Flat Roof Framing Detail

Flat roofs are hard to replace.

Flat roof framing detail.

Think of a flattened hip roof. The framing of a basic gable roof is based on a right angle triangle and the various roof framing components fit the triangle. As you may imagine there is a fair amount of weight involved here in terms of boards felt etc. You can do this with a foam layer that exactly fits your roof.

This could mean flat roofs may not raise the same red flags they used to. Flat roofs aren t architecturally logical as rain and snow will shed much more quickly off a sloped roof. A flat roof has a slope of 1 8 per foot to 2 12. Details for conventional wood frame construction the first approach to achieving a strong durable struc ture involving economical use of materials is to follow a.

If you build a flat roof try to have it slope in multiple directions to drains or gutters. It is not ideal for snow or heavy rain but modern materials and proper drainage have helped. But now flat roofs often are constructed with fewer layers because of improved waterproofing technology. Some observers suggest it s harder to replace a flat roof than a traditional pitched shingle roof because of the labor required to remove its layers especially on older flat roofs.

Old asbestos roofs are often replaced with flat roofs. Flat roof construction for residential. So any timber joists that are used need to be strong enough to support this weight. Sizes of joists needed for flat roof construction.

Yet for historic modern style buildings like this old house s cambridge tv project flat roofs are at the core of the architecture meant to reflect the broad horizontal lines of the natural landscape. Although flat roofs are cheaper to build than pitched roofs they have a shorter life span. When framing a flat roof you will need to create a slight incline. Flat roofs are always built at a slight incline at least 1 8 inch per foot.

The rise or height of the roof at its peak is the altitude of the triangle. This will help you create a flat roof framing plan. Of course you don t need to live in a modern house to deal with a flat roof. Some roofs actually slope in several directions ensuring optimal water runoff.

A roof is considered to be flat when it is of a slope of 1 5 o to the horizontal.