When constructing urban high-rise buildings and industrial facilities, the base of a flat roof is usually a reinforced concrete slab. But for private houses, especially frame and wooden houses, such a choice is most often unacceptable. In this case, a flat roof is constructed over wooden beams. Its main advantage is a light weight reducing the load on walls and foundations.
The device of such a roof is simpler and cheaper than using heavy reinforced concrete slabs. And the functionality is the same. Therefore, this option for a flat roof is often chosen by those who want to build it with their own hands.
The main share of such roofs falls on private houses and cottages, whose owners value futuristic style, convenience and practicality. Also - on the ceilings of verandas, terraces, balconies, garages. As a rule, all these buildings are wooden or frame, requiring a light roof structure. But it is not mandatory rule... The wall material can be any - brick, aerated concrete, foam concrete, etc. In this case, often wooden beams crash into the mauerlat - wooden bar running along the perimeter of the walls and connected to them using anchor bolts or studs.
A flat roof is especially attractive to developers because its horizontal surface can be used as useful area... Moreover, it is possible even for a roof, at the base of which there are wooden beams.
Of course, it is not worth using the vacated meters for a parking lot, swimming pool or tennis court. Still, such projects require a more monumental foundation. But the open terrace, observation deck, home greenhouse, wooden beams can easily withstand. The main thing is to correctly calculate and not save on the thickness of the lumber.
On wooden floors, you can build a flat roof of the following types:
That is all possible types- no limits.
Unexploited roof- ordinary, finished with a waterproofing topcoat. It is intended solely to protect the premises from environmental conditions and does not have any other purpose. It is impossible to use it as a resting place, travel in large companies, install terrace furniture and flowerpots. The covering of such a roof is designed for the fact that 1-2 people will periodically climb onto it, exclusively for maintenance of the structure.
Operated roof- already more interesting and more difficult. In addition to direct protective functions, such a roof plays the role of additional usable space for the homeowner. The construction cake ends not with waterproofing (prone to damage), but with a protective coating - paving stones, decoking, wood flooring, paving slabs, turf, crushed stone or gravel.
Inversion roof- an upside-down roof, a qualitatively different option. It can be both exploited and unexploited. Its peculiarity is the inverted order of the layers in the cake. If in a conventional roof the waterproofing is laid on top of the insulation, then in the inverted roof the opposite is true. Waterproofing lies under the insulation, and vapor barrier is generally excluded from the structure of the pie. Due to this, the waterproofing is protected from the outdoor environment and its service life is increased.
However, under the influence of unfavorable outdoor conditions, insulation appears, therefore, in the composition of inverted roofs, the choice of this type of insulation is limited. Only EPS (extruded polystyrene foam) and nothing more! This material has practically zero water absorption, high density and strength. From above, the EPSP in inversion roofs is loaded with washed gravel, paving stones, paving slabs or sod layer.
An interesting option for exploited roofs (including inversion roofs) is green roof... It can also be supported on wooden beams. The cake of such a roof ends with a soil layer on which the plants are planted. There are other elements that are not used for other types of roofs: drainage layer (gravel, expanded clay, crushed pumice stone or geomats), filtration layer (geotextile).
The frame of the described roofs are wooden beams, laid as an interfloor overlap. Full size timber or multi-piece (glued) timber can be used. Often, beams are made of boards with a section of 100x150 mm.
Beams are laid with support on the walls, similar to interfloor ceilings. If the building is wooden or frame, then the beams are supported on the upper crown of the logs or top harness... If brick or block - then on a pre-fixed Mauerlat. As a mauerlat, a bar with a section of 150x150 mm or 150x100 mm is usually used. It is mounted on the upper chord of the walls using anchors or studs. To protect the wooden Mauerlat from the wall material, 1-2 layers of waterproofing (roofing material) are laid between them.
On the beams, cuts are made for the Mauerlat, they are laid and fixed with metal corners or nails. The step between the beams is maintained 50-120 mm (depending on the calculated load).
When installing beams, it is important to ensure a roof slope of 1-6 °. Despite the fact that the roof is called flat, it is not completely horizontal. A slight slope is necessary to ensure the movement of water to the drain and thus prevent stagnation.
You can create the required slope in the following ways:
The first option is most often used, that is, beams with a slope are immediately laid. The easiest way to do this is to fasten a sturdy beam or plank run along the top of the load-bearing wall, which will lift the frame (s) on one side. Instead of a cross purl, you can also install short radial beams extending from the center double diagonal beam.
A flat roof cake on a wooden frame can have different structures. There are many design options, many of which are available on the Internet. And they will all work!
