A roof (pl.

: roofs or rooves) 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.[1] A roof is part of the building envelope.

The characteristics of a roof are dependent upon the purpose of the building that
it covers, the available roofing materials and the local traditions of construction
and wider concepts of architectural design and practice, and may also be governed
by local or national legislation. In most countries, a roof protects primarily
against rain. A verandah may be roofed with material that protects against sunlight
but admits the other elements. The roof of a garden conservatory protects plants
from cold, wind, and rain, but admits light.

A roof may also provide additional living space, for example, a roof garden.

Etymology
Old English hrof[2] 'roof, ceiling, top, summit; heaven, sky', also figuratively,
'highest point of something', from Proto-Germanic *khrofam (cf. Dutch roef
'deckhouse, cabin, coffin-lid', Middle High German rof 'penthouse', Old Norse hrof
'boat shed'). There are no apparent connections outside the Germanic family.
"English alone has retained the word in a general sense, for which the other
languages use forms corresponding to OE. þæc thatch".[3]

Design elements
The elements in the design of a roof are:

the material
the construction
the durability
The material of a roof may range from banana leaves, wheaten straw or seagrass to
laminated glass, copper (see: copper roofing), aluminium sheeting and pre-cast
concrete. In many parts of the world ceramic roof tiles have been the predominant
roofing material for centuries, if not millennia. Other roofing materials include
asphalt, coal tar pitch, EPDM rubber, Hypalon, polyurethane foam, PVC, slate,
Teflon fabric, TPO, and wood shakes and shingles.

The construction of a roof is determined by its method of support and how the
underneath space is bridged and whether or not the roof is pitched. The pitch is
the angle at which the roof rises from its lowest to its highest point. Most US
domestic architecture, except in very dry regions, has roofs that are sloped, or
pitched. Although modern construction elements such as drainpipes may remove the
need for pitch, roofs are pitched for reasons of tradition and aesthetics. So the
pitch is partly dependent upon stylistic factors, and partially to do with
practicalities.

Some types of roofing, for example thatch, require a steep pitch in order to be
waterproof and durable. Other types of roofing, for example pantiles, are unstable
on a steeply pitched roof but provide excellent weather protection at a relatively
low angle. In regions where there is little rain, an almost flat roof with a slight
run-off provides adequate protection against an occasional downpour. Drainpipes
also remove the need for a sloping roof.

A person that specializes in roof construction is called a roofer.

The durability of a roof is a matter of concern because the roof is often the least
accessible part of a building for purposes of repair and renewal, while its damage
or destruction can have serious effects.

Form
Terminology of some parts of a Western roof
Main article: List of roof shapes
The shape of roofs differs greatly from region to region. The main factors which
influence the shape of roofs are the climate and the materials available for roof
structure and the outer covering.[4]

The basic shapes of roofs are flat, mono-pitched, gabled, mansard, hipped,
butterfly, arched and domed. There are many variations on these types. Roofs
constructed of flat sections that are sloped are referred to as pitched roofs
(generally if the angle exceeds 10 degrees).[5] Pitched roofs, including gabled,
hipped and skillion roofs, make up the greatest number of domestic roofs. Some
roofs follow organic shapes, either by architectural design or because a flexible
material such as thatch has been used in the construction.

Parts
There are two parts to a roof: its supporting structure and its outer skin, or
uppermost weatherproof layer. In a minority of buildings, the outer layer is also a
self-supporting structure.

The roof structure is generally supported upon walls, although some building
styles, for example, geodesic and A-frame, blur the distinction between wall and
roof.

Support
Main article: Domestic roof construction

The roof of a library in Sweden

Roofs in the central of Ystad 2022.

The supporting structure of a roof usually comprises beams that are long and of
strong, fairly rigid material such as timber, and since the mid-19th century, cast
iron or steel. In countries that use bamboo extensively, the flexibility of the
material causes a distinctive curving line to the roof, characteristic of Oriental
architecture.

Timber lends itself to a great variety of roof shapes. The timber structure can
fulfil an aesthetic as well as practical function, when left exposed to view.

Stone lintels have been used to support roofs since prehistoric times, but cannot
bridge large distances. The stone arch came into extensive use in the ancient Roman
period and in variant forms could be used to span spaces up to 45 m (140 ft)
across. The stone arch or vault, with or without ribs, dominated the roof
structures of major architectural works for about 2,000 years, only giving way to
iron beams with the Industrial Revolution and the designing of such buildings as
Paxton's Crystal Palace, completed 1851.

