History Of Flat Roofs

Flat roofing is not actually flat.

History of flat roofs. The plain or flat rectangular tiles most commonly used from the 17th through the beginning of the 19th century measured about 10 by 6 by 1 2 and had two holes at one end for a nail or peg fastener. Flat roofs came into widespread use in europe and the americas in the 19th century when new waterproof roofing materials and the use of structural steel and concrete made them more practical. Then in the mid 1800s tar roofs built up roofing were invented. Back then this idea was fairly prevalent since there were no useful applications for having a tilted roof and our ancestors weren t too keen on aesthetics.

Main types of roofs are flat roofs and sloping ones. The flat roof see the figure has historically been widely used in the middle east the american southwest and anywhere else where the climate is arid and the drainage of water off the roof is thus of secondary importance. A history of flat roofs. While standard sloped roofs typically have shingles that are overlapped like.

It has a very low slope between 1 4 to 1 2 inch per foot so that it drains water. But such a low slope holds snow and water much longer than a steeply pitched roof and therefore needs a very different material to stay watertight. Sometimes mortar was applied between the courses to secure the tiles in a heavy wind. Tiled and thatched roofs china has a long history of advanced architectural techniques and reportedly they had been using clay tiles as far back as 3 000 bc.

Because of climate issues hot countries such as spain have had flat roofs for century. How did flat roofs start. Wood and slate shingles and clay tiles were the predominant roofing choice until the mid 19th century when metal and bituminous roofing systems made low slope applications possible. Both farm villages and victorian london had sloped roofs made of wood thatch tile or slate.

This was a flat roof made of. From switzerland to the fabled hanging gardens of babylon humans have been growing plants on flat roofs. Flat roofs are an ancient form mostly used in arid climates and allow the roof space to be used as a living space or a living roof. Flat roofs or low slope roofs are also commonly found on commercial buildings throughout the world.

The roof normally was thatched such as that the material that made up most of the roof was straw leaves or branches. It wasn t until the ancient greeks and roman civilizations that tiles became common in europe. Other articles where flat roof is discussed. Flat roofs have been around for a very long while.

Those materials have a long history and their evolution has been largely driven by performance.