Insulation layers for flat roofs can be installed on top of the beams. For example, a proven working option (classic roofing with insulation):
When used in the structure at the same time EPS insulation and PVC membranes, be sure to lay between them separating layer(geotextile, fiberglass). The fact is that these two materials are incompatible and upon their direct contact, PVC is destroyed.
The polymer membrane is fixed to the insulation by a mechanical method or loaded with ballast. Crushed stone or gravel (for all types of roofs), paving stones (for operated roofs), soil (for green operated roofs) are used as ballast. However, when choosing ballast, you should soberly assess the reliability timber frame, its ultimate load.
If as topcoat it is assumed to use a welded waterproofing or an EPDM membrane with adhesive fixation; a change is made to the above scheme. It consists in the fact that sheets of plywood, OSB or DSP are laid between the insulation and the waterproofing.
It turns out the following scheme:
Installation of a welded roof traditionally requires the use of gas burner, therefore, according to the existing fire regulations, it is unacceptable for wooden structures... Therefore, they act as follows. The first layer of waterproofing is nailed or glued to a wooden base, and the second layer is fused, as it should be. It is also convenient to use euroruberoid with a special adhesive base, for which cold installation is recommended without heating with a burner.
Installation of a membrane roof on a wooden base is shown in the video clip:
Another principle for assembling a flat roof pie is associated with laying insulation in the interbeam space. This option is more convenient than the first one if adhesive-retained EPDM membranes or fusion-bonded roofs are used as waterproofing.
Such a scheme is often used. roofing cake:
In principle, a similar system is used in the formation of classic pitched roofs.
In this case, sheets of plywood, OSB or DSP are sewn onto the supporting structure (beams), and waterproofing is laid on them. The remaining insulating layers of the roofing cake are sewn on from the side of the room.
A rough ceiling (made of boards or sheet materials) is fixed on the beams, strips are screwed to it, perpendicular to the supporting beams, with a pitch of 40 cm. Styrofoam plates are placed between the strips, gluing them to mastic or glue. A vapor barrier film is hemmed to the insulating layer. Cover the insulation cake with a clean ceiling.
Or you can go against all the "traditional" solutions and build an inversion roof on the beams. Due to the fact that the waterproofing will be covered with a heater, that is, protected from stress, exposure to oxygen, UV rays and precipitation, its service life is significantly increased.
When constructing an inversion roof, you can use the following scheme (from bottom to top):
The inverted roof principle is often applied to green roofs. For example, you can do this:
The wooden base of a flat roof, along with its advantages, also has features with a minus sign. This is an increased fire hazard and low bearing capacity (in comparison with reinforced concrete slabs).
For waterproofing such a roof, it is advisable to use materials that do not require hot installation. Ideally, polymer membranes. When choosing overlaid bitumen-polymer coatings (from a series of euroruberoids), the first layer of material is mounted mechanically, and the second - by fusion. In order to minimize the possibility of fires of structures during installation, it is recommended to use non-combustible DSP slabs as a continuous sheathing (on which waterproofing is laid).
When constructing exploited and ballast roofs, it should also be remembered that an excessive load on a wooden base can be fatal. Therefore, if the bearing capacity of the used beams is not high, light materials should be selected for the finishing coating - decking, deck board, rubber paving slabs (rubber mats), etc.
A few decades ago, all developers on a large scale remodeled their houses with flat roofs into pitched ones. This is due to the fact that the materials used when laying flat roofs did not correspond to the quality and did not allow adequately protecting the base from moisture. Today, roof coverings on flat roofs even have some advantages over slopes. How to build a house with flat roof, and at the same time take into account all the pros and cons, you will learn in this article.
In European countries, it has long been practiced to create sports grounds, lawns or flower beds right on the roof. country house... This saves usable living space. As for the CIS countries, they are not used to such things, until now the arrangement of something higher overhead is considered a curiosity, but often there are people who have adopted the experience of construction from abroad and their houses are popular.
Certainly, appearance a building with a flat roof is very primitive, but with a certain imagination, you can make it unique. Fortunately, the low cost of construction, durability, ease of installation and reliability of all structural elements allows you to come up with crazy projects... As an example, this article offers photo materials for flat roofs, I hope thanks to them you will get some ideas for your future construction. But first, you should find out what are the pros and cons of this type of roof.
Benefits of flat roofs:
Disadvantages of a flat roof:
All building structures are divided into types and subspecies. For example, a flat roof of a country house may or may not have an attic space.
Such moments are selected purely individually, so let's talk about them.
By the purpose of the roof:
By construction type:
By completing the protective layers:
Paying attention to all the points described above, developers receive the highest quality and purposefully created roofing.
