Make your roof the crowning glory

Sam Kaswali is constructing a three-bedroom house. However, he has failed to complete it because whenever he goes to a friend’s house and thinks the way they roofed their house is nice, he calls his engineer and tells him he wants to change the design of his roof.
However, his engineer’s argument is that the type of roofing he wants does not match the design of the house. “He says if he is to go with the changes I want, part of the house has to be demolished,” Kaswali explains.
Kaswali’s experience indicates that the roof of the house is not just something that protects the content of the house from the elements of weather, among other things.
It also helps to bring out the beauty of your house.
Badru Kakembo, an engineer with Smart House engineering company, says it is for this reason that people should not ignore the services of architects and engineers when planning for their houses.
He says, such experts know the basics of construction especially when it comes to the roofing styles
There are different roofing styles and these are determined right from the planning process.
Kenneth Muhire, another engineer with Care Constructors says, “the structure of the house determines the roofing style.”

ROOFING STYLES

Skillion Roof
This type of roof has a single slanting surface. It looks like a flat roof that has been inclined slightly.
Badru Kakembo an engineer with Smart House engineering company says it is often used on just a portion of the house. “People use this style of roofing if they have little money, this helps to save on expenses on whatever material you use for roofing. It is also used on small houses like a single room house. You cannot use this style of roofing on a big house because it looks akward,” he advises.

Bonnet roof
With this type of roof, two sides meet and slant at an angle.
The most common purpose for this is to cover the porch or the verandah.
This type of roof has two slanting sides but the roof covers up to the porch and this allows you to save on construction expenses.

Flat roof
This type of roof is obviously easy to identify. The benefits of a flat roof include; that it’s easier to construct, safer if you are going to stand on top of it and generally more accessible.
The main drawback is that this type of roof requires more maintenance than other roofs because debris will gather on the roof with nowhere to go. But for such a roof to last, you need to use concrete because it is hard and cannot rust as a result of debris.

Pyramid roof
As the name suggests, this is a type of roof in the shape of a pyramid. It can be used on any style of big house. It can also be used either on smalportions, or on small structures such as a garage or pool house. The style is a bit expensive because you have to roof each potion separately to have a good fashion.

DETERMINANTS OF ROOFING STYLE

Badru Kakembo, an engineer with Smart House engineering company says, “You should plan your roofing style depending on the size of land, fashion of the house, budget and the size of the house.” Edward Kakeeto another engineer explains that a wide roof on a small piece of land will look out of place.
“For people that have limited resources for the roof, you cannot have a high roof. You cannot use an arched roof on a four-bedroom house because it will look misplaced. You go for styles like the skillion and hip.”

What is in, what is out

Hip roof is in fashion today. This type helps one to roof the house once because the top sides of the roof meet at a ridge or a flat spot point. But it is a bit expensive because sometimes people fail to get the required money to roof the house at once. The Pyramid roof is also fashionable because it makes the house look more beautiful since it has separate portions. Kaketo explains that skillion roofing style is out dated because it only works on simple houses yet people are nowadays moving away from constructing such houses.

COMMON ROOFING MISTAKES

• Kenneth Muhire, an engineer with Care Constructors says having one budget for building and roofing is a mistake because sometimes the roofing budget stretches due to additional materials and the owners starts complaining about that additional expenditures. You should have separate budgets to be on safe side.
• Changing engineers, this comes when the contractor for the wall/house is different from that of the roof because sometimes those who are roofing them always complain about the structure of the wall because they did not construct the house.
It is better to have one engineer from the start to the end.
• Changing your mind on how the house should look like. This changes everything because when you change the structure a bit, you have to also change the roofing which sometimes affects the budget and plan.
• Ignoring engineer’s ideas while planning for the house. People should take every idea seriously because the architects make plans according to the place where the house is constructed and the structure.

estimated cost of iron sheets for each roofing style on a three bedroomed house

Shs2m
Amount you will spend on ordinary iron sheets when constructing a skillion roof

Shs3m
Amount you will spend on ordinary iron sheets when constructing a Flat roof

Shs3m
Amount you will spend on ordinary iron sheets when constructing a Bonnet roof

Shs5m
Amount you will spend on ordinary iron sheets when constructing a hip roof

Shs10m
Amount you will spend on ordinary iron sheets when constructin a Pyramid roof

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