Flat Roof

[georgevacabin]

Hello All,

First let me say that I have been lurking on this forum for a while and have made the decision to purchase the Little House Design Kit.  Mainly because the folks on this forum/site are friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.  So right up front, I want to say thank you - as a complete newbee I know I will have many questions.

Enough of that  

My first question - Does anyone have experience building a flat roof on the 14x24?  I am interested in the additional space that this size offers but not the loft, A-frame roof.  Any photos out there?

Thanks!!!!

[glenn-k]

Welcome to the forum George.  Glad you like it.

I did the 14x24 as a garage but standard gable roof.  The Flat roof would be much easier.

It would just be a bigger version of John's retreat cabin with proper sized roof members.



Or - similar to my storage garage with a flat roof.



It could look something like this inside - note that I converted to post and beam framing on my own.  



All in all my photos are not real relevant except to get an  idea of size.

[georgevacabin]

Hey Glenn,

Thanks for your prompt response and pics!   I plan on breaking ground in a month on property we have owned for about 3 years.  Wish me luck!  

Again, great site!

[glenn-k]

Please keep us posted.  Thanks for the compliments.

[georgevacabin]

Getting closer to breaking ground (9/28) and I'm finding that I have more and more questions.  Nerves I guess  .  In reference to the flat roof - is it possible to extend the walls upward so that you still have room for a small loft with the shed roof?

Thanks!

p.s. foundation questions to follow  

[glenn kangiser]

No reason not to.  Some even extend one wall much higher than the other for more slope or better drainage - different look, etc.

[georgevacabin]

Hey Glenn,

Great!  Thanks!

[tanya]

Please keep us posted on how your flat roof works out for you.  I had the idea of doing a small cottage with a flat roof too then using the flat roof for a deck of sorts.  With a railing around it and posts going up to hold a pergola top with white canvas or gauze for shade cloth.  So I am very interested in how this works out for you and how easy it is to modify the little hosue plans to make it happen and any learning points you might have a long the way.  Thank you.

[MountainDon]

Here in the southwest there are lots of flat roofs on homes. The Pueblo style & the NM Territorial style are the main ones.

For a number of years now these roofs are not actually flat. They are low pitch roofs, hiding behind parapet walls. The building architecture still looks the same. However, the low pitch prevents ponding that too frequently occurs on a traditional flat roof, and may make leaks more likely.

A deck on top of a roof like this is sometimes done. Most often the deck is wood planking on a framework above the actual waterproof roof surface. This not only helps by making it level, if the roof is a low pitch design, it prevents foot traffic from causing premature wear.

Pueblo style below


Territorial style below

[georgevacabin]

Hi There,

Thanks for the feedback.  I hope that I am using the correct terminology.  When I say flat roof I envision a roof similar to John's retreat cabin roof.  Would low slope be a better term?  It seems that if you could extend the walls up you could have a small loft/storage area and put this type of roof on.  I'm still searching the forum to see if anyone has done this and posted pictures.

I'm meeting with a friend (he is the brains of the outfit  ) this weekend to go over the Little House Plans in more detail.  I will certainly post my progress.  

Thanks again!

[builderboy]

Personally I wouldn't build a perfectly flat roof because of the pooling/drainage concern mentioned by MtnDon. I'm working on a 20x10 with a shed roof - rear wall 8 ft high front wall 10 ft high giving a slope of 2/10 or 2.4/12. When I get inside, I'll build a storage loft high on the 10 foot wall. There's a similar building (16x24) on this site. Click on the gallery link, scroll down about 1/2 way to "2 more examples of owner built cabins". The second one is what I'm working from.

[georgevacabin]

Hi Builderboy!

Yes!  Thanks!  I missed these photos.  This is exactly what I was thinking.  I have a 4 day window to get the framing up and some sort of weather protection on.  From what I can tell the shed roof is less challenging then the gable roof.  However, I still like the idea of having a loft.  

Thanks again!!!

[tanya]

Thank you for the pics Don.  I really like that little brown cottage with the railing around the roof.  My land is in the desert so I doubt that any type of moisture will pool up but just to be on the safe side I am going to follow that suggestion and add a slope and deck above that, very smart.  There is not much rain/snow at all so I wonder how big of slope I will need?  Where I live here we get a LOT of snow and rain and I know the landlords have a three inch slope on the concrete slabs they are preparing to pour will that be enough on the cottage roof in the desert?  

[MountainDon]

Glad you liked the pics, Tanya. I can't say with any certainty what the low slope pitch is. I've never seen the plans or measured. But from walking on them I'd sat they are something like 1:12, maybe 2:12 at most. It's just to get the water to flow where the builder provides exit points. Recalling the problems I had back home with a really flat roof on the business, I don't like them at all... low pitch helps a lot.

Tar and gravel is the traditional old way of flat roofing. Today the mebranes seem to work much better, are lighter and fairly long lived.

I like the territorial style (detail around the roof) much more than the pueblo style. Pueblo style is much ore popular.he reason IMO, is because pueblo has less detail work... easier faster to complete. The genuine styles are built from adobe bricks, with massive thick walls. Most modern structures are stick framed and stuccoed like normal. You can still get the real thing but you pay for it.

The desert here in NM where my suburban house is doesn't get a lot of rain either. But like AZ, more often than not when it rains it comes in buckets, big buckets. It can also be very local, one street and not the other. Little snow and usually not all that much at a time. Gone in a day or less as a rule.

[John Raabe]

As Don, Glenn and others have mentioned, a flat roof should really be a low slope roof these days. On our retreat cabin we used a very low slope (with only a couple of extra plates on the wall for slope). See the diagram at the start of this thread.

For more info on shed roofs see this diagram. http://www.countryplans.com/sheds/shedroof.html

Shed roofs where a loft is desired need to be rather steep. (A shed roof is just a single rafter roof spaning between two walls of different heights. A flat roof is the same but has both walls at the same height. )

For a simple shed roof with a loft here is a structural sketch I loaded up to the CountryPlans.com site several years ago.

[georgevacabin]

High John,

Thanks for the feedback.  Talked it over with my better half last night.  She doesn't like the look of the shed roof.  So it looks like I will be taking a closer look at the gable roof.  

Pick and choose your battles . . .  

Thanks!!!!

[MountainDon]

Well, the bright side is twofold.

1. She now owes you one for being a gentleman about it.

2. The gable roof on the 14x24 cabin isn't going to be all that much of a big deal, compared to a much larger house. Before you get to the point of building read up and ask whatever questions you have.

I believe that it's the thinking about "how am I going to make those angle cuts, the birdsmouth for the eve ends", etc. that's a daunting factor. The actual materials handling isn't too bad either with a roof of that size.

G/L   we'll help all we can from here.  

[georgevacabin]

  Thanks for the support MD.

I'm heading down to the property in the am to get an idea of exact location, dig around a little to check the soil, etc..  The plan is to start building on the 27th.  I will certainly be reading up and asking questions!