Building houses in construction can never look the same. It looks like this is exactly what happens, but the materials are always slightly different from each other, and such differences can play a rather strong role in the construction of your comfort.
Some developers will think that the use of these materials is acceptable in this case, while for others the same work will be a mistake.
That is why the construction of houses with a flat roof is an individual lesson and the observance of the following rules will help you avoid embarrassment:
A flat roof of a country house is assembled in just a few days, this is due to the fact that you do not have to work at different heights, everything happens in one plane, therefore, everything is simple and safe.
In some regions of the country, there is an option for installing a lightweight flat roof. Such places, as a rule, have a very dry climate and precipitation is rare for them.
Application solid species coatings will lead to the fact that the mass of the entire building will have a decent value, but thanks to them it will also allow it to withstand the high pressure of precipitation and natural phenomena.
In this case, it is advisable to use metal, not wood, as a material for overlapping. As for the walls, their safety margin should also be increased. The concrete screed must have a reinforced body.
As a positive effect, you will gain greater safety and a longer life span for the entire building compared to soft flooring.
As a conclusion, I want to say that a flat roof is very rare, but it has undoubted advantages over pitched roofs. On their surface, you can arrange sports ground or dot the lawn.
Also in the countries of Europe, whole greenhouses are arranged on them for rare plants, and you must admit it is already quite exciting when you have one of the wonders of the world over your head - the Hanging Garden.
The choice of one design or another largely predetermines the possibility of using the attic as an additional living space, solves the issue of the need for insulation and determines the type of roofing.
A flat roof is a specific option that does not allow you to equip an attic as a living space (due to its absence).
But it offers a lot of opportunities for using the territory as an auxiliary site, as a place for placing equipment or as a private recreation area, isolated from the external space.
In this regard, a flat roof can provide many interesting possibilities, but its use has its limitations.
The main feature of a flat roof is an almost horizontal surface. such surfaces are low - up to 8 degrees, it is needed only for the drainage of rain or melt water.
According to the conditions of the location of the plane, there is practically zero wind load (with the correct arrangement without hanging edges) with maximum snow load.
Wherein, the roof structure has a complex multi-layer structure, ensuring the tightness of the coating and the working condition of the insulation.
Most favorable conditions operation of flat roofs:
For areas with cold and snowy winters, flat roofs are only recommended. for small household buildings having a relatively small area.
The use of flat roofs on residential buildings is more common in southern regions, where the problem of high snow pressures in winter is absent.
Flat roof
There is no definite, classic composition of a flat roof roofing pie. Layer structure is most often based on the following factors:
The decisive factor that determines the composition of the roof from the very beginning of construction is the purpose of the roof. It depends on it what material is needed for the construction of the floor, how it will be insulated, what is the optimal coating material in this case.
Insulation of a flat roof from soft roof produced outside, since this method is much more convenient and reliable from the standpoint of the tightness of the cake.
The general insulation technology looks like this:
This is a general plan, in practice it is often supplemented or complicated with the aim of more reliable protection against water penetration or the formation of cold bridges.
Roofing cake
One of the options for a flat roof is inverted roof... This is a relatively new type of pie construction that takes into account the disadvantages of conventional options.
The fact is that a common misfortune of flat roofs is water seepage through the insulation into the ceiling and the appearance of stains and streaks.
To eliminate this phenomenon, an inverted roof is used when a reliable waterproofing carpet (often multi-layer) is installed between the ceiling and the insulation.
The composition of the pie is built in this way:
On top of the ballast layer, if necessary, you can lay a hard covering to maintain a uniform ballast thickness and ease of movement.
Inversion roofing pie
Wood or concrete can be used as the basis for a flat roof. Both options are valid, but not interchangeable.
So, wooden base is used for small buildings, most often for household purposes.
If there is no heating, then such a roof is not insulated, a simple rafter system is made and laid on top roof covering ... However, wooden floors are also used for residential buildings.
This is due to the desire to lighten the roof, remove unnecessary load from the walls (for example, with the frame construction method).
CAREFULLY!
This option imposes certain restrictions on the functionality of the roof, excluding the presence of heavy equipment, a large number of people, etc.
Most often, for the used roofs of residential buildings, a concrete slab is used as the basis... This overlap has a number of significant advantages:
Since it is produced outside, the lower surface of the concrete floor (the ceiling of the upper floor) will be open, which allows using any available type of finish - from simple painting to installing a stretch ceiling.
If the floor is made of wood (beams), then the finishing should be carried out taking into account the possible deformation - "sagging" of the ceiling from the existing loads.
