Tree

[dai bread]

We call that standing seam type of roof "rib", and it's quite common, though not as common as plain corrugated steel. It is always put up with concealed fasteners. I had a corrugated steel roof on my last house, chosen because I thought it was impossible to foul up the installation. How wrong I was! Eventually, I bit the bullet and had the flattish part of the roof re-done in rib. It should never have been done in corrugated- the fall wasn't nearly steep enough. The washers on the nails had to be replaced too. Auckland's ultraviolet light destroyed them. That meant taking out the whole nail and putting in screws with different washers, over the whole roof. I got a tradesman to do that, poor man.

My present house has concrete tiles and concrete bricks. I call them bricks to distinguish them from concrete blocks, which are also used in house-building but are a totally different product. I have to confess to a liking for timber houses, but the maintenance is high and this masonry place suits me very well. Painting my last house was ok at 56, hard work at 66, and I was NOT wanting to do it at 76!

Japanese tiled roofs have staggered up-stands every 3 or 4 tiles for the express purpose of stopping the sort of snow-slide you describe, Shap. I don't know if they're compulsory or not, but they're certainly a standard feature.

[Shapley]

Concrete roof tiles are nice, but very expensive around here. There are few installers in this area. You occasionally see them as partial roofs on commercial buildings.

One of my 'dream house' designs is for a Chinese-style house, which I drew up after reading a book on them.



This would use roof tiles, with the traditional catenary-curve roof design which slows the descent of ice and snow.

Of course, I'd need to win the lottery before I could build it.

Another option on the metal roof is to add dormers. These will break up the '40 acres' of roof surface, preventing the continuous slide of material down the roof. But, as Frank Lloyd Wright noted, every time you add a valley to a roof, you shorten its life.

[dai bread]

I hadn't known that last bit, Shap. I wonder why the life is shortened. Something to do with cut edges, perhaps.

[Shapley]

The valley has a significantly shallower slope than the remainder of the roof, and carries double the drainage, as it gets water from the slopes on both sides of the valley, much as a wash between two hills. This shortens the life of the tiles or shingles.

Because of the shallower slope and convergence of two different planes, ice and snow (as well as leaves and debris), tend to accumulate there and impede the flow of water. This can result in water backing up under the tiles or shingles.

Shingle roofs, when properly done, are woven at the valleys, resulting in twice the thickness of shingles as the rest of the roof. Even so, they tend to be the first place that leaks.

[jamiebk]

I am happy with my Monier concrete tile roof. You can see it in the picture above. Unbelievably, it is set only on stringers without tar paper of underlayment of any sort. It gave me the creeps at first, but it hasn't leaked in all these years. The house was built in the mid 70's. (Of course I have just doomed myself for the next rainstorm, )

[Shapley]

Houses in China and the Europe were built with clay tiles laid right on top of the wooden stringers long before there was such at thing as tar paper, and many are still standing, dry as ever. They have to replace a tile now and again, but those roofs last for ages. I assume the concrete will last nearly as well as the clay, if not longer.

[dai bread]

Mine don't have tar-paper or anything under them either. I think building paper is put under roofs (certainly steel ones) because of condensation rather than possible leaks.

[Shapley]

Here is an image of the snow falling off the roof, taken on Saturday. This snow was very powdery, so the snow broke up as it left the roof. When there is ice mixed it, or it is a very wet snow, the snow comes down in large pieces.



After last years ice storm, the entire rear roof covering came down at once, in one large chunk. The front did the same a few hours later, when the sun had warmed that part of the house. When it struck the ground, large pieces were sticking vertically, like large icy tombstones. Fitting, had anyone been standing under there when it fell. On the Northwest corner, where there is no concrete walk, some of was embedded in the soil where it hit.

I thought I had taken pictures of it, but I haven't found them.

BTW, here is the rear of the house, showing the proximity of the trees.



And here is the creek that runs behind the house:

[Trumpetmaster]

that is an incredible photo!

[Haggis@wk]

I am happy with my Monier concrete tile roof. You can see it in the picture above. Unbelievably, it is set only on stringers without tar paper of underlayment of any sort. It gave me the creeps at first, but it hasn't leaked in all these years. The house was built in the mid 70's. (Of course I have just doomed myself for the next rainstorm, )

Mine in the high desert had something under the tiles....I think, I'll ask the MRHYN, she'll remember

[Haggis@wk]

I'm feeling more than chuffed that we had the tree down. You'll recall our neighbor's tree next to mine? It broke under the snow. I doubt it's a write off but it made me smile nevertheless

I half thought the "leaning mailbox of Webley Drive" was going to fall under the weight of snow!!!

[Haggis@wk]

Second day of Spring, 2010, Plano, Texas (sigh)

[dai bread]

Ah, Global Warming! Oops, sorry, Climate Change.

I notice that although the scam is now officially Climate Change, people are still rabbiting on about carbon dioxide.

[Schmeelkie]

And I hear it's snowing in Atlanta today! And while we're only at about 40 degrees up north, we're getting rain. About 51 and mostly sunny for us on the first day of spring - had a great day at the zoo. So weird to see snow in TX and we're not getting it here! Last year I got some great shots of our crocuses in the snow on the first day of spring, but it was only about 1/4 inch. I'm sure that's all melting off already....

[jamiebk]

Well....Haggis always said that it would be a cold day in hell when the health care bill passed.

[Giant Communist Robot]

But, as Frank Lloyd Wright noted, every time you add a valley to a roof, you shorten its life.

A guy notorius for his inability to produce a decent roof

[Haggis@wk]

68 and sunny today with a predicted high of 74 tomorrow. Snow mostly gone like a snowflake in the proverbial hell.

[Haggis@wk]

83 and sunny in Plano today. Here's some photos of my wisteria fence and the real Haggis is chewing on my leg to go to the dog park. I got him some new doggles today and I'll post a photo later in a new "Pets" thread I'm planning on starting here on the culture thread

[jamiebk]

Given time, Wisteria will eat your house...or anything it is planted near. A bit of a pruning job every year.

[Haggis@wk]

We savagely chop it back every fall. The MRHYN watches me closely because I tear the whole thing out if I had my way. We've already replaced the fence once because of the wisteria and the tumpet vine. I do regret killing the honey suckle off accidently.