Wachemo University

College of Engineering and Technology

Department of Construction Technology And
Management
Course: Building Construction
Target Group
B.Sc. in Civil Engineering 4th Year 1st Semester
Chapter-5 Lecture-6
By: Tishager Z. (MSc.)

2/8/2024 1
 Chapter 5
Building Elements-5
Content
5.6. Roof System
5.6.1. Introduction
5.6.2. Requirements of a roof
5.6.3. Types of roofs
5.6.4. Roof coverings

2/8/2024 2
 5.6.1. Introduction
• A roof is defined as the upper most part of the
building.
It provided as a structural covering,
To protect the building from external weather
exposure such as rain, sun, wind, etc.
• A roof consists of structural elements, which support
roof coverings.
The structural elements may be trusses, beams,
slabs, shells or domes.
• The roof coverings may be corrugated metal sheets,
RC slabs, tiles, etc.

2/8/2024 3
 5.6.2. Requirements of a Roof
The requirements of a good roof are summarized as follow:
 It should have adequate strength and stability to carry the
super-imposed dead and live loads.
 It should effectively protect the building against rain, sun,
wind, etc. and it should be durable against the adverse effects
of these agencies.
 It should be water proof and should have efficient drainage
arrangements.
 It should provide adequate thermal insulation.
 It should be fire resistant.
 It should provide adequate insulation against sound.

2/8/2024 4
 5.6.3. Types of Roofs
The selection of the type of roof depends upon:
Shape or plan of the building,
Climatic conditions of the area,
Type of construction materials available.
The general types of roofs are:
1. Pitched or Slopping roofs,
2. Flat roofs or Terraced roofs, and
3. Curved roofs.

2/8/2024 5
 Cont.…
1. Pitched roofs: have slopping top surfaces. They are suitable in
those areas where rainfall/snow fall is very heavy.
They are mainly used to cover satisfactorily those buildings with
limited width and simple shape
2. Flat roofs: considered suitable for buildings in plains or in hot
regions where rainfall is moderate and snow fall is not there.
They are equally applicable to buildings of any shape and size.
3. Curved roofs: have their top surface curved.
Such roofs are provided to give architectural effects.
Curved roofs include cylindrical and parabolic shells and domes

2/8/2024 6
 Cont.…
1. Pitched (Sloping) roofs
 Pitched roof is the most common form of roof and is
generally regarded as the cheapest alternative for
covering a structure.
 Pitched roof is almost always constructed in wood or
steel.
 In pitched roofs a slope of less than l in 3 is generally
not considered satisfactory from drainage point of view.
 In areas of heavy snowfall, steeper slopes (1:1.5 or1:1)
are provided to reduce the incidence of snow load on
the roof.

2/8/2024 7
 Cont.…
The various shapes of pitched roof depend on:
The area covered
Materials available
Type of lighting and ventilation needed inside
Available appliance, etc.

2/8/2024 8
 Cont.…
Forms of pitch or sloping roofs
Pitch/ Slopping roofs are basically of the following
forms:
 Shed roof Mansard Roof
 Gable roof Gambrel Roof
 Winged Gable Butterfly roof
 Hip roof A-Frame Roof
 Pyramid roof Folded Plate Roof
 Dutch Hip Roof Curved Panel Roof

2/8/2024 9
 Cont.…
Forms of pitch or sloping roofs
Pitch/ Slopping roofs are basically of the following forms:
Shed roof
 It is the simplest type and slopes only in one direction.
 It is used for smaller span and is also known as lean to
roof.
 A shed roof is similar to a flat roof but has more pitch.
 It is frequently used for additions or with other roof
styles.

2/8/2024 10
 Cont.…

Shed roof
2/8/2024 11
 Cont.…
Gable roof
 It slopes in two directions and is commonly used.
 It is formed by a pair of inclined rafters with their
upper ends nailed to a common ridge piece and their
low ends, notched and nailed to the wooden wall
plates embedded in masonry on the top of the wall on
either end.
 The gable roof is a very popular type of roof.
 It is easy to build, sheds water well, provides for
ventilation, and can be applied to most house designs.

2/8/2024 12
 Cont.…

Gable roof
2/8/2024 13
 Cont.…
Winged Gable
The winged gable is essentially a gable roof, extended at the
peak.

2/8/2024 14
 Cont.…
Hip roof
 It slopes in four directions such that the end formed by
intersection of slopes results in triangular and/ or
trapezoidal form.
 The hip roof is slightly more difficult to build than a
gable roof.
 It is a popular choice, but does not provide for ventilation
as well as some designs.
Pyramid roof
 It is similar to hip roofs, slopes in four directions and the
intersections of slopes make a pyramid.
2/8/2024 15
 Cont.…

Hip roof
2/8/2024 16
 Cont.…
Dutch Hip Roof
The Dutch hip roof is basically a hip roof with a small gable at
either end.
The gables can be used for ventilation.

