The houses with a flat roof in the total mass of low-rise buildings are unique and therefore attract great attention and cause controversy about the reasonableness of using this type of top cover of the building in our conditions.
Tradition is a serious thing
Russia is a forest country. Wood has always been the main, if not the only available material for housing. Russia is a snowy country. The chopped log huts brought down by pipes for many are still a symbol of our country. These two factors have largely determined the look of a traditional Russian house with a gable roof.
It is easier to make a ridge roof with inclined rafters from logs and lumber (unless, of course, this is a dugout). It’s easier to install it on log walls. Roof space of a pitched roof - additional insulation of the living room. This is the place for the chimney (low pipe - bad draft!). All this affirmed the triangular-shaped roof in the minds of builders and developers at almost the genetic level.
New trends
The fashion for architectural styles changed, the window to Europe opened and closed. Today, few have seen warm countries and southern cities. Architects are not limited in their fantasies to either material or technology. And the customer in individual residential construction is still mainly a supporter of traditional architecture.
Meanwhile, fashionable minimalism now has Russian roots. Domestic architectural avant-garde of the twenties influenced subsequent generations of architects around the world. It was in the creativity of the constructivists that large areas of glazing, a minimum of decor, expressiveness of simple geometric shapes appeared. Houses with a flat roof are also one of the proposals of young avant-garde architects.
Freedom and Novelty
It is the novelty of architecture, the expressiveness of the visual image that is usually inherent in flat-roof residential buildings. Such structures are more organic for low-rise buildings of advanced, futuristic architecture. A modern house with a flat roof is most often built by a person of new views, a person free from the web of the old, a creative person. And if he finds a true professional architect and builders who own new technologies, it turns out an original and exclusive object that speaks a lot about its owner.
The use of a flat roof implies greater freedom for the architect in creating a comfortable living environment. The layout of a house with a flat roof does not depend on the need for competent pairing of roof slopes in order to avoid the formation of snow bags, etc.
If the roof is made operational, houses with a flat roof get extra usable area. Improvement of the roof under recreation areas - places for sunbathing and exercising on simulators, playgrounds for children's games or barbecue - is not possible with a roof with sloping ramps. Greening the roof, for example, creating a lawn or planting bushes, is possible not only on the coast of Florida or the south of France. Modern roofing and landscape technologies also make it possible to arrange a flower garden or a garden on the roof of a suburban Moscow house.
Inability to compare correctly
It is difficult to compare pitched and flat roofs by functional or economic parameters. Any roof, regardless of shape and design, must fulfill the main task - to protect the inhabitants and parts of the building from the effects of adverse external factors. Any roof and roof must meet the requirements for moisture resistance and heat capacity, ability to withstand wind and snow loads.
It is impossible to say exactly which roof will be cheaper or more expensive, even with respect to buildings of the same shape and area. The roof area of a pitched roof in this situation will be larger, the cost of roofing and heat-insulating materials will be higher, but the cost of waterproofing a flat surface due to increased requirements for it can offset this difference. A one-story house with a flat roof can be more expensive than a three-story frame mansion with a high roof, and a large villa with a greenhouse on the roof will cost less than a house with a high attic covered with natural tiles.
On a flat roof, it is more convenient to install numerous systems of a modern house: antennas, solar panels, ventilation and air conditioning systems, etc. With inclined slopes, it is easier to control the state of the waterproofing from the attic and it is easier to repair.
Technological features of a flat roof
In addition to the mentality of the customer and the builder, the emergence of new houses with flat roofs is hindered by the belief that large amounts of snow and water will accumulate on the flat roof, which will inevitably lead to leaks and the destruction of the ceiling. Of course, to achieve complete tightness of a flat roof is more difficult. But the experience of operating the roofs of multi-storey buildings suggests the reality of such a task.
Inverse roofs are considered the most suitable for flat roofs. They differ from ordinary ones in other arrangement of layers of the roofing “pie”. Typically, waterproofing is performed closer to the outer surface of the roof (under a sheet or piece roof) or directly under the top layer (roll and surfaced roofs). Subsequent layers (vapor and heat insulation) are laid below. In an inverse roof, waterproofing is performed on the ceiling (in the case of a flat roof - usually a concrete slab), then the insulation is laid, the sealing layer of expanded clay is poured and a slope is formed for water drainage (angle - 5 degrees). The top layer can be any hard coating - flooring, tiles, etc. With this design, the service life of the roof increases significantly.
Individual approach
The choice of the shape and design of the roof should be coordinated with the general architectural decision of the residential building, with the capabilities of the builder and contractor. There are no technological obstacles to flat roofing. In any climate zone, you can build a comfortable and reliable house with a flat roof. A photo of such a house covered with snow can be found in the article.
Originality and high functional qualities of the best examples of residential buildings of this type are the key to their wider distribution.