Photo of the foundations of the roof in section:
Wood base
Concrete base
The composition of the roofing cake is never randomly selected. The main selection criterion is the general purpose of the roof:
Depending on the purpose of the roof, the type of overlap is selected, which, in turn, largely determines the optimal type roofing material... Therefore, the composition of the roofing cake may have its own individual characteristics.
So, for a flat roof of an outbuilding, it will be enough:
Lightweight roof
For an exploited roof, which is used as a site for the installation of solar panels, satellite TV dishes or other equipment, the composition is much more complicated:
In this case, paving slabs serve as the outer coating, as a durable and cheap material.
ATTENTION!
At the same time, rain or melt water can quite easily penetrate into the insulation layer, so it must be resistant to moisture, impervious to water, or, alternatively, it is painless to pass water for itself through the drainage layer to the drain.
Operated roof
Pie scheme for creating a green roof:
In this case, there is a multi-stage waterproofing that reliably cuts off the insulation material from the upper soil layer. This cut-off is, at first glance, too complicated, necessary to guarantee the creation of a reliable water barrier.
The soil is an active accumulator of moisture, which will surely seep into the lower layers, so the complexity of the composition of the cake is quite justified.
Green roof
The material for covering a flat roof is selected based on its purpose.
Unused surfaces are most often covered with roofing material and joints are sealed with liquid bitumen..
Recently, a large number of similar materials with improved characteristics have appeared, which make it possible to more reliably protect the roofing pie.
The exploited surfaces require more rigid and durable coating ... At the same time, the task of airtight isolation of the insulation from external influences is not removed, therefore, most often, a sand-cement pad and a working layer - paving slabs - are laid on top of the soft roof.
Coating
How to make a flat roof? First of all, you need to determine the main parameters - the type of roof, device, etc. Consider the option of installing an exploited flat roof with a concrete floor and external drainage using gutters:
The specified sequence is one of the options; there are many similar techniques that are equivalent in result, but differ in details.
The device of a flat roof, traditionally considered an accessory to auxiliary buildings, can be carried out in such a way that the roof surface turns into an additional platform that can be used for various needs.
Depending on the climatic conditions of the area, the flat roof surface is turned into a green lawn, into a technical area for placing equipment, into a recreation area.
All options for an exploited roof require careful arrangement and expensive materials.... A high-quality result directly depends on the qualifications of the people performing the work and on the financial capabilities of the owner of the house.
But don't forget that you can build a flat roof with your own hands.
Investments in an equipped, used flat roof will be justified only in regions with short mild winters and low average monthly rainfall. All other issues are solvable and do not cause serious problems.
Waterproofing
Warming
In this video, you will learn what is the structure of a flat roof made of deposited materials:
In contact with
If earlier flat roofs were made only on urban multi-storey buildings and were associated with constant leaks, today the situation has changed radically. These structures are used not only during the construction of multi-storey buildings, but also in the construction of prestigious private houses on exclusive projects. Such changes were made possible by the emergence of completely new building materials and technology.
Flat roofs - one of the many types of roofing arrangements, has both positive and negative sides. The advantages of such roofs include the following characteristics.
Unfortunately, such architectural designs also have disadvantages.
We have listed the real advantages and disadvantages, each developer must carefully analyze them before making a final decision.
Thanks to new materials and technologies, the designers have managed to create several types of flat roofs with unique performance characteristics.
| Flat roof type | Brief description of technical and operational characteristics |
|---|---|
| The most commonly used, simplest and cheapest type of roof. It is found most often on utility buildings, rarely mounted on private houses. |
| A very prestigious roof that allows you to use the area to improve the comfort of living in the building. The arrangement of such roofs requires high-quality materials and special technologies... An exploited roof is often inverted. |
| It differs from the usual arrangement of the layers of the roofing cake. Waterproofing is done directly on the supporting base, this feature protects the coating from mechanical damage... Geotextile, extruded polystyrene foam, another layer of geotextile and a ballast layer are laid on top of the waterproofing. Geotextiles allow water to flow to the drainage system, and ballast prevents the layers from being blown up by strong gusts of wind. |
Important. The cost of flat roofs varies widely, some options for a price can be several times higher than gable structures.
All flat roofs in residential buildings must be insulated; structures consist of several layers. Each of them fulfills its function and is critical for the roof.
It can be reinforced concrete or wooden.
Reinforced concrete slabs are preferred by professional builders, but not all homes can use them. Slabs are installed only on brick or concrete facade walls, for wooden or frame buildings such elements do not apply.
Vapor barrier material
It is used only in two cases: the base of a flat roof is made of wood and mineral wool is used as insulation.