2/8/2024 17
 Cont.…
Butterfly roof
 It slopes in two directions and intersect at the center
of the span and will have common drainage system.
 The butterfly roof is not widely used.
 It provides plenty of light and ventilation, but
drainage is a problem.

2/8/2024 18
 Cont.…

Butterfly roof
2/8/2024 19
 Cont.…
Mansard Roof
The mansard roof is a French design and is more difficult to
construct than the hip or gable roof.

2/8/2024 20
 Cont.…
Gambrel Roof
The gambrel roof is sometimes called a barn roof because it has
been used extensively on barns.
It provides additional headroom in the attic.

2/8/2024 21
 Cont.…
A-Frame Roof
The A-frame roof provides a roof and walls for the structure.
Is popular for cottages, homes, churches, and other structures.

2/8/2024 22
 Cont.…
Folded Plate Roof
The folded plate roof has limited use in single-family homes.
Modular, prefabricated roof units are available.

2/8/2024 23
 Cont.…
Curved Panel Roof
The curved panel roof is similar to the folded plate roof in
style and application.
It is available in prefabricated modules.

2/8/2024 24
 Cont.…

2/8/2024 25
 Cont.…
Elements of pitch/slopping roofs
Some of the important elements of pitched roofs are:
a) Span: It is the clear distance between the supports of an arch,
beam or roof truss.
b) Rise: It is the vertical distance between the top of the ridge
and the wall plate.
c) Pitch: It is the inclination of the sides of a roof to the
horizontal plane. Either it is expressed in terms of angles
(degrees) or as ratio of rise to span.
d) Ridge: It is defined as the apex line of the sloping roof. It is
thus the apex of the angle formed by the termination of the
inclined surfaces at the top of a slope.

2/8/2024 26
 Cont.…
e) Eaves: The lower edge of the inclined roof surface. From the lower
edge (eaves), the rainwater from the roof surface drops down.
f) Hip: It is the ridge formed by the intersection of two sloping
surfaces, where the exterior angle is greater than 1800.
g) Valley: It is a reverse of a hip. It is formed by the intersection of two
roof surfaces, making an external angle less than 1800.
h) Hipped end: It is the sloped triangular surface formed at the end of
a roof.
i) Verge: The edge of a gable, running between the eaves and ridge, is
known as a verge.
j) Rafters: These are horizontal wooden or steel members, used to
support common rafters of a roof when span is large.

2/8/2024 27
 Cont.…
k) Purlins: They are inclined wooden members on which roof
coverings rest.
l) Eaves board: Also known as Fascia board. It is a wooden plank
or board fixed to the feet of the common rafters at the eaves.
It is usually 25mm thick and 20cm wide.
m) Battens: These are thin strips of wood, called scantlings, which
are nailed to the rafters for laying roof material above.
n) Truss: A roof truss is a framework, usually of triangles, designed
to support the roof covering or ceiling over rooms.

2/8/2024 28
 Cont.…

2/8/2024 29
 Cont.…

2/8/2024 30
 Cont.…
Ridge Valley Rafter

Hipped End
Verge
Jack Rafters

Common Hip
Rafters

Eaves
Gable End
Lean-to
Flat Roof
Roof

2/8/2024 31
 Cont.…
Types of pitch/ slopping roofs
Pitched roofs are basically categorized under three categories.
A) Single roof,
B) Double or purlin roofs, and
C) Tripled-member or framed or trussed roofs.
A) Single Roofs:- C) Framed or Trussed Roof
i. Lean-to-Roof i. King Post Roof Truss
ii. Couple Roof ii. Queen Post Roof Truss
iii. Couple-close Roof iii. Combination of king-post
iv. Collar beam Roof or Collar tie Roof & queen-post truss
B) Double or Purlin Roof iv. Mansard roof Truss

2/8/2024 32
 Cont.…
a. Single roof: This roof consists of common rafters that are
secured at the ridge and wall plates.
The various forms of this type are as follows:
i. Lean to roof: Is a roof, which covers the verandas of a
building and projects from the main wall of the building.
It is suitable for spaces up to 2.5m and is generally used for
sheds, out-houses attached to the main buildings, verandas, etc.

2/8/2024 33
 Cont.…

2/8/2024 34
 Cont.…
ii. Couple roof: each couple or pair of common rafters is made to
slope upwards from the opposite walls and they are supported at
the upper ends at the ridge piece or ridge board in the middle.
The lower ends of the common rafters are fixed to the wall plates
embedded in the masonry on the top of the walls.

