Roof Material History

Today s versatile roof materials are a legacy of the development of roofs throughout history and cultures.

Roof material history.

Take a look back at how roofing has evolved. Although people generally still use the most available materials for the region. A roof is the top covering of a building including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights providing protection against rain snow sunlight extremes of temperature and wind. The roof structure is also likely to be the oldest and least altered part of a historic building which can yield important information about its age and significance.

A roof is part of the building envelope. The outer layer of a roof shows great variation dependent upon availability of material and the nature of the supporting structure. Sloping roofs come in many different varieties. The simplest is the lean to or shed which has only one slope a roof with two slopes that form an a or triangle is called a gable or pitched roof this type of roof was used as early as the temples of ancient greece and has been a staple of domestic architecture in northern europe and the americas for many centuries.

Now in the 21st century the quality and durability of building materials is becoming increasingly important for the value minded home owner that can appreciate the superiority of clay roofing products. Roofing material is the outermost layer on the roof of a building sometimes self supporting but generally supported by an underlying structure. Those materials have a long history and their evolution has been largely driven by performance. Wood and metal are used in the southern part of north america slate in the northeast wood in the midwest and tile in the southwestern part of north america.

Asphalt shingles or ceramic tiles are common substitute materials intended to duplicate the appearance of wood shingles slates or tiles. Being made of synthetic rubber or polymer they are flexible and elastic and can handle temperature changes and some impact types better than built up roofs. But if the roof is readily visible the alternative material should match as closely as possible the scale texture and coloration of the historic roofing material. A building s roofing material provides shelter from the natural elements.

Most of the changes in roofing materials have developed in the last 200 years. The fact that so many historic roofs have survived for centuries is a testimony to the design materials and skills used on traditional roofs even though few would fully. Europe has a long lasting clay roof tile history that is highly visible if one looks at the roofs of major european cities.