Everything You Need To Know About Roof Construction

A residence remains incomplete without proper roofing. Thus you should pay attention to the different styles and components of a roof to give a positive result.

Before you start selecting any of the structural components for your building it is advised to consult with a structural engineer and a builder in Perth. However, it is also a good idea to know about the various roofing materials and components that are ideal for a typical residential roof construction.

Roof shapes depend on the type of construction and amount of money you consider to spend. Usually the most economical option is a continuous gable truss. Constructing a butterfly roof can be a bit expensive as it needs box gutter detailing, complex installations and highly skilled engineering. Therefore, consult with the building designers to know which style is the best for your building.

So, what are the most common types of roofs?

• Hip and gable — This is a cost-effective style that establishes great aesthetic in the roof structure.
• Flat — They appear flat, but have a pitch at the side for proper water run off.
• Skillion — This too is a flat roof but a bit different in the pitch style.
• Butterfly — It’s actually two skillioned roofs that have a box gutter in the middle.

Defining a roof through measurements:

• Span — It is the horizontal distance between each wall.
• Going — It is the horizontal distance from the wall to the apex.
• Rise — It’s the vertical distance from the top plate to the ridge.
• Pitch — The angle for the rafters that is installed in the pitching point on the top plate of the wall. The greater the pitch, the faster the water flows, thus creating a chance of gutter failure.

Roof terminology

• Ridge — The horizontal straight apex of the roof.
• Hip — The sloping apex of a roof that starts right from the crown to the slopes in the facia board.
• Valley — Valley is common in L shaped roofs. It’s actually the sloping surface of the ridge to the facia board.
• Crown — The meeting point ridge line and the hip is called crown.

Standard roof construction

Standard roofing is rarely seen nowadays due to the rise of roof trusses. However, house owners must stick to conventional roofing when additions are constructed in an existing building. This is because installing a truss in a new addition becomes a problem. After a standard roof is constructed, you can then add customisations as per the needs.

Therefore, to choose the correct materials of roofing, you need to hire a professional builder who can help you out.