BUILDING MATERIALS – II

ROOF COVERINGS
INTRODUCTION
 ROOFS – a covering provided over the top of a building meant to keep

out rain, snow, sun, wind, etc. and to protect the building from the

adverse effects of these weather elements

 A roof consists of roof covering materials supported on structural

elements installed on the building top

 ROOF COVERING MATERIALS: Thatch, wooden shingles, tiles, slates,

AC (Asbestos Cement) Sheets, GI (Galvanized Iron) sheets, etc.

 STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS: Trusses, portals, flat slabs, shell, dome,

space frame, etc.

REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD ROOF
 Structurally sound and strong enough to carry the anticipated

dead and live loads safely

 Durable against adverse weather elements such as rain, snow, sun,

wind, etc.

 Should have sufficient water proofing and drainage solutions

 Should provide desired insulation against sound and heat

 Should be fire resistant

 CLASSIFICATION OF ROOF
1. PITCHED OR SLOPED ROOF – Considered suitable in coastal regions or in areas
with heavy rainfall or snowfall

2. FLAT OR TERRACED ROOF – Considered suitable for areas in plains or in hot

regions with scanty rainfall

3. CURVED ROOFS – Modifications of pitched roofs. Frequently employed to cover

large areas and to give architectural effects

Choice of type of roof will depend on

•Climatic conditions
•Nature and shape of building
•Availability of materials
•Budget
•Initial & maintenance cost
•Durability
•Appearance
•Resistance to fire
•Heat insulation
KEY TERMINOLOGY
IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY
IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY
IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY
IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY
ROOF COVERINGS FOR PITCHED ROOFS
ROOF COVERING FOR PITCHED ROOFS
 Roof coverings commonly adopted in India are as follows:

 Thatch covering

 Shingles

 Tiles

 Asbestos Cement Sheets (AC Sheets)

 Galvanized Corrugated Iron sheets (GI sheets)

 Slates
THATCH COVERING
 Largely used in low cost houses and
villages
 Cheapest form of roof covering and
simple in construction
 Framework consists of round bamboo
rafters spaced 300 mm apart and tied
with split bamboo rafters laid at right
angles to rafters
 Thatch is lightly secured to framework
with ropes or twines dipped in tar
 For proper drainage of rain water, thatch
covering should be min. 150 mm thick at
min. 44 degree slope
 DEMERITS
 Thatch-combustible
 Absorbs moisture – liable to rot & decay –
difficult to stay under the roof
TILES
 One of the oldest methods of roof
covering
 Losing popularity due to AC sheets
 Tiles are named according to their
shapes: Flat pan tiles, Half round
country tiles, Mangalore tiles,
etc.
FLAT OR CURVED PAN TILES AND
HALF ROUND COUNTRY TILES
 Common rafters spaced 220-300 mm
apart
 Battens nailed to common rafters at
60mm c/c
 Tiles laid with sufficient overlap
 Ridges, valleys, hips, etc. formed
with specially moulded tiles
 Last row of tiles laid near the eave,
TILES
TILES
TILES
MANGALORE OR CORRUGATED TILES
 In ordinary work, tiles laid on battens
 For superior construction, tiles laid on boardings covered with a protective coat of
tar or felt
 Boarding is directly nailed to purlins
 Tiles laid on battens nailed on the boarding
 Ridge, valley and hip tiles are specially moulded
 Ridge and hip tiles are laid dry and finally pointed with cement mortar
TILES
MANGALORE OR CORRUGATED TILES
SLATES
 Stone used for slate roof covering is obtained from limestone or sandstone –
not to be confused with slate obtained from metamorphic rock
 Most durable roof covering material in India, but rarely adopted
 Sizes vary from 600 mm X 350 mm to 250 mm X 120 mm
 Thickness – 1.6mm – 4.8 mm
 Slates fixed on battens fixed on timber rafters
 Or, slates can be laid on wooden boarding fixed on roof framework
 Slates are secured to the base with nails of zinc, copper, or galvanized iron
SHINGLES
 Use of shingles restricted to hilly areas where wood is easily available at low cost
 Wooden shingles cut from well seasoned timber
 Lengths - 300-380 mm
 Widths – 60 – 250 mm
 Laid in manner as slates or tiles
 Generally, 2 courses of shingles are laid at the eaves
SLATE/ SHINGLES ROOF

