A one-story house without an attic. Attic or cold attic: what to choose. Features of the device with or without an attic space

The pitched roof in Russia is not so often used in the construction of residential buildings. This has more to do with tradition and a large number standard projects houses with a roof than with the real disadvantages of pitched roofs. Therefore, if among your priorities the recognizable appearance of the house and the cost-effectiveness of the consumption of expensive lumber for the system are not in last place, it makes sense to consider the option of a project with pitched roof.

Advantages of residential buildings with a pitched roof

Such projects have several traditional advantages that make them very popular in Finland, Norway and other countries with a climate similar to the Russian one.

efficiency in the consumption of lumber for the construction of the system and materials, such a roof, all other things being equal, will cost you less;
increases savings and the fact that from the height of human growth the roof of the house will be practically invisible, so you can get by with reliable, but not very attractive from an aesthetic point of view, materials, rolled or;
installation of the system is easier, you can do it yourself;
more rational use of space, you can easily do without little-used attic space;
low windage– relevant for areas with high wind loads;
the snow will only fall in one direction(prohibition of dumping snow on the roadway is a mandatory requirement for some areas);
repairs are much easier, it is easy to move on such a roof;
snow lingers on the roof(with a slight slope), providing additional thermal insulation;
another option - heated roof. In this case, the snow will not linger on the roof.

The skeptical attitude of many builders towards houses with a pitched roof is caused by the low prevalence of such buildings in Russia. This is a question of building traditions. Calculate the snow load and basic parameters one thing pitched roof no more difficult than for a gable. The construction process is also not particularly complicated.

Examples of projects of houses with a pitched roof

Projects of houses with a pitched roof are quite varied. There are several main options:

house without attic when the roof is also a ceiling;
house with a small attic, but with a straight ceiling on the top floor.

In the first case, the aesthetic factor is higher; the ceiling on the top floor will be indirect, having an angle equal to the angle of the slope. In the second case, the thermal insulation of the roof is better, there are fewer requirements for materials and the quality of roof installation, although it is difficult to maintain and inspect such a roof; for this reason, customers are often asked to increase the height of the attic.

Small buildings with a pitched roof most often have rectangular shape, the roof is a single slope formed by the difference in height of two opposite walls. This is the simplest option for a house with a pitched roof. Here is one example of a building project. There is no garage, the project includes five bedrooms and a fairly standard layout, there is no attic, so the ceiling on the second floor will have a slope.

Accordingly, it is necessary to think through the situation. Often the headboards of the beds are placed on the side with the lowest ceiling height, but the height should be at least 1.5 m.

Aerated concrete is used as a material for walls, reinforced concrete slabs are used for floors, and the foundation is monolithic. reinforced concrete slab. Facing - brick or tile, inserts made of a material of a different color and texture look very good, combination different types brick or brick and wood slats or other combination.

There are also building projects with complex shapes roofs, several slopes. This allows you to create a house of any configuration, taking into account any landscape, but complicates the design and makes construction more expensive.

This is a project of a two-story building, living area (area of living rooms) - 103 m2, total - 232 m2. The angle of inclination is almost zero, so the roof will require constant clearing of snow; in its original form it is suitable for areas with small snow load. The roof type is with an attic, the angle of inclination can be changed, but the higher the slope in such projects, the worse the building will look. Plus almost flat roof in the possibility of its rational use with virtually no restrictions.

There is a garage for two cars; the advantage of buildings with similar plans is also the presence of a large balcony on the second floor, which can be used in the summer.

First floor: 1 – entrance hall, 3.56 m2; 2 – hall – 20.6 m2; 3 – kitchen – 17.46 m2; 4 – living room – 26.48 m2; 5 – dining room – 18 m2; 6 - office - 9.59 m2; 7 - boiler room - 6.11 m2; 8 – toilet – 2.08 m2; 9 – garage – 39.45 m2.

Second floor: 10 – hall – 17.21 m2; 11 – bedroom – 17.46 m2; 12 – bedroom – 16 m2; bedroom – 13.58 m2; wardrobe/storage area – 7.3 m2; bathroom – 8.56 m2; bathroom – 6.53 m2.

Ground floor not in this project. The walls are made of aerated concrete, the foundation is a reinforced concrete slab. External walls are sheathed wooden slats, decorative tiles or bricks. Covering the roof depends on how you intend to use it, the simplest and cheap option– rolled materials.

A pitched roof often becomes great solution for small houses for a summer residence or as a house for outdoor recreation. In this case large windows V Russian conditions are not applicable, the design should be simpler, and the construction itself should be more economical.

