What is a Residential Roof?

What purpose does a residential roof serve? What is the basic make-up of a residential roof?

A residential roofing structure protects the inhabitants from the outside - The elements, animals, plant life, and even pests.

For starters, a residential roofing structure must adhere to several basic principles:

1. The roofing structure must protect the inhabitants from the elements such as rain, wind, heat, frost, UV exposure, and more extreme weather. In certain parts of the world, the roofing structure must also be able to resist even earthquakes and hurricanes!

2. The roofing structure must not allow access to moisture, the worst enemy of man-made buildings, from entering the building structure. This could cause weakening of the decking, the support trusses, eat away at the wallboard, cause mold, and in serious cases, even cause structural collapse.

3. The roofing structure must also maintain the desired interior climate from escaping the structure, such as air conditioning or heating.

Depending on where in the world the building structure is located, these goals can be achieved in different ways or with different materials.

Wood and asphalt shingles are often used, especially in developed parts of the world. In Europe brick, cement, and even clay shingles have been used since Roman times. In other parts of the world, naturally sourced materials are still used to this day.

Basically, if your roofing structure is not in line with any of these basic principles, there is a serious deficiency that must be addressed sooner than later!

DGB Construction, Inc