Advantages And Disadvantages Of Different Roofs

A patio can be a great space for you to enjoy time with your friends and family. Especially in the summer months, barbecuing and sitting beside the swimming pool are very popular activities. When the weather is nice, it is very nice to be outside. However, sometimes, the sun can become too much. Or maybe your barbecue is being rained out. What solution do you have? A patio with a roof can solve your problems. Roofs come in different shapes, though. Typically, they are domed, gabled, or flat. Each style has advantages and disadvantages. Deciding which is right for you is essential.

Gable

Technically, a gable is the triangular wall attachment that connects a building to a sloped roof. However, the term has come to mean the triangular wall or the sloped roof itself. In the context of a patio roof, gable refers only to the roof. The sloped roof has some advantages. Rainwater runs off a sloped roof. Also, sloped roofs tend to be taller than flat roofs. That means on a hot day, hot air rises away from you and your guests.

 A gable roof has some problems associated with it, though. If a gable roof has too low of a slope, the roof acts as a wing. The roof creates turbulence as the wind passes over it. On the lee side of the roof, the pressure drops, causing the roof to lift off its supports. If the roof slope is too high, then the roof acts as a windbreak. Wind hits the tall side of the roof and presses against the roof. Eventually, the roof materials will degrade or the roof itself will begin to break down. The perfect angle is tall enough for the roof to cause the air to stall as it passes over but low enough that it does not create too much turbulence.

Dome

A dome patio in Perth and other warm areas has many advantages over gables. Dome roofs offer the advantage of allowing hot air to rise away from you and your guests. However, since the roof does not come to a point, it does not create the problems of slope and angle that gable roofs have. Also, water runs off the roof instead of pooling. Domes are also very reliable. That is why arches have been used in construction for thousands of years. They are simple and strong designs that resist wind and rain.

Domes look especially nice next to swimming pools where they evoke a Mediterranean style. There are some disadvantages, though. Since water runs off the roof, it falls pretty steadily in a heavy rain. These drops are going to splash you and your guests. That is something you will have to contend with. It is better than the water pooling and running the risk of caving in, though. Also, domes require slightly more machining than the straight lines of gables. Since creating a dome is a little more difficult, these roofs might be more expensive than gables.

Choosing the right kind of roof is mostly a matter of taste.