Roofing

A roof is the upper mostpart of a building; the part that the building and its stuffing from the effect of the weather. The main purpose of the roof is to protect people and their possessions from climatic elements, the insulating properties of a roof are a consideration in its structure and the choice of the roofing material. Some roofing materials, such as that havetremendous insulating properties. In the developed countries, the best part of the dwellingshas a ceiling installed under the structural element of the roof. The purpose of such roofs is to insulate against heat and cold, noise, dirt and often from the droppings of the birds who usually choose roofs as their nesting places. Nowadays, cool roofs are becoming increasingly popular. Cool roofs are defined as roofs with both high reflectivity and high emissivity. Poor insulated roofs can suffer from problems such as forming of ice jams around the roof in the cold weather causing ice to melt and penetrate the roofing material. Different kinds of roofs are built depending on the climate of the country. For example, in Cameroon there are daub houses made with banana leaves, and then in Japan the roofs are built from rice straw thatch. The British houses are build in the slate form and in Hungary houses are build from terracotta tiles. Where as, in Namibia roofs are made out of metal because of the climate there is in Namibia. The primary job of the roof is to keep people out of water. Flat dwellings have generally have a very slight slope. In the Middle Eastern countries, where the roof may be used for recreation often have drainage pipes installed so that the rain water can drain out and does not stay there. The drainage pipes stop the pooling. But because of very large nature of such roofs, such roofs are very strongly built. Where as, the houses in areas where there is low rainfall frequently have roofs of low pitch while in areas of high rainfall and snow have steep roofs. The long houses of Papua New Guinea for example, have high roofs sweeping almost to the ground. Where as, in Germany and Holland have high steeply pitched roofs as these countries experience heavy snowfall during winters. Furthermore, in Buffalo and Montréal there is a specific thickness for the roofs so that it can protect people from at least a pitch of 30 degrees. Areas that experience heavy rainfalls have metal made roofs that shed the weight of the snow more easily and resist the force of wind better than wood or concrete tiled roof. New systems have also been introduced which have solar shingles which generate electricity as well as cover the roof. This system is said to be very expensive but for countries like Pakistan where there is a shortage of electricity, this system proves to be very beneficial. This solar shingles in this system absorb solar energy and then produce electricity. This system does cost a lot but as electricity is running short in most countries; such roofs will become a necessity.