Historic Building Roof Design

Historic masonry building illustrating many horizontal facing surfaces.

Historic building roof design.

In addition a weathertight roof is essential to the longterm preservation of the entire structure. Special problems inherent in the design of an elaborate historic roof can be controlled through regular maintenance. Photo by amy woods. In a typical masonry wall assembly mortar might comprise 20 to 25 percent of the masonry wall system.

The shape and detailing are essential elements of the building s historic character and should not be modified despite the use of alternative surface materials. A roof is an integral part of a building and people try to personalise the roof designs to achieve optimum architectural splendour. The colour and material of the roof complement the structural integrity of a building. The design of a roof shape is based on a number of considerations including the building s height use wall materials and structural elements.

European settlers used clay tile for roofing as early as the mid 17th century. Historic masonry materials. There are a number of commercially available wooden roofing products as wellas custom roofers who can supply specially made shingles for historicpreservation projects. Unfortunately thechoice of an inappropriate shingle or poor installation can severely detractfrom the building s historic appearance.

Roof covering of the top of a building serving to protect against rain snow sunlight wind and extremes of temperature roofs have been constructed in a wide variety of forms flat pitched vaulted domed or in combinations as dictated by technical economic or aesthetic considerations. Features such as cresting dormers cupolas and chimneys. Many pantiles s curved tiles as well as flat roofing tiles were used in jamestown virginia. A complex and durable design this type of roof adds a beautiful aesthetic to a building and can be seen in many historical buildings from the capitol building in washington d c to the iconic st.

Historic roofing materials in america. Poorly constructed roofs endanger the people living in a building so you need to make the roof compatible to the rest of the building in a well engineered style. Design the roof of a new addition to be compatible with the original structure and surrounding historic context. And the size color and patterning of the roofing material is an important design element of many historic buildings.

The two primary shapes of roofs on historic buildings in washington are flat and sloped. Flat roofs most rowhouses semi attached residential buildings and commercial buildings have flat roofs. In some cities such as new york and boston clay was popularly used as a precaution against such fire as those that engulfed london in 1666 and scorched boston in 1679. The earliest roofs constructed by man were probably thatched roofs that were made of straw leaves.

Historic masonry materials primarily refer to brick terra cotta stone concrete block cast stone and secondarily mortar. In the surrounding historic context.