SHINGLE/ TILE

PILLAR
 ASBESTOS CEMENT SHEETS
 Asbestos cement – a material obtained by the combination of cement with about
15% asbestos fibers
 Sheets made of this material – light, cheap, impervious, durable and fire
resisting
 Does not require any protective paint, cannot be damaged by vermins
 Due to all these qualities, commonly adopted for factories, garages, generating
stations, low cost residences, etc.
 2 different types – “Big Six” and “Trafford” sheets – available in lengths of 2-3 m
LAYING OF SHEETS
 Sheets may be laid from left to right or vice-versa, preferably on the side opposite to
prevailing wind direction
 Laying - started at the eaves (PROCEDURE EXPLAINED FOR LAYING LEFT TO RIGHT)
 In first row or in eaves course, first sheet is uncut- remaining sheets have top left
hand corners cut
 In second or intermediate rows, 1st sheet in every row-bottom right cut, while others
have top left and bottom right corners cut
 Top row – all sheets except last one have bottom right corners cut
ASBESTOS CEMENT SHEETS
ASBESTOS CEMENT SHEETS
ASBESTOS CEMENT SHEETS
GALVANIZED, CORRUGATED IRON (GI) SHEETS
 22 gauge sheets – extensively used for factories, workshops, generator sheds,
etc.
 Not laid at a slope flatter than 1 in 4
 Durable, fire resistant, light weight, require no maintenance
 Corrugation done to give thin sheet more strength
 Sheets-galvanized to protect them from rust formation
 Sheets are laid with end lap of min. 150 mm & side lap – 1.5-2 corrugations
 Sheets fastened with 25mm X 6 mm flat iron wind ties above eaves
 Holes in sheet crowns may be drilled or punched
 However, at overlap corners of 4 sheets, holes to be drilled, not punched
 Sheets secured to purlins by means of GI hook bolts, screws, nails, etc. with
curved washers
GALVANIZED, CORRUGATED IRON (GI) SHEETS
ROOF COVERINGS FOR FLAT ROOFS
FLAT ROOFS
 A roof laid at an angle of less than 10 degrees
 May be of
 RCC
 RBW (Reinforced brick work)
 Precast concrete
 Jack arch flooring
 Flagstones, etc.
 Constructed in similar manner as upper floors, except, roof surface-properly to
protect from rain water, snow, heat, etc.
 Efficient water proofing and drainage is very important
 For thermal insulation, an additional layer of insulating material (mud lime,
concrete, mud phuska, etc. ) is laid
 Slope of 1:40 – 1:60 is required
FLAT ROOFS
ADVANTAGES
 Easy to make it fire proof
 Provides usable space for various activities
 Avoids enclosure of triangular space
 Good insulating properties
 Much simpler construction
 Require lesser area of roofing material
DISADVANTAGES
 Self weight-considerable
 When exposed to extreme temperature changes, cracks may form
 Leakage on flat roof-difficult to trace and repair
 Progress of construction of flat roof slower than pitched roof
TYPES OF FLAT TERRACED ROOFING
 Mud terrace roofing
 Brick jelly or Madras Terrace Roofing
 Mud phuska terracing with tile paving
 Lime concrete terracing
 Lime concrete terracing with tile paving
MUD TERRACE ROOF
 Extensively used in places where rainfall is
less
 Cheapest form – fairly water tight
 Mud terrace roof as popular in Punjab is
described as follows:
 RSJs span along the width of the room
 T sections-50mm X 50 mm X 6mm at 320
mm c/c placed on RSJs
 Well burnt tiles of dimensions 300 mm X
300 mm X 50 mm or 300 mm X 150 mm X
50 mm – placed between the flanges of T
sections and set in lime mortar
 150 mm thick layer of stiff white earth mud
(containing large % of sodium salts) is laid
over tiles
 Layer continuously beaten till the layer
becomes hard and the beater rebounds
when hit on the layer
 Surface plastered with mud-cow-dung
MADRAS TERRACE ROOFING
 Base – timber joist roof
 A course of thoroughly burnt bricks (150 mm X 80 mm X 20 mm) laid on edge in
lime mortar on joists
 Bricks kept immersed in water for 24 hours
 Joint thickness – 10 mm
 After bricks are set, 100 mm thick brick concrete is laid over brick course and
beaten till thickness is reduced to 76mm
 Whole surface cured for week – lime water sprinkled at intervals
 3 courses of madras flat tiles (150 mm X 100 mm X 12 mm) laid in lime mortar
 Max. joint thickness = 6mm, no vertical joints
 Top layer plastered with three coats of lime mortar and finally rubbed to a
polished surface
 Slope 1: 36 – given by joists
MADRAS TERRACE ROOFING
MUD PHUSKA WITH TILES
ORIGINAL METHOD
 Method best suited for hot & arid
regions – Delhi, Rajasthan, UP, etc.
 Top of roof slab painted with layer of
hot bitumen @1.7 kg/sq.m of roof
surface
 Immediately, coarse sand @ 0.6
cu.m per 100 sq.m. of roof surface is
spread on hot bitumen surface
 Mud phuska prepared from puddled
clay with straw or sawdust (Bhusa) @
8.1 kg of bhusa per cu.m of clay
 Mud phuska laid @100 mm thick with
allowance for proper drainage (slope MUD PHUSKA WITH TILES
1: 40) TERRACE – IMPROVED
 13 mm thick mud-cow dung mortar is TECHNIQUE
plastered on surface

LIME CONCRETE ROOFING
 Adopted in hot & humid regions in India
 100 mm lime concrete laid on roof slab with slope for proper drainage
 A priming coat of hot bitumen solution applied over dried lime concrete
 Bitumen sheets are laid on the primed surface
 Some places, only lime concrete is finished to an impervious surface – bitumen
layers not applied
LIME CONCRETE ROOFING WITH TILES
 In case roof is used for sleeping, etc. grading should be strong enough to
withstand wear & tear
 In such cases, lime concrete layer is covered with 2 layers of brick tiles set in
cement mortar
 Roof slab painted uniformly with a layer of hot bitumen
 Coarse sand spread immediately on hot bitumen surface
 100 mm lime concrete laid with proper drainage slope
 2 courses of flat brick tiles laid in cement mortar (1:3)
 Thickness of each course – 13-20 mm
 Joints in top course grouted with 1:3 cement mortar
 Instead of flat tiles, pre-cast concrete tiles or Shahabad stone can also be used
DPC FOR FLAT ROOFS
DPC FOR FLAT ROOFS