The roof is one of the most critical building structures. Particular attention must be paid to the roofing material, which should provide reliable waterproofing, protection from wind and sunlight. One of the modern solutions in terms of coverage can be the installation of a soft roof. With it, you can conduct new construction and repair of existing buildings.
What is the material
There are several names for this coverage. The most common of them was flexible tiles. The expression bitumen roofing is also often used. This material is made on the basis of fiberglass or polyester.
On both sides, the base layer is impregnated with a layer of bitumen. To improve the characteristics of materials, special additives are introduced into the composition - modifiers. They allow flexible tiles to improve such characteristics as:
- thermal conductivity;
- elasticity;
- frost resistance;
- durability;
- resistance to rot and damage by various microorganisms.
The soft roof device includes the following types of structures:
- shingles;
- membrane roofs;
- rolled overlay roofs.
Application area
Installation of bituminous tiles is not possible for all buildings. The main limitation is on the angle of the roof. If it is too small, the coating will not withstand the increased snow load.
Bitumen has many advantages, but its serious drawback is that it is capable of melting under the influence of sunlight. If the surface is too steep, molten patches of material will flow down the slope and the surface will be damaged.
Laying a soft roof in the form of a flexible tile is used if the slope of the slope is from 11.3 to 90 degrees. This is a fairly wide range. Flexible tiles, unlike metal and ceramic materials, allow roofs to be covered with a very slight slope. An angle of over 45 degrees is not recommended for use.
As a coating for flat and sloping roofs, the use of surfaced and membrane materials is widespread.
Membrane coatings can also be laid on a pitched roof. Roll roofing is suitable for use with a slope angle of up to 14 degrees.
To ensure reliable protection of the under-roof space from moisture and adverse weather events or to carry out its repair, it is necessary to disassemble how to properly soft roof all types.
The use of surfaced roll materials
The device of a flat or sloping roof in private housing construction is not a common phenomenon, but sometimes it is required to lay material on the roof of a garage or other small buildings.
Installation of a soft roof depends on the slope of the slope:
- 9-14 degrees - laying in two layers;
- 5-9 degrees - the structure in three layers;
- 1-5 degrees - laying in four layers;
- 0 degrees - laying in five layers.
Do-it-yourself soft roofing can be made of rolled surfaced materials of the following types:
- Basic, having as the main layer fiberglass or thick cardboard.
- Baseless, which are able to most easily adapt to deformations of the base without loss of integrity and performance.
The first group includes roofing material, rubemast, euroroofing material, linocrom, hydroisol. The most inexpensive type of coating is roofing material, but it has disadvantages, such as low strength and resistance to temperature extremes, short service life. After a couple of years, repairs may be required, but if the coating is laid in compliance with the technology, the service life can be up to 10 years. More expensive types of roofing materials have a longer life.
The second group of deposited coatings include isol and bizol.
In addition to the construction of new structures with the help of rolled materials, they repair flat roofs of garages or houses. The instruction requires laying the rolls as a roofing in the following order:
- Foundation preparation. Make sure that the base of the roof is even. Reinforced concrete slab, cement-sand screed, prefabricated screed made of asbestos cement or glass magnesium can serve as a surface for mounting deposited materials.
- Warming of the coating with the help of heat-insulating materials of high rigidity. Mineral wool slabs or extruded polystyrene foam can be placed in the roofing pie. The use of rolled mineral wool for the roof is unacceptable. Polyfoam can be laid only if a reinforced cement-sand screed is installed on top of it. This stage is only necessary if there is a heated under-roof space.
- The roll rolls a little. Its bottom layer is heated with a burner and glued to the surface of the base.
- Upon completion of the first layer perform the second and subsequent. It is necessary to ensure the displacement of the joints. It is not allowed to find joints on top of each other and perpendicular arrangement of layers.
Repair can be carried out directly on top of the old material.
Membrane Roofs
Membrane materials are one of the most advanced roof construction solutions. One of their advantages was the opportunity to equip the exploited roof. Also, with the help of membranes, it is possible to repair old roofs without dismantling old materials.
Unlike other surfaced coatings, it is necessary to cover the roof with membranes in one layer. This significantly reduces labor costs for construction and repair.
Laying a soft roof with your own hands in this case is carried out on any type of foundation. The fastening of the membrane to the base can be of three types:
- adhesive is especially effective on roofs of complex shape or in areas with high wind speeds;
- mechanical is carried out with self-tapping screws or disk holders;
- ballast, as a weighting, bulk material can be used for at least 50 kilograms per square meter of roof (best suited for operating roofs).
In all cases, it is necessary to cover with an overlap. The technology of laying a soft roof allows you to connect the canvas membranes of PVC and TPO brands with each other using adhesive tape or welding.
The heat-welded joint is more reliable and durable than adhesive. Now a new type of material has appeared, which allows welding with hot air. These are EPDM brand membranes.
Flexible tile
The technology of creating a soft roof made of bituminous tiles differs from other coatings for a pitched roof. The instruction requires covering the structure along a continuous reinforced crate.
The following is a brief recommendation on how to lay a soft roof correctly:
- First, the installation of the rafter system and the installation of insulation boards, if necessary.
- Next, the counter-lattice and the rarefied crate are fixed.
- On top of the crate, it is necessary to install sheets of moisture-proof plywood or OSB, they will provide an even and solid base for the material. Sheets need to be joined apart, long joints along the ramp line should not form.
- A waterproofing layer is laid on top of the base. It can be a primer roofing. The layer is fixed on nails.
- Each element of a bituminous tile is fixed by means of four screw nails, brackets (if there is no primer layer), ruffled nails. Hats are clogged strictly flush with the surface.
Do-it-yourself installation of a soft roof involves additional fixing of the tile at the places of abutment to walls or windows, as well as on glands and skates on the adhesive composition. Glueing is also necessary in bad weather conditions. Details of the tiles begin to be fixed from the eaves to the ridge, providing for an overlap. It is important to remember that the technology of roofing made of flexible tiles is different from the built-in one: the burner cannot be used for gluing.
It is also necessary to prevent walking on the roof in hot weather, this can lead to surface damage.
Before you make a soft roof, you must carefully study its features and get acquainted with the manufacturer's recommendations. This will avoid problems when using both deposited roll and piece coatings.