This is a house plan with a pitched roof with a total area of 238.2 m2, living area 86.2 m2. There is no basement or garage; the foundation is a reinforced concrete slab, the walls are made of cellular concrete. The walls are covered with plaster and wooden lath.

It is better to involve a specialist in the calculation and design of the building, who, using professional programs, will calculate all parameters rafter system and frame. This is especially true if you are changing a project taken from the Internet or starting to develop your own.

Pitfalls in the design and construction of a house with a pitched roof

There are no more of them than when building a house with a gable roof, but some are still worth noting:

if you are planning a house without an attic (most beautiful photos Scandinavian houses with a pitched roof - this type), where the ceiling is combined with the roof, then the quality of building materials for the roofing cake and the installation of the roofing will have to be approached very carefully. This means using more expensive materials and hiring specialists to install the roof to ensure its tightness and good thermal insulation. This factor will “eat up” part of the savings;
if the house plan includes a small attic between the roof and the ceiling of the upper floor, then servicing and inspecting the roof from the inside will be extremely inconvenient due to low altitude attic space and its reduction from the top edge to the bottom. As the height increases, aesthetics suffer; it is a matter of compromise. The attic is almost impossible to use effectively (most of it);
Facade work must be carried out very efficiently and carefully. This is the main difficulty when building a house with a pitched roof: with a poorly made facade, the house will look like a large barn - without exaggeration. The more details, the fewer quality requirements facade works. The fewer details, the more concise appearance buildings, the higher quality the materials should be and the better they should be selected according color scheme and texture;
increased requirements for the appearance of the building. It will look unusual, so the design must be thought out. A good program that allows you to draw and design small buildings– SketchUp (yes) free version). Its only downside is English language, but there are lessons and support groups in Russian.

Not everyone likes a house with a pitched roof from an aesthetic point of view. But if you are not one for the traditional and rather boring look gable roof, then you should take a closer look at the designs of houses with a pitched roof. You can find many free projects on the Internet, and they will design a custom house for you of any design. There are no significant or insurmountable difficulties in the design and construction of a building with a pitched roof.

After a long break, it's time to start updating the blog. According to the results of voting for the most interesting topic, which hangs in the upper right corner of the blog, the greatest interest was shown in the topic “Which is better - a one-story or two-story house.”

In fact, “what is better” is a rather individual and not new topic. It is easy to find materials on this topic, so I will not delve into it, focusing on an issue that is closely related to this topic, but much less covered. Namely - “what is cheaper to build, a two-story or one-story house”

But I’ll start in order, with what is better, because partly this question will be related to what is cheaper.

Which is better - a one-story or two-story / attic house

Probably the main argument, not related to price or subjective feelings, when choosing a one-story or two-story house is the area of the site and the building. Of course, it will be difficult to build a one-story house with 150 square meters on a plot of 6 acres. Therefore, for small plots, a two-story house will be a more sensible solution than a one-story one.

Otherwise, the question is largely individual and subjective. Some people like to have a staircase and a second floor in their house, where they can retire from the family bustle going on on the first floor. Some people like the sloping walls of the attic, especially with dormer windows, which create a peculiar feeling of coziness of a “living attic.”

On the other hand, a one-story house is more convenient in terms of living. Because constantly running up and down stairs gets boring quickly. And not only does it get boring. We will all get old sooner or later, and going up to the second floor can become not just annoying, but also a physically difficult operation. In addition, whatever one may say, the staircase, even the most convenient one, is a dangerous place in the house. And not only for older people, but also for children, who mainly love her. I think each of us, at least once in our lives, fell on the stairs, turning awkwardly, or twisting our ankle. This also needs to be taken into account.

I have met a lot of opinions of people who built a two-story house and said “if I were building it now, I would have built a one-story one.” And in 90% of cases, this opinion was due precisely to the fact that running up and down the stairs gets boring pretty quickly. Whatever the staircase, think about how often you will have to climb it

Therefore, when choosing a two-story (attic I will also classify as two-story) house, you need to be very careful about choosing the layout, so that you have to run up and down the stairs as little as possible. For example, one of the important conditions for a comfortable existence is the presence of at least one bedroom (guest room) on the first floor and the presence of a bathroom on the second floor, if we are talking about a house with all the amenities.

A room on the first floor will be useful for the older generation, who find it difficult to go up to the second floor, and suddenly in the middle of the day you yourself want to take a nap or “read a book” alone and inside the house. And if you sleep on the second floor, and at night you suddenly feel the urge to go to the toilet, which is only on the first floor, then by the time you go up the stairs, the whole dream will have passed. Or you will suffer painfully because you don’t want to get out of a warm, cozy bed for the sake of a long hike :).

