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BUSINESS NEWS - A roof serves several purposes, the main one being to keep you safe from natures elements. The roof is also a part of the building and adds an aesthetic look and feel which is decorative and making it pleasing to the eye.
A Roofing Contractor will usually receive a plan from the Architect which includes the Roofing Engineers drawings which state how the contractor must erect the roof.
These plans will indicate the design, the fixing details, roof truss spaces apart, the webbing and the bracing details. It will also include the roof covering specifications and how far apart they should be fixed to the structure.
There are however other calculations that are considered by the professional that designs the roof, usually a specialist Roofing Engineer.
The Roofing Engineers calculations vary due to certain factors that are taken into consideration such as the thickness and number of walls that the structure is being built with. The type of roof covering that has been chosen, tiles which are heavier than metal sheeting for instance would require more timber, webbing and bracing for the roof trusses.
He/she will also indicate to the Roofing Contractor how far a part and how deep into the bricks that the hoop iron that holds the roof to the wall plate must be.
The Engineer will also take historical weather patterns into account to work out the prevailing wild and rain directions and design the strength and number of fixing points accordingly for the roof not to get sucked off or blown off the walls.
In most cases the ceiling is attached to the roof trusses which does not allow for there to be too much movement of the roof structure otherwise the ceiling boards will crack, and the cornicing will come away from the walls.
A Roofing Company such as Cape Town Works Construction Group that engages in roof repairs in Cape Town, alterations to roofs or re-covering of roofs understand that any change that they make may alter the roofs integrity. It is often found that other trades have cut out timber in the trusses to allow for electrical wires or a new geyser to be able to fit in the roof space without considering that by doing this even although it may seem a small alteration can have a big impact on the strength of the roof structure.
One of the most common faults that Roofing Contractors without the correct qualifications or experience make is not taking into consideration is the reversal of loads where the compression members and tension members of a roof truss act in the opposite way that they were designed to behave.
Also Read: Keep the roof over your head in good repair
In layman’s terms this happens when you change a roof covering from tiles for example to metal roof sheeting. The flow of air over that surface becomes greater as a metal sheet is a smooth surface and the airflow is not shattered by the rough surface of roof tiles. This creates an aero plane wing type of effect and can cause your roof to get sucked from the structure.
It is best to use a Roofing Contractor that is knowledgeable and has Roofing Carpenters that have passed courses provided by the Institute for Timber Construction South Africa and have Roofing Erectors experience which Cape Town Works Construction Group has.
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