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ROOFING DESIGN & INSTALLATION COMPANY |
Introduction to Roofing
Probably the most important aspect of your home or building, your
roof is, without a doubt, the most primary and basic form of shelter.
With all of the luxurious options available to our global culture
in the 21st Century, it’s easy to forget that the need to
put a roof over one’s head was borne out of the most primitive
necessity. Let’s face it, most people tend to take their roofs
for granted—until they start to leak. Then “all of a
sudden” they understand how crucial their roof is to the safety
and comfort of their home.
The top covering of any freestanding structure, roofs are our barrier
between civilization and the wild, providing us with protection
from the most extreme weather conditions. The eaves beneath are
the areas where the roof rafters end to form edges across the wall
or façade of your home.
Offering more choices than almost any home-renovation service, your
roof-remodeling project will be a very extensive and often frustrating
undertaking. Whether you want a Spanish Villa-style rooftop on your
Long Island home, to preserve the original flat roof on your classic
Brooklyn brownstone, or to take advantage of high-tech, energy-efficient
options like solar panels, you need to approach your roofing project
with more practicality than any other home-remodeling project. Your
roof is not the place to begin cutting costs in terms of materials,
because the safety of your home and all your valuables is at stake.
The choices you make now will define your home’s durability,
with roofing options lasting anywhere from 20 to 100 years.
Roofs in All Shapes and Sizes
The options for your roof design can be endless whether you want
a complete remodel or to stick with what you’ve got. However,
depending on materials, design constraints, and severity of climate,
your roof shape and its pitch aren’t always a stylistic choice.
For example, mild climates allow for flatter roofs while our own
New York City, where climates typically drop below freezing in the
winter season, requires something a bit higher for residential spaces.
In areas like Canada or Upstate New York, slope recommendations
start as high as 4 in 12 inches. Roof inclines are expressed as
the ratio of the rise, in inches, to the run, in inches or feet.
Generally speaking, the higher your roof’s angle or the "pitch,”
the more expensive it is to repair or replace because of the labor
time and extra safety concerns that a job like this requires.
A square is the standardized roof measurement and represents 100
square feet of area or a 10-foot-by-10-foot spot. Industry professionals
refer to roofs as pitched, domed, low slope or flat and, depending
on the materials, they come in a variety of styles. The primary
design found on residential homes is called a pitched roof while
flat roofs are common on industrial/commercial type pavilions.
Low slope roofs work well on pre-fabricated or steel structures
such as arenas.
Roofing Styles
| Pitched or Gabled |
Ridged |
| Shaped gable |
Conical |
| Dutch gable - a hybrid of hipped and gambrel |
Domical |
| Crow-step gable |
Pyramidal |
| Corbie-step gable |
Saw-tooth |
| Salt-box |
Gambrel |
| Saddleback |
Pavilion |
| Lean-to |
Roof garden |
| Hip roof |
Tented roof |
| Half-hipped |
Building construction |
| Mansard |
Green roof |
| Single-sloped or Shed Roof |
Roofing felt |
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