On the other hand, a two-story house has its advantages. For example, a view of the surrounding area, if the house is located in a picturesque place and the very feeling of being “cut off” from the land gives a certain emotional comfort. Very often in debates about “one-story or two-story,” the question of a balcony arises. The fact that many people want to have a balcony on the second floor to view the surroundings from it.

Let me digress a little to the question “is a balcony needed in a private house?” I remember one lady gave the following argument:

And I like to go out to the balcony in the morning with a cup of coffee and soak up the sun.

Is there such a thing? Of course yes. But don’t compare a balcony in an apartment with a balcony in a house. Imagine the above situation in reality. You woke up, went down the stairs to the first floor, where the kitchen is located, poured yourself some coffee, and with a hot mug climbed back up for the coveted balcony. Will you do this? Especially if on the ground floor you have, say, an open terrace, where you can just soak up the sun with that cup of coffee, and which you can access directly from the kitchen-living room?

Practice shows that in 90% of cases, the balcony in a private house is not used at all. Except that in winter you have to go out there to remove snow. This is exactly the case when “mental desires” diverge from reality. At the same time, a balcony can significantly increase the cost of construction.

Another argument in favor of a two-story house is the desire to have a “second light” when there is completely or partially no interfloor ceiling above the kitchen/living room. It's difficult to argue here. The feeling of spaciousness and airiness that second light gives is difficult to replace. Although in a one-story house it is possible to create a semblance of a second light, in this case the ceiling is usually not made horizontally, but along the rafters, as on attic floors. The effect is comparable to a second light, although such a design will most likely cost more than a conventional horizontal ceiling. But the “second light” has one implicit drawback. It greatly reduces the acoustic comfort for those in the second position.

Usually the “second light” is placed above the living room. Imagine a situation when guests have arrived and the living room is in full swing, but you are tired and decide to retire to the second room. With the “second light” you are unlikely to be able to take a break from the cheerful company, since the sound from the living room will be perfectly audible in the bedrooms on the second floor.

Acoustic comfort is probably the last argument that comes to mind, in the debate between one-story and two-story. On the one hand, on the second floor you can retire from the hustle and bustle of the first. On the other hand, soundproofing wooden floors, which are done in 90% of cases in private homes, is not such a simple matter. And residents of the first floor, on the contrary, may be disturbed by noise from the second (for example, children running around) - that is, impact noise, which is the weak point of any wooden floor.

In summary, based on the totality of its qualities, a one-story house will be safer and more comfortable to live in than a two-story house. But the 2-storey building also has its charms. Therefore, you must first focus on your needs and desires. With this, let's move on to a more pragmatic question - what is cheaper to build, a one-story or two-story house.

What is cheaper to build - a two-story or one-story house?

Let's start in order

Total area

Usually, when it comes to price, the old stereotype comes into play - a one-story building has twice the foundation and roof, and these are the most expensive elements in construction, so a one-story building is much more expensive.

But is this really so? The first mistake is that in this calculation, with the same number and area of residential premises, a one-story house will be smaller in area than a two-story house.

Why? Yes, very simple. If the staircase is not made completely “added”, then the staircase itself will take up at least 4 m2 on each floor. But in reality, about 5m2. That is, it is 10 m2 of the area of the entire house. Then, in front of the stairs, you will 100% have some kind of halls that will require at least 10 m2. Total - 20m2

The halls on the first and second floor are almost 20m2 and another 8 on the stairs. Total 28 m2 out of 135 building area. At the same time, there is not even a wardrobe for clothes in the halls.

Of course, in a one-story house you also cannot do without “useless” square meters spent on corridors and halls, but with proper and rational planning their number can be reduced to a minimum. And in a two-story building you won’t be able to get away from them.

There is an opinion that it is easier to make a rational layout of a two-story house than a one-story house. This is partly true, but the question of the rationality of planning is not at all simple. I came across two-story domestic projects, where the total area of all the halls and corridors reached 40% of the area of the entire house.

The total area is approximately the same as above, but in addition to 3 larger bedrooms, we have a sauna, a 2 times larger living room of 30 m2 and utility rooms. Moreover, the total area in this house includes almost 15 m2 of terraces (actually another room)

Therefore, if you want to build a two-story house of 150 m2, then a one-story house of the same usable area will most likely be 120-130 m2. And the extra 20-30 m2 in the construction of a house can result in a significant amount. In fact, this is the area of a studio apartment or a small one-room apartment.

In addition, the staircase itself, if you don’t go to extremes, also costs money. A beautiful and comfortable staircase will cost you from 30 to 120 rubles.

Design features

Let me warn you right away that the issue of design features is considered exclusively in the context of frame houses. Where, in essence, the walls and roof and ceiling are made from the same materials and using the same technology.

