Australia has an extreme climate and this affects our houses as well. Extreme heat and cold affect our roofs in various ways and if we are not careful, those might give way at any time.
However, we can avoid that ugly situation by trying out some simple and smart tricks. If you are a homeowner, please read this article carefully on making roofs strong and durable.
Using cantilevers
If your roof is quite strong, it can go beyond the support walls without any external support. To make it that strong, you can use a cantilever structure. This structure gives your roof some kind of internal bracing. While building trusses, you can use this cantilevered bracing and give your roof additional support. However, you need to make one of your rafters extend beyond your cross-tie.
This way, you make the whole roof as one complete unit as if it is glued together. When you do this, your extension will remain stable. Actually, when you do this, your roof becomes some kind of a lever. Your support wall becomes a fulcrum and any additional load on your roof can be supported easily. You only need to strengthen the roof edge for making this cantilevered extension.
Use specialized glue
Another novel way of building a stronger roof is using specialized glue. This holds all the parts of your roof together as if it were a wooden panel.
This thought was borrowed by housing industry experts from the car industry. Modern car parts are held together by special glue and the same stuff can be used in making roofs stronger.
However, this glue will work only if we have unitized panels. In some Australian states as well as in Canada, roofing panels are made of superior insulation materials. These roofing panels are covered by a cladding that can be used to pin the former to make a cohesive roofing structure.
If all this sounds very complicated, you may consider getting in touch with companies like Rekote to build an absolutely new roof for you.
Using I-beams
Suppose you are considering to strengthen your existing flat roof. In that case, you may look at I-beams to do this task. I beam got their names from the cross-section of a steel beam which looks like the letter I.
In an I-beam structure, the top and bottom flanges do not buckle but help the beam to stretch and add strength. To get an I-beam for your roof, you need not go to a steel supplier. You can make I-beams from timber and teak materials. You can make your own I-beam with just two pieces of machinery- a table saw, and a rubber cutting blade.
You can refer to this post for the best steel buildings.
Using trusses
One way to strengthen your roof is by using wooden trusses. Wood does not compress easily so when you place it longitudinally in your roof, the latter is less likely to be damaged. However, wood can be twisted and bent so your trussing needs to take care of these wood properties.
Painting
If all this sounds very complicated, how about painting your roof periodically. Many of us forget that painting is one of the cheapest but most effective ways of protecting our roofs. Consider having a painting calendar and stick to that schedule.
Physically cleaning the roofs
It may be old -fashioned, but a good way to maintain your roof is to physically clean it up periodically. Remove any plants or grass growing on the roof. If there are any cracks on the roof, plaster them and stop any rainwater getting into them.