2/8/2024 35
 Cont.…
iii. Couple-close roof: It is similar to a couple roof except that
the legs of the common rafters are closed by a horizontal tie
known as tie beam.
This tie beam is connected at the feet of the common rafters to
check their tendency of spreading out wards and hence save the
walls from the danger of overturning.
Under normal loading conditions, this type of roof can be used
for maximum span of 4.5m.

2/8/2024 36
 Cont.…

2/8/2024 37
 Cont.…
iv. Collar-beam roof: This is similar to the couple-close roof;
except that the horizontal tie is now raised up from the feet of the
rafters to almost the middle of the rafters.
It is considered to be suitable for spans varying 4-5.5m.

2/8/2024 38
 Cont.…
b. Double or Purlin roof: Additional members called purlins are
introduced to support the common rafter at intermediate point.
The purlins are used to tie the rafters together and act as
intermediate support.

2/8/2024 39
 Cont.…

Double or purlin roof

2/8/2024 40
 Cont.…
c. Trussed roof: Trussed roofs are usually used when the span
exceeds 5m and where there are no inside walls to support
purlins.
The spacing of trusses depends upon the various factors, such as
loads on roof, position of cross walls, span, material of truss, etc.
and are spaced not more than 3m center to center.
There are three elements in a trussed roof system:
 Rafters which support the roofing materials,
 Purlins to provide intermediate support to rafters, and
 Trusses to provide support to the ends of purlins.

2/8/2024 41
 Cont.…
• The various types of trusses include:
i. King-post
ii. Queen-post
iii. Combination of king and queen
iv. Mansard
v. Truncated
vi. Bel-fast
vii. Composite
viii. Steel

2/8/2024 42
 Cont.…
i. King-post truss: Consists of lower tie beam, two inclined
principal rafters, two struts, and a king post
The spacing of king post is limited to 3m.
The truss is suitable for spans varying b/n 5-8m.

2/8/2024 43
 Cont.…

King-post truss
2/8/2024 44
 Cont.…
ii. Queen-post truss: differs from a king-post truss in having two
vertical posts , rather than one.
The vertical posts are known as queen posts.
The tops of queen post are connected by a horizontal piece
known as straining beam.
These trusses are suitable for spans b/n 8-12 meters.

2/8/2024 45
 Cont.…

2/8/2024 Queen-post truss 46

 Cont.…
iii. Combination of King-post and Queen-post trusses: For
greater spans, the queen-post truss can be strengthened by one or
more upright member, called princess-post to each side.
They are suitable for spans up to 18m.

2/8/2024 47
 Cont.…

Combination of king-post truss and queen-post

2/8/2024 trusses 48
 Cont.…
iv. Mansard roof truss: It is a combination of king-post and
queen post trusses.
It is a two-storey truss, with upper portion consisting of King-
post truss and the lower portion of queen post-truss.
The entire truss has two pitches.
The upper pitch varies from 30-40° while the lower pitch varies
from 60 to 70°.

2/8/2024 49
 Cont.…

Mansard roof truss

2/8/2024 50
 Cont.…
v. Truncated roof truss: It is similar to mansard truss except that
its top is formed flat, with a gentle slope to one side.
It is used when it is required to provide a room in the roof, b/n the
two queen posts.

2/8/2024 51
 Cont.…
vi. Bel-fast roof truss (Bow string truss): This truss, in the form
of a bow, consists of thin sections of timber, with its top curved.
If the roof covering is light, this roof truss can be used up to 30m
span.

2/8/2024 52
 Cont.…
vii. Composite roof truss: Roof truss made of two materials are
known as composite roof trusses.
In a composite truss, the tension members are made of steel,
while compression members are made of timber.

2/8/2024 53
 Cont.…

2/8/2024 54
 Cont.…
viii. Steel roof trusses: When the span exceeds 10m, timber
trusses become heavy and uneconomical.
Steel trusses are commonly used for the following reasons:
• More economical
• Easy to construct or fabricate
• Fire proof
• More rigid and permanent.
Steel trusses are fabricated from rolled steel structural members
such as channel, angles, RHS, T-sections and plates.

2/8/2024 55
 Cont.…
Steel trusses have the following advantages over timber trusses:
• The sections comprising of a steel truss are readily available in
the required dimension, resulting in minimum wastage.
• Steel trusses are light in weight, and can be fabricated in any
shape depending upon structural and architectural requirement.
• Steel trusses are stronger and more rigid in comparison to timber
trusses. The members are equally strong in tension and
compression.
• Steel truss can be used over any span, while timber trusses are
suitable only up to 15m span.
• Steel trusses are fire proof and termite proof.
• Steel trusses are most resistant to other environmental agencies.
• The fabrication of steel truss is easier and quicker.
2/8/2024 56
 Cont.…
2. Flat roofs
• Flat roof is nearly flat slab, with angles less than 100 for
drainage purpose.
• This roof requires very reliable water proofing and heat
insulating material.
• Flat roof has high initial cost
• Flat roof is commonly constructed using reinforced concrete.
• Damp proofing is done through application of rich mortar mix,
application of sufficient layers of bitumen coat and spreading
hot mastic asphalt.
• The types of water proofing materials are asphalt, lead, copper,
plastic etc.

