Types of flat roofs

Various types of flat roofs are quite common design solutions, often used both in industrial and in private structures. These designs are distinguished by a number of features that are associated with the type of base used, as well as with the composition of their individual components, forming the so-called roofing pie.

Roofing Cake Composition

When considering the section of a flat roof, you can find that it is a coating of several layers, which includes:

• flat base;
• special vapor barrier layer;
• a layer of insulation material;
• waterproofing protective layer.

The base of the formed multi-layer coating, as a rule, is a standard reinforced concrete floor or a welded structure made of a stamped metal profile.

Note! As a vapor barrier layer, roll or bitumen materials are most often used, creating a reliable barrier for moisture rising from living quarters.

For insulation of flat roofs, materials of the widest range can be used, namely:

• plain mineral wool in plates;
• gravel layer of expanded clay;
• plates from expanded polystyrene;
• classic cement and sand screed.

The waterproofing layer in such a roof, as a rule, is made of the same roll materials, made on the basis of high-tech bitumen compositions. In recent years, modern PVC membranes or special bitumen mastics are increasingly used for these purposes. At the same time, the main requirement for a waterproofing material used both in private houses and on the roofs of public buildings is its elasticity, which ensures the necessary resistance of the coating to sudden changes in ambient temperature and possible mechanical damage.

Roofing Cake Composition определяется функциональным назначением крыши, которая может иметь следующие конструктивные исполнения:

• traditional monolithic roof;
• operated roofing area;
• roof with inversion coating (as a special case of serviceable roof).

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of flat roofs include their properties such as:

1. The original appearance, as well as the possibility of equipment on the roof of a small area, used as a high-altitude recreation area.
2. Cost-effective design that does not require the manufacture of multi-tiered truss systems and a different limited area of ​​the coating.
3. Simplicity of repair of the roofing pie, not associated with the replacement of a large number of structural elements.

Note! The disadvantages of the overlap of the class we are considering include certain difficulties in preparing the project, which are explained by the need to take into account the maximum loads on the structural elements at minor angles of inclination of the slope (they usually do not exceed 5–12 °).

Junction

In order to protect the roofing pie from rain and snow in the process of its formation, special attention should be paid to areas adjacent to the elements of adjacent building structures (walls, pipes, ventilation system outlets, etc.). The elements of junction in need of special protection should also include roofing overhangs and restrictive parapets.

To close these problem areas, special structural units mounted in the junction zones should be included in the complete cover package.

Note! Constructive units provide complete tightness of the formed joints, as well as allow to warm the area of ​​the roof adjacent to this place.

The device is not exploited roof

The most common type of flat structures is the classic soft roof, whose composition in the section is as follows:

• supporting plate, which is the base of the roof;
• protective vapor barrier;
• thermal insulation coating based on mineral wool or polystyrene plates;
• waterproofing carpet of any bitumen-containing roll material.

The advantages of structures of this class include their relatively low cost, as well as the relative simplicity of manufacturing a protective layer. It is possible to achieve these indicators due to the use of modern sprayed materials during its formation, such as, for example, PVC-based membranes. It should also be noted that these materials are used most often in the construction of the waterproofing part of the complex coating and are characterized by excellent water-repellent properties.

When mounting the membrane material, first, pieces of a certain length of cloth are prepared from a standard roll, which are then laid on the surface of the base of the roof close to each other.

Note! In order to get an entire solid coating from individual pieces of web - you will need special welding equipment that does not produce an open flame.

For the preparation of the top waterproofing layer of a flat roof, special mastics can be applied, which are applied in liquid form over the plates of the heat-insulating material. For these purposes, as a rule, formulations made on the basis of hydrophobic polyurethane resins are used. After they are uniformly applied onto the warmed base, after some time they independently polymerize, forming a continuous coating resembling in appearance the same membrane.

Another technique of forming the upper protective layer involves the use for this purpose of the so-called built-up waterproofing, which is the most affordable option for an ordinary artist (in terms of price and quality, including). The bitumen-polymer material used in this case, produced in the form of continuous webs, forms a heavy-duty surface layer that does not rot. This material is very often used also in the arrangement of the so-called exploited (inhabited) roofs.

Managed roof device

Both the name and the construction of such a roof can be immediately guessed that it can be used to equip additional habitat areas on the roof, namely:

• small sports fields and cafes;
• parking lot;
• separate high-altitude zones of gardening, etc.

Note! Immediately make a reservation that the arrangement of such a structure will require you significant material costs, but it allows you to more effectively use the free space on the roof.

Arrangement of such structures is considered reasonable in those cases when the placement of any special equipment is planned on the roof. At the same time, in accordance with the requirements of SNiP, the load on the flat roofing base should be evenly distributed over the surface of the coating, which excludes the possibility of pushing the roofing pie on its individual sections.

Features of inversion coating

The design of the so-called inversion roof is significantly different from all known types of roofing and needs, therefore, a separate consideration. The order of formation of the roofing pie in the inversion version most often looks like this:

1. First, a waterproofing material is laid on a reinforced concrete floor with fixation on a bituminous primer and a slight slope, on which rigid insulation boards are then laid.
2. A drainage zone with a special reinforced coating is formed above the insulation plates.
3. All this construction is covered with a geotextile fabric that performs the function of protection against mechanical damage.
4. For the formation of the top layer of such a coating can be used any material laid in the project (earth filling or paving slabs, for example).

In conclusion, we note that if the arrangement of the classical roofing structure (with a covering of tiles, for example) may well be done independently, then when building a flat roof you most likely cannot do without the help of specialists who have the full set of all the necessary equipment for operation.

Video

This video shows another flat-roof technology:

You can find out about the advantages and features of a flat roof in operation from the following video: