ROOFING

A building’s roof is its first line of defense against the weather, protecting it from rain, snow, and sun.
The roof helps to insulate the building from extremes of heat and cold and to control the
accompanying problems of air leakage and water vapor condensation.

Types of Roof:
1. Low-Slope Roofs or roofs that are nearly flat
o Water drains relatively slowly from the surfaces, and small errors in design or construction
can cause them to trap puddles of standing water
o The waterproof membrane must be absolutely watertight
o Can cover a building of any horizontal dimension, whereas a steep roof becomes
uneconomically tall when used on a very broad building
o Can be usable such as roof decks, balconies, patios, or gardens and parks
o Roofs that are close to horizontal in pitch, that is, with slopes less than 1:4 to 1:6 are referred
to as low-slope roofs or as inaccurately as “flat roofs”
o They are made of multiple interactive parts
• Roof deck
- The structural surface that supports the roof
- Plywood, panels over wood joists, solid wood decking, corrugated steel decking,
sitecast concrete slab, precast concrete slab
- A slope of at least 2% or (1:48) is the minimum requirement for decks
 To achieve this, the beams that support the roof deck may be sloped
- Ponding
 If a low-slope roof does not drain efficiently, ponding can occur, in which
area of water remain standing for extended period of time
- The roof membrane must be laid over a smooth, continuous surface
- If a deck is large in extent, the roofing system should be provided with enough
movement joints to keep expansion and contraction within the deck from stressing
the rood membrane
• Thermal insulation
- Is installed to slow the passage of heat into & out of the building
- Batt Insulation
 Permeable mineral or glass fiber
- Rigid Spray Foam Insulation
 Impermeable
- Rigid Board Insulation
 The most common location for low-slope roof insulation is above the roof
deck, beneath the roof membrane – a configuration also called compact
insulated roof
 In a protected membrane roof (PMR), insulation is installed above the roof
membrane
• Air barrier
- Restricts the leakage of air through the roof assembly
• Vapor retarder
- Used in colder climates or when enclosing humid spaces, prevents moisture vapor
from condensing within it
• Roof Membrane
- Is the impervious sheet of material that keeps water out of the building
- Usually have life expectancies ranging from 15 to 30 years, depending on the
material and thickness, and other factors
- Multi-ply bituminous Roof Membranes
 Built-up roof membrane (BUR)
 Is assembled in place from multiple layers of asphalt-impregnated
roofing felt bedded in layers of hot bitumen – hot mapped
 felt - made from cellulose, glass, or synthetic fibers, is saturated with
asphalt
 hot bitumen applied - is usually asphalt derived from the distillation of
petroleum
 For very low-slope roofs, coal tar pitch may be used because of its
greater resistance to standing water
 The felt are laminated in overlapping layers (piles), with the hot bitumen
welding them into a unified membrane, two or four plies thick
 To protect the membrane from sunlight and physical wear, a layer of
crushed stone or mineral granules is embedded in the top surface
 Modified bitumen roof membrane (most commonly used)
 Made from factory-manufactures sheets of polymer-modified bitumen,
which, are asphalt materials to which compounds such as atactic
polypropylene (APP) or styrene-butadiene-styrene or (SBS) have been
added to increase the material’s flexibility, cohesion, toughness, and
resistance to flow
 Also reinforced with plastic or glass fibers and are approximately 1.0 to
4.0mm in sheet thickness
 Also assembled in place in overlapping layers to form a multi-ply
system, usually two or three piles thick through torching
 Torch-applied membrane – an open flame apparatus is used to
thermally fuse the underside of the sheet to the top surface of the
substraMote or underlying sheet
 Other ways to bond sheets: cold process (or cold-applied) adhesive
membrane used liquid adhesives, self-adhered membrane relies on
factory-applied adhesives
- Cap sheet
 The top ply is surfaced with granules, laminate or coatings to provide
resistance to ultraviolet deterioration, wear and fire
- Singly-Ply Roof Membranes
 Diverse group of sheet materials that are applied to the roof in a single layer
 Require less on-site labour
 More elastic and less prone to cracking or tearing as they age
  However, they lack the redundancy of multi-ply membranes, making them
potentially more vulnerable to leakage through small defects or gaps in
seams
 Common membrane thickness vary from 0.9 to 3mm
 Are affixed to the roof deck by adhesives, weight of the ballast, or fastenings
concealed in the seams between sheets
 Thermoplastic materials (can be melted repeatedly)
 Can be softened by the application of heat and may be joined at the
seams by heat (or solvent) welding
 This welding process results in seams between sheets are that as strong
and permanent as the sheets themselves
 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) & Thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) – most
commonly used thermoplastic roof membrane
 Other thermoplastic roof membrane materials include: ketone ethylene
ester (KEE) and a class of materials referred to as PVC alloys or PVC
compounded thermoplastics, made from various blends of PVC and
other polymers
 Thermosetting materials (once shaped, cannot be melted)
 Have a more tightly linked molecular structure and cannot be softened
by heat (on heating, thermoset polymers will char, not melt)
 They are joined at the seams by liquid adhesives or pressure-sensitive
tapes or adhesives
 Most prevalent thermosetting roof membrane material is ethylene
propylene diene monomer (EPDM), a synthetic rubber that may or may
not include fiber or fabric reinforcing.
 Chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE) and polyisobutylene (PIB) are also
other examples
- Fluid-Applied Roof Membranes
 Are frequently used for domes, shells, and other complex shapes that are
difficult to roof by other means
 Are installed with a roller or spray gun in several coats and cure to form a
solid membrane
 Materials include: Neoprene, silicone, polyurethane, butyl rubber, asphalt
emulsion, and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)
• Flashing
- Around the membrane’s edges and wherever it is penetrated by pipes, vents,
expansion joints, or roof hatches, special flashings and details are designed and
installed to prevent water penetration
- STRIP FLASHINGS
 Membrane strip flashing (or stripping) create a watertight seal between the
roof membrane and sheet metal components
 Lap sealant at the edges of the membrane flashings prevents water from
seeping through imperfections in the bond between flashing layers
  The roof surface slopes away from the rood edge toward an internal drain or
scupper
 The exposed vertical face of the sheet metal roof edge is called a fascia
• Drainage components
- Such as roof drains, gutters, and downspouts, remove the water that runs off the
membrane
- SCUPPER
 A cast iron interior roof drain for low-slope roof
 The roof membrane is clamped directly into the drain body

