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A roof symbolizes the essence of shelter and protection while embodying the notion of our home as sanctuary. The roof shields us from the elements, keeps us comfortable inside and provides us with the security we need.

A roof reflects the spaces it encloses while shaping the stylistic character of the building it covers. It speaks to the site it inhabits, the climate it tangles with and the neighborhood it adjoins. Since the roof can take on a multitude of forms and shapes it must be carefully considered on a number of levels, from the practical to the abstract, to create a successful architectural composition.

On the most pragmatic level, a roof needs to respond to the climate it occupies. Steeper slopes shed rain and snow better than flatter ones and are generally a good choice in climates that experience large amounts of precipitation. Roofing materials such as metal, asphalt shingles, tile and slate all have different minimum and maximum slope restrictions in their application and require some forethought before being specified. A flat roof would never be clad in cedar shakes just as a steep roof would never be covered with tar and gravel.

Architects generally refer to roof slope as a ratio of vertical rise over a given horizontal run. The convention is to use the number 12 for the horizontal dimension giving us roof pitches described as 2:12, 10:12, etc. — the bigger the first number, the steeper the slope.

You rarely find steep slopes on the traditional bungalow because of the simple overriding factor of cost. Steeper roofs require more framing material to build and more roofing material to cover. This simple reality produces a rather generic roof slope that is steep enough to meet the restrictions of most roofing materials while still being shallow enough to be economical. It sits somewhere around 5:12 and has created a fairly bland housing landscape that could afford a little variation.

Roofs with different slopes call to mind different styles. A steep forested site might suggest one type of roof while a flat, wide open site might suggest another.

The Prairie Style of architecture, best illustrated by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, was founded in the American Midwest and tried to evoke the flatness of its native landscape through the use of horizontal line. By using flat and shallow sloped hip roofs with large overhangs, Wright and his peers were able to create buildings that were inextricably linked to their “prairie” landscape.

In addition to responding to the site it inhabits, the roof should also reflect the plan it contains. Just as a simple plan warrants a simple roof arrangement, a complex plan, with any number of major and minor elements, requires a more involved roofscape layout.

In these complex situations architects will think of the compositional balance between the larger and smaller roof forms. The building will be anchored in some way by a dominant roof element with smaller more subsidiary roof forms joining to it. The arrangement becomes a sculptural exercise with the overall balance being key to the building’s success.

he largest of the great French chateaux in the Loire Valley is the Chateau de Chambord. At over 400 feet in width this amazing structure houses 440 rooms and is crowned by a forest of turrets, chimneys (365 of them) and dormers stretching across a roof of steep gables and turrets. Although compositionally complex Chateau de Chambord’s roof is in perfect balance and, without question, is one of the most miraculous ever built.

Balancing the very real pragmatic concerns of protection and shelter with the more abstract ones of style and appearance is essential for the design of a successful roof and ultimately a successful building.

One of the great pleasures of remodeling is the opportunity to upgrade your lifestyle. Think of all the great things you can get with a remodel – more space, more luxury, more storage, better efficiency, better flow for entertaining, cooking etc. Maybe even a super cool bathtub big enough for a grownup. Unfortunately, some remodels just can’t deliver the goods. Every once in a while you just need to take the money that should have delivered a super custom grill center, new deck and great seating area and instead sink it into something PRACTICAL. Like a roof.

Now you might figure that living in beautiful coastal Los Angeles that I don’t really need a roof, and for 10 months of the year you would be right. But unfortunately, in a wet year we can get a foot or two of rain. So my wife says we need a roof over our heads.

Until recently, that hasn’t been much of a problem. You see, we were very astute shoppers when we bought our home a few years ago. We picked one that ALREADY HAD A ROOF. Feeling smart and smug, we’ve been getting along just fine with our old grey roof.

It’s so high up off the ground, you have to kind of squint to see it, and it’s always looked smooth and dry. Until the winds came. This April Los Angeles had several weeks of strong, hard winds. (not Florida winds, or Kansas tornado watch winds, but good solid 45-50 mph winds roaring through like a freight train.) Since my house sits on a ridgeline, Easterly winds have a clear shot at my house. Nothing to slow them down as far as the eye can see. When the wind blows at my house you can feel it in your bones. And this year, it managed to get under our skin. Or at least under the roof tiles.

The next morning we started finding old grey roof tiles out on the sidewalk, in the street and down in the backyard. For a day or two we pretended that it was somebody elses roof blowing away. But soon enough we walked down the block, looked back up our hill and could see the gaping hole on the north slope of our roof. No deck for me. I was getting a roof.

(Okay, I confess, we did put it off for a month or two to match better with my work schedule.)

Step one on any significant remodeling job is to pick the right contractor. The first step is to make a list of who you know, and who you trust who can give you the best referrals. Who’s done a similar project recently? Who’s in the business? I’m lucky. One of my friends owns a number of rental properties, and has always been able to recommend high quality contractors who price out well below the “retail” price.

After a bit of looking around, some preliminary estimates from other contractors we chose his guy. Easy to talk to, the great eference and 50% of his normal retail price. Now lets hope that what they say about low bidders isn’t true.

So here we are on a bright, sunny May morning, with 4 men on my roof, (well on what’s left of my roof). There’s a truck in the driveway, and loads of old roof flying through the air going thunk.

To be continued…

[Originally posted at remodel.net.]

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