Residential Flat Roof Framing

Flat roofs are always built at a slight incline at least 1 8 inch per foot.

Residential flat roof framing.

When framing a flat roof you will need to create a slight incline. Flat roofs aren t architecturally logical as rain and snow will shed much more quickly off a sloped roof. A parapet roof is a flat roof with the walls of the building extending upwards past the roof by a few feet around the edges. The membrane roof is the latest roofing technology and is also the roof of choice in commercial construction.

You can do this with a foam layer that exactly fits your roof. The rise or height of the roof at its peak is the altitude of the triangle. Pvc membranes are easy to maintain and repair. The run or half the building span is the base of the triangle.

Flat roofs usually come with a 10 to 20 year warranty but can last 25 years if you build the roofs right and maintain them using commonsense rules. A typical flat roof repair costs at least 350 400 and involves locating sources of leaks and patching the seams or holes. The framing of a basic gable roof is based on a right angle triangle and the various roof framing components fit the triangle. 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.

This may make it less ideal for rainy or snowy climates. Also known as low slope roofs flat roofs are less common in north american residential construction because the low slope of a flat roof has an increased tendency to collect water rather than shed like its more steeply pitched alternative. This will help you create a flat roof framing plan. Some roofs actually slope in several directions ensuring optimal water runoff.

Of course you don t need to live in a modern house to deal with a flat roof. The addition of a parapet makes a flat roof far safer providing a small barrier that provides additional security to reduce the likelihood of anyone standing the roof falling over the edge. However depending on the severity of the damage and the type of material installed repairing a flat roof can cost as much as 600 800.