2/8/2024 57
 Cont.…
A flat roof is the most economical roof to build, but it adds little to
the design of most houses.
It requires a “built-up” or membrane roof covering.

2/8/2024 58
 Cont.…
Advantages of Flat Roofs
• They require lesser area of roofing material than pitched roofs.
• They are more stable against high winds.
• They do not require false ceiling, which is essential in pitched
roof.
• Flat roofs are proved to be overall economic.
• In multistoried buildings, the flat roof is only choice. Since
overhead water tanks and other services are located on the
terrace.
• The construction of upper floors can be easily done over flat
roofs, if so required in future.

2/8/2024 59
 Cont.…
Disadvantages of Flat Roofs
• The span of flat roof is restricted, unless intermediate columns
are introduced.
• Pitched roofs can be used over large spans without any
intermediate column.
• The self weight of flat roof is very high. Due to this the sizes
of beams, columns, foundations and other structural members
are heavy.
• They are unsuitable at the places of heavy rainfall.
• They are highly unsuitable to hilly areas or other areas where
there is heavy snowfall.

2/8/2024 60
 Cont.…
• They are vulnerable to heavy temperature variations, specially
in tropics, due to which cracks are developed on the surface.
These cracks may lead to water penetration latter, if not
repaired in time.
• It is difficult to locate and rectify leak in flat roof.
• The speed of flat roof construction is much slower than the
pitched roof.
• The initial cost of flat roof is more than pitched roof.
• The flat roofs exposes the entire building to the weather
agencies, while the projecting elements of pitched roofs
provide some protection to the building.

2/8/2024 61
 Cont.…
3. Curved roofs
Dome and shell roofs
• Dome is a roof of semi-spherical or semi-elliptical shape.
• Materials used are stone, brick, concrete or metals (sky lights).
• They are common in large buildings because they don't need
intermediate support.
• Domes are structurally different from arches as they are slabs
in a different setting and they require massive or strong
abutment.

2/8/2024 62
 Cont.…

Dome and shell roofs

2/8/2024 63
 5.6.4. Roof Coverings
Roof coverings for sloping roof
• Roof covering is a material, which gives a protective surface to
the roofing structure.
• The function of the covering is only to prevent ingress or
egress of heat and moisture into the building.
• It does not withstand structural loads, which are directly taken
by the roofing elements.

2/8/2024 64
 Cont.…
There are various types of coverings and the selection depends
on:
 The character of the building
 The type of roofing structure
 Initial cost
 Maintenance requirement
 Fabrication facilities
 Fabrication and special features of the locality
 Durability, availability of the material and climate of the
locality

2/8/2024 65
 Cont.…
Some of the different types of coverings which are used for
slopping roofs are:
 Thatch Roof Covering
 Galvanized Corrugated Iron/Steel Sheet
 Corrugated Asbestos Cement Sheets
 Fiber Cement Profiled Sheets
 Aluminum Sheeting
 Harvey Roof Tile Coverings
 Decra Roof Tiles

2/8/2024 66
 Cont.…
 Thatch roof coverings
• It is one of the most ancient types of roof covering and is
mainly used in village areas.
• Thatch roof cover is suitable for rural buildings mainly
because the cost is very low and thatch is abundantly available
in those regions.

2/8/2024 67
 Cont.…
 Galvanized Corrugated Iron/Steel Sheet
• Galvanization means that the iron/steel sheet is covered with a
thin layer of zinc to protect it from rusting.
• The corrugation means that the sheet is made more resistant to
bending stresses lengthwise.
• The gauge indicates the thickness
G-24=0.549mm, G-26=0.457mm, G-28=0.376mm,
G-30=0.315mm, G-32=0.274mm G-35=0.2mm
• It is required that a sheet should be strong enough to carry,
without buckling, the load of full grown man.

2/8/2024 68
 Cont.…

2/8/2024 69
 Cont.…
 Spanish Tiles

2/8/2024 70
 Cont.…
 Curved or Pan Tiles

2/8/2024 71
 Cont.…
 Plain Tiles

2/8/2024 72
 Cont.…
 Wood Shingles

2/8/2024 73
 Cont.…
Italian or Allahabad Tiles

2/8/2024 74
 Cont.…
Inter-locking Tiles

2/8/2024 75
 Cont.…
Asbestos Cement Sheets

2/8/2024 76
2/8/2024 77