Flat Roof Frame Design

Another common design in the northeast is the saltbox which is a gable roof with one longer side.

Flat roof frame design. Hot tar and gravel also known as the built up roof bur this type of flat roof features three or more layers of waterproof material mixed in an alternating fashion with hot tar and a layer of smooth stone like gravel. It is not ideal for snow or heavy rain but modern materials and proper drainage have helped. Think of a flattened hip roof. Underneath the basics flat roofs are usually constructed with a ceiling nailed to joists which support a deck usually wood in residential construction a vapor barrier insulation and a roof board.

On a basic level flat roof construction comes in the form of roofing timbers or joists as they are more commonly known or steels that are laid across two uprights walls in most cases. Yet for historic modern style buildings like this old house s cambridge tv project flat roofs are at the core of the architecture meant to reflect the broad horizontal lines of the natural landscape. They re simple in form and function and are a good example of the modernist principle of clean lines. It may consist of a flat roof on top but the main design element is the multi pitch sloped in what is essentially a hip roof on top of another hip frame.

If you build a flat roof try to have it slope in multiple directions to drains or gutters. Modern architecture has traditionally been characterized by flat roofs. The steels or rsj s rolled steel joists are often built into one or both walls to give added stability to the roof structure. From there the flat roof system you choose will determine the materials you apply.

Flat roofs aren t architecturally logical as rain and snow will shed much more quickly off a sloped roof. Shed gable hip gambrel and mansard. Flat roofs create long horizontal planes reminiscent of the broad horizon line seen often in nature. Roofs are basically five types.

There are several methods and materials for the design of the exterior surface of a warm or cold flat roof. A flat roof has a slope of 1 8 per foot to 2 12. Roof framing is one of those carpenter skills that appears quite complicated and indeed some roof designs are difficult.