But such options are rare, most often the base is made from concrete slab, and durable extruded polystyrene is used for insulation. Both of these materials are not only not afraid of exposure to steam, but also do not react to direct contact with water. Accordingly, when arranging roofs made of such materials, vapor protection is not required.
There are two types of insulation that can be used in flat roof construction.
Heaters can be installed in two ways.
Currently, architects in most cases prefer the second option for insulating a flat roof, keep this in mind. But practitioners advise to install insulation from inside the premises. Each developer must make a decision independently.
Thermal insulation materials
For example, we will take the option of arranging a flat roof on a wooden frame house... These buildings are very popular with many developers, they are quickly assembled, relatively inexpensive and provide residents with a modern level of comfort.
For the ceiling, you need to use I-beams, ordinary ones will not work due to very high loads. If the linear dimensions of ordinary beams are significantly increased, then their own weight will play a significant role in calculating the acting forces, and this is extremely undesirable for all structurally loaded elements.
Important. If the size of the house is large, then it is much more profitable to order short beams and splice them on site. Due to this method, the process of transportation and installation of structures is simplified. During the installation of ceiling beams, you need to make a slight slope for water to drain.
PVC membrane for roofing
For sealing, it is recommended to use a modern high-quality membrane that is protected from the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays. The membrane thickness is not less than 1.5 mm, the service life of such coatings is more than thirty years. Membranes should retain their original properties at temperatures of -30 ° and below. It must be borne in mind that situations may arise when in winter it is necessary to remove snow from the roof, the waterproofing must withstand mechanical forces and not be damaged.
The diameter of the funnel must correspond to the roof area and the maximum water debit. The data are available in comparison tables and are attached to the instructions for use of the elements. If for some reason there is no such instruction, then you should consult with the seller.
The funnel is installed at the lowest point on the roof. The roof plane is divided into several sectors and each has a slight slope towards the drain. To prevent ice from accumulating in the funnel in winter, it is recommended to connect an electric heating system. Heating functions temporarily and only during the period when the temperature changes from positive to negative several times a day.
The joints are welded construction hairdryer and additionally filled with special two-component glue. You should start from the very bottom edge, the width of the overlaps is at least 10 cm. To increase the strength of the fastening, each strip of the membrane is separately fixed with special fasteners, the wide washers are then closed.
Along the perimeter of the parapet, the membrane is also screwed on with washers of a large diameter, the distance between them is about 20-30 cm.
Experienced builders do not recommend trying to install external gutters and pipes on flat roofs to drain water to the ground. The best option is to let plastic pipes through the interiors. Installation of the system should be done immediately after assembling the frame of the house, during sheathing interior walls the pipes are hiding. Due to such a place of installation, the likelihood of freezing is completely excluded, the reliability of the system's functioning is significantly increased.
There are many options, the effectiveness depends not only on the materials used, but also on the professionalism of the master. But practice shows that, all things being equal, the greatest reliability is in bituminous mastics... The surfaces must be coated at least two times, this guarantees the tightness of the coating for a long period of time. Of course, the upper membrane also needs to be of good quality and correctly applied.
Most people associate a flat roof with multi-storey buildings... In private housing construction, such roof structures ten years ago, they were practically not used. Today they can be seen in many projects. country cottages... Therefore, many developers consider a flat roof in a private house as an option, analyze the pros and cons of its operation.
In this article
Any building structures are subdivided into separate types, subspecies. So, for example, for some flat roofs country houses envisaged attic, for others, no. Therefore, they are classified:
By destination:
The strength of the floors of the house and load-bearing walls must be suitable for the type of use of the roof. It is important to note that sound and vibration should be reliably absorbed.
The main features of the exploited roof. is the sufficient strength of the floors and the protection of the waterproofing layer.
When the roof is not in operation, the roof is lifted only in the case of its maintenance, repair, as well as if it is necessary to maintain the structures located on it, such as ventilation caps, cable lines, antennas, overhead lines power transmission, etc.
Important! In regions with abundant snow, flat roofs are usually not used due to sufficiently large snow loads.
By construction type:
For the arrangement of the roofing cake:
Private developers, paying attention to the listed points, end up with a practical, high-quality flat roof structure.
Homes with flat roofs stand out in the private sector among houses with pitched roofs.
When choosing such a roof structure for a country house, the developer receives the following advantages:
Important! To prevent precipitation from lingering on the surface of a flat roof, the minimum angle of inclination should be 5 °. This slope can be created by overlapping or using slag, expanded clay.
But a flat roof, like other roofing structures, has, in addition to pluses, minuses, for example:
A flat roof structure in a private house is not difficult, so it can be completely built with your own hands. But in this case, you need to take into account some important points:
Important! Using only high quality building materials.