ROOF PENETRATION
- A roof penetration for a plumbing vent stack, with a multi-ply built-up roof membrane
- Cant strips at horizontal to vertical transitions play an important added role, transforming
sharp tight-angle bends into a pair of 45-degree bends that place less stress on these less
pliable membrane types
• Structural Metal Panel Roofing
- Made from sheets of steel or aluminum, formed into long, narrow ribbed or
corrugated panels
- The panels are stiff enough to span between supports, called purlins, spaces as
much as 2.4m on center, or they may be installed over continuous roof decks.
- They are attached to the purlins with exposed mechanical fasteners rather than
concealed metal clips
- Resilient washers under each fastener head minimized the chance of water leakage
through the fastener holes in the panels
2. Steep Roofs
o A steep roof drains itself quickly of water, giving wind and gravity little opportunity to push or
pull water through the roofing material.
o Easy to install, inexpensive, repair of damages is easy
o Roofs with pitches of 1:6 to 1:4 or greater are referred to as steep roofs
o Traditional thatch, occasionally still used for the restoration of historic structures
o Shingles
• Used in a generic sense to include wood shingles and shakes, asphalt shingles, slates,
clay tiles, concrete tiles
• What these materials have in common is that they are applied in small, overlapping units
with staggered vertical joints
3. Architectural Sheet Metal Roofing
o Must have solid structural substrate for support
o Made from thin sheets of metal using ingenious systems of joining and fastening to maintain
watertightness.
o The seaming configurations also create strong visual patterns that contribute
o Types:
• Standing Seam
- The four diagrams show the steps in the forming of the panel seams, viewed in
cross section
 - The cleats, which are fastened to the rood deck and hold the panels in place, are
completely concealed in the finished installation
• Flat Seam
- To ensure that seams remain watertight, they are sealed with elastomeric sealant
• Batten Seam
o Sheet Metal Roofing Materials
• Lead
• Copper
- Turns beautiful blue-green in clean air and darker black in an industrial
atmosphere
• Zinc
- Ages dark gray color and can also be treated to alter or preserve its appearance
• Stainless Steel & Titanium
- Silvery white
• Zinc-tin alloy coated stainless steel
- Darker, duller appearance than uncoated stainless steel
- Very similar in appearance to a lead-tin allow coated metal called terne-coated
stainless steel
• The metals listed all form self-protected oxide coatings that provide long-lasting
resistance to corrosion
• They are usually installed uncoated and allowed to weather naturally, gradually
achieving their final appearance, or patina
• Other less expensive alternatives are commonly factory-coated with organic coatings
that provide a wide range of color choice
o Protection from Corrosion Between Dissimilar Metals
• When different metals come in contact with the presence of moisture, galvanic corrosion
can occur
• Galvanized – zinc-coatings as protection
4. Cool Roofs
o Roofs are exposed to solar radiation daily
o As that radiation is absorbed and converted into heat, the temperature of the roof covering
rises
o High roof temperatures can lead to overheating of interior spaces; reduced comfort for
building occupants; increase building energy consumption; etc.
o Solar heating of roofs is principally affected by a roof covering’s solar reflected index (SRI)
which is measured by its
• Solar reflectance, or albedo
- Is a measure of its tendency to reflect solar radiation rather than absorb it
• Thermal emittance
- Is a measure of a material’s capacity to radiate infrared heat energy and cool itself
as its temperature rises
5. Sustainability & Roofing
o Roofs can capture rainwater and conduct them to a cistern, tank, or pond for use as
domestic water, industrial water, or irrigation.
o A properly proportioned overhand can shade south-facing windows
o A light-colored roof covering, if kept clean, can reflect half or more of the solar radiation
striking its surface improving occupant comfort and reducing the heating load on the
building interior
o Green roofs extend the life of the roof covering materials, provide natural habitat, and create
occupiable roofscapes
• Extensive green roofs
- Are relatively shallow with soil depths of 25 to 150 mm
• Intensive green roofs
- May have soils as deep as 750mm and are design to support a broader variety of
plant types and shrubs
• Components of a green roof system
- Plant materials
- Growth medium (soil)
- Geotextile filter fabric
 Prevents soil particles from washing out and clogging the drain
- Soil restraints
 Confines the soil while allowing water to flow
- Drainage layer
 Provide efficient drainage and aeration beneath the soil
- Insulation
- Protection layers
 To prevent root invasion or physical damage
- Waterproofing membrane
- Vapor retarder
- Roof deck & supporting structure
o Roof membranes coated with photocatalytic materials can convert various air pollutants into
harmless organic materials in the presence of sunlight
• Photovoltaic (PV)
- Materials that directly convert sunlight to electricity
- PV Modules or commonly known as solar panels
 Mounted to the roof
- Thin-film PV
- Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs)
 Laminated onto conventional cladding, roofing, and glazing