History Of Flat Roofs

A history of flat roofs.

History of flat roofs.

How did flat roofs start. 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. It wasn t until the ancient greeks and roman civilizations that tiles became common in europe. Other articles where flat roof is discussed.

Then in the mid 1800s tar roofs built up roofing were invented. Flat roofs or low slope roofs are also commonly found on commercial buildings throughout the world. While standard sloped roofs typically have shingles that are overlapped like. From switzerland to the fabled hanging gardens of babylon humans have been growing plants on flat roofs.

The roof normally was thatched such as that the material that made up most of the roof was straw leaves or branches. 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. Sometimes mortar was applied between the courses to secure the tiles in a heavy wind.

It has a very low slope between 1 4 to 1 2 inch per foot so that it drains water. This is the traditional design of their buildings. Main types of roofs are flat roofs and sloping ones. Both farm villages and victorian london had sloped roofs made of wood thatch tile or slate.

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. 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. 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 roofing is not actually flat.

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. This was a flat roof made of. Because of climate issues hot countries such as spain have had flat roofs for century. The slope of a roof is properly known as its pitch and flat roofs have up to approximately 10.

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.