete slab
 A projecting eave may be finished with a
timber fascia board

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 Pitched roofs
 The joists in pitched roofs are called rafters
or spars

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 Pitched roofs
 A pitched roof sloping in one direction only is
called a mono pitch roof

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 Pitched roofs
 A ridge roof is a roof sloping down in two
directions from a central apex or ridge

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 Monopitch roofs
 The rafters meet the wall plate at an angle
and their weight easily makes them slide off
the plate
 To reduce this, the rafters in all pitched roofs
are notched or birdsmouthed over the plated
 The depth of the notch should not exceed
1/3 of the depth of the rafter

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 Monopitch roofs
 The roof may be contained within the walls
of the house in which case the wall is
finished with the roof covering

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 Monopitch roofs – cont’d
 The wall may also rise above the roof as a
parapet

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 Monopitch roofs – cont’d
 The roof may carry over the walls to finish as
a flush or projecting eaves

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 Monopitch roofs – cont’d
 An eaves gutter should be placed at the
fascia board with the front of the gutter
being lower than the back so that in case of
a blockage water will drain over the front

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 Monopitch roofs – cont’d
 To provide adequate anchorage against
suction by the wind, the rafters must be
anchored to the wall plates which in turn
must be anchored to the wall using metal
straps

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 Monopitch roofs – cont’d
 If the wall is timber or light metal frame, the
wall has to be anchored to the floor

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 Monopitch roofs – cont’d
 A roof formed of two monopitch roofs falling
to a valley is called a butterfly roof

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 Monopitch roofs – cont’d
 A cross wall or beam is required under the
valley to provide support for both set of
rafters
 A gutter should also be provided at the
valley

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 Lean-to roof
 This is a monopitch roof of which the tops of
the rafters are pitched against a wall

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 Lean-to roof – cont’d
 The feet of the rafters are birdsmouthed over
the wall plate
 The top of the rafters may be supported over
a plate supported on the wall by corbel
brackets

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Lean-to roof – cont’d

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Lean-to roof – cont’d

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