Different Roofing Materials and Terminologies

The following types of materials are found in a roof - Concrete roof, Steel truss roof, Fiber roof, ACC (asbestos cement sheet), GI (galvanized iron sheet), Asphalt shingles, Wooden shakes & shingles, Slate, Tiles (clay & cement).

Concrete roof – It stands for a solid slab of concrete capping the top of any house. It safeguards building from storm winds.

Fiber roof – It belongs to a plastic or fiber sheet containing specific length, width and thickness that is applied as roofing material.

Steel Truss roof:

1) Planar truss – A planar truss is situated in a single plane. It is mostly utilized in parallel to build up roofs.
2) Space frame – A space frame truss belongs to a 3d framework of members nailed at their ends.

ACC roof – ACC roof alias Asbestos cement sheet roofing comprises of either corrugated sheets or semi corrugated sheets as required. Normal slope for ACC roof remains 4 in 12. The dimensions of ACC roof vary from 10’ x 3.5’, 8’ x 3.5’, 6’ x 3.5’.

GI roof – Corrugated galvanized iron sheet (CGI) is normally utilized in temporary roofing and permanent roofing. The accessible lengths are 8,10,12,14 feet and widths are 2.5,3,4 feet.

Asphalt shingles – It is one of the popular roof shingles. It is mostly recognized due to less cost and simple installation process.

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Wood shakes and shingles - These are thin, tapered segments of wood mainly utilized for covering roof of buildings to safeguard them from weather.

Slate – It is a fine grained, foliated uniform metamorphic rock that is applied as roofing material.

Tiles – It belongs to a manufactured section of a durable material like ceramic, stone, metal normally applied to cover the roof.

Some useful terms used in roof construction:

Shingles – It stands for a rectangular tile made of wood or asphalt that is applied on roof.
Square – Material requires to provide cover for 100 sqft area of roof surface.
Length – Longitudinal parameter
Width – Lateral parameter
Thickness – Vertical parameter
Pitch – It is vital criterion in roofing. Based on the pitch/slope of a roof, specific materials can or can’t be utilized.

The slope of a roof is divided into the following categories :-

Flat roof – (anything under a 2:12 pitch)
Low slope – (a 4:12 pitch to a 2:12 pitch)
Steel slope – (a 4:12 pitch to a 21:12 pitch)

Coverage – Numbers of layers of materials which are used.

Exposure – Number of cm (or inches) of shingles left uncovered over bottom edge.

Lap – Amount of material of a shingles covered with other shingles. (top lap, head lap, side lap).