With continual improvements in steel girders, these became the major structural
support for large roofs, and eventually for ordinary houses as well. Another form
of girder is the reinforced concrete beam, in which metal rods are encased in
concrete, giving it greater strength under tension.

Roof support can also serve as living spaces as can be seen in roof decking. Roof
decking are spaces within the roof structure that is converted into a room of some
sort.

Outer layer
Main article: List of commercially available roofing material
This part of the roof shows great variation dependent upon availability of
material. In vernacular architecture, roofing material is often vegetation, such as
thatches, the most durable being sea grass with a life of perhaps 40 years. In many
Asian countries bamboo is used both for the supporting structure and the outer
layer where split bamboo stems are laid turned alternately and overlapped. In areas
with an abundance of timber, wooden shingles, shakes and boards are used, while in
some countries the bark of certain trees can be peeled off in thick, heavy sheets
and used for roofing.

The 20th century saw the manufacture of composition asphalt shingles which can last
from a thin 20-year shingle to the thickest which are limited lifetime shingles,
the cost depending on the thickness and durability of the shingle. When a layer of
shingles wears out, they are usually stripped, along with the underlay and roofing
nails, allowing a new layer to be installed. An alternative method is to install
another layer directly over the worn layer. While this method is faster, it does
not allow the roof sheathing to be inspected and water damage, often associated
with worn shingles, to be repaired. Having multiple layers of old shingles under a
new layer causes roofing nails to be located further from the sheathing, weakening
their hold. The greatest concern with this method is that the weight of the extra
material could exceed the dead load capacity of the roof structure and cause
collapse. Because of this, jurisdictions which use the International Building Code
prohibit the installation of new roofing on top of an existing roof that has two or
more applications of any type of roof covering; the existing roofing material must
be removed before installing a new roof.[6]

Slate is an ideal, and durable material, while in the Swiss Alps roofs are made
from huge slabs of stone, several inches thick. The slate roof is often considered
the best type of roofing. A slate roof may last 75 to 150 years, and even longer.
However, slate roofs are often expensive to install – in the US, for example, a
slate roof may have the same cost as the rest of the house. Often, the first part
of a slate roof to fail is the fixing nails; they corrode, allowing the slates to
slip. In the UK, this condition is known as "nail sickness". Because of this
problem, fixing nails made of stainless steel or copper are recommended, and even
these must be protected from the weather.[7]

Asbestos, usually in bonded corrugated panels, has been used widely in the 20th
century as an inexpensive, non-flammable roofing material with excellent insulating
properties. Health and legal issues involved in the mining and handling of asbestos
products means that it is no longer used as a new roofing material. However, many
asbestos roofs continue to exist, particularly in South America and Asia.

Roofs made of cut turf (modern ones known as green roofs, traditional ones as sod
roofs) have good insulating properties and are increasingly encouraged as a way of
"greening" the Earth. The soil and vegetation function as living insulation,
moderating building temperatures.[8] Adobe roofs are roofs of clay, mixed with
binding material such as straw or animal hair, and plastered on lathes to form a
flat or gently sloped roof, usually in areas of low rainfall.

In areas where clay is plentiful, roofs of baked tiles have been the major form of
roofing. The casting and firing of roof tiles is an industry that is often
associated with brickworks. While the shape and colour of tiles was once regionally
distinctive, now tiles of many shapes and colours are produced commercially, to
suit the taste and pocketbook of the purchaser. Concrete roof tiles are also a
common choice, being available in many different styles and shapes.

Sheet metal in the form of copper and lead has also been used for many hundreds of
years. Both are expensive but durable, the vast copper roof of Chartres Cathedral,
oxidised to a pale green colour, having been in place for hundreds of years. Lead,
which is sometimes used for church roofs, was most commonly used as flashing in
valleys and around chimneys on domestic roofs, particularly those of slate. Copper
was used for the same purpose.

In the 19th century, iron, electroplated with zinc to improve its resistance to
rust, became a light-weight, easily transported, waterproofing material. Its low
cost and easy application made it the most accessible commercial roofing,
worldwide. Since then, many types of metal roofing have been developed. Steel
shingle or standing-seam roofs last about 50 years or more depending on both the
method of installation and the moisture barrier (underlayment) used and are between
the cost of shingle roofs and slate roofs. In the 20th century, a large number of
roofing materials were developed, including roofs based on bitumen (already used in
previous centuries), on rubber and on a range of synthetics such as thermoplastic
and on fibreglass.