In addition to the area, you need to understand the various design features of houses, which can also affect the cost. For example, it is more difficult to properly insulate an attic roof than a “cold attic”. Dormer windows are much more expensive than regular ones, and installing them well so that there are no leaks in the future also costs money.

If you do not want to get a “trampoline” and “drum” in the form of a second floor floor, the interfloor covering in a 2-story house will be much more material and labor-intensive than the attic covering of an unused attic. This includes an increased cross-section and pitch of the floor lag, and the “pie” of the floor itself. Well, if you also want to make improved sound insulation of the interfloor ceiling or make a ceiling over the living room, where the spans will be 6 meters long, then in general the price can jump sharply due to the design.

Even if we take the thermal insulation characteristics. You can lay at least 500mm of insulation in a cold “attic” without any problems. Your costs for this are the cost of the insulation itself and the work of laying it in the open horizon, which is very simple. In the attic floor, when insulating the roof, you are limited by the cross-section of the rafters, that is, as a rule, 150 or 200 mm. Want more? You will have to increase the height of the rafters or make several battens for additional insulation - and this means money for materials and money for labor.

A “cold” attic of a one-story house can be easily insulated with at least 50 cm of insulation.

The load on the walls of the first floor and the foundation in a one- and two-story house will also be different. In turn, this may lead to the need for a reinforced type of foundation or wall structure on the first floor than in a one-story house.

There can be quite a lot of such constructive “little things”. Perhaps each of them separately will not cost much, but together they will make a very noticeable difference.

In addition, a one-story house is simply simpler and more convenient to build. Builders are much more willing to build a one-story house than a two-story one. Therefore, the cost of the work itself may vary. Although in reality this is not always the case, nevertheless, extra charges for the height of the work and the like can easily appear in the estimates. In turn, with a one-story house it is much easier to get a discount on work, precisely because the work is often simpler.

Agree, doing the same roof at a height of 3-4 meters from the ground and 7-10 is not quite the same thing. There are both banal risks associated with safety precautions and physical effort associated with lifting materials.

Work on a 2-story house will necessarily require the construction of full-fledged scaffolding, but with a one-story house you can get by with trestles and small scaffolding.

Engineering communications

Another quite important point. In a one-story house it is much easier and therefore cheaper to install utilities. For example, if in a two-story house you have bathrooms on both floors, and they are not located on top of each other, then the task of installing sewer pipes becomes dramatically more complicated. Water and sewerage will have to be laid in the interfloor ceiling, which in turn will complicate its design. The same can be said about heating.

If you want to make a fireplace or solid fuel boiler, then the length of the chimney will directly depend on the number of floors. Accordingly, the cost of the chimney and its installation and the creation of fire penetrations in the ceilings.

And the biggest difference will come in ventilation if you suddenly decide to make a full-fledged system, with air ducts and a supply and exhaust unit. Ventilation ducts have a significant diameter and it is not so easy to distribute them throughout a two-story house. And in a one-story house, all ventilation is simply carried out through the attic. Moreover, it can be done later, since there is always access to the attic.

Probably, of all the engineering communications, only the electrician will cost more or less comparable in implementation in a one-story and two-story house. All other communications in a two-story house, as a rule, are more expensive.

And engineering communications, a thing that in itself makes up a significant share in the construction of a house.

Two-story or attic

A separate issue that is worth touching on is a house with a full second floor (cold attic), half-attic (when the outer walls of the second floor are lower than a person’s height) and attic (when the walls of the second floor are shifted inside the house).

A two-story house will have the maximum usable area, while in the attic it will be the smallest. The same can be said from the point of view of ease of use.

At the same time, the attic or semi-attic floor has its own “charm”, which many people like. But this is a subjective assessment.

If we look at it from the point of view of economic benefits, then construction attic floor does not provide significant advantages “in terms of money” in general construction work, since savings on space are often offset by a more complex design, despite the fact that you significantly lose in living space. True, the attic can partially save your money on the reduced area of exterior and interior decoration.

So what should you choose?

If you were looking for a definite answer about what is better and cheaper - a full-fledged two-story house, an attic, a one-story house, then I cannot give you this answer. If only because you will never be able to find 2 identical houses. Only one would be one-story, the other two-story. There will be different areas, different design features and, accordingly, prices.

According to my personal observations, the cost of building a one-story or two-story house “on a circle” will be comparable. It all depends on specific projects. A one-story house can cost less than a two-story house, or maybe more. But the difference will most likely be within 10-15%.

About the author

Hello. My name is Alexey, you may have met me as Porcupine or Gribnick on the Internet. I am the founder of the Finnish House, a project that has grown from a personal blog into a construction company whose goal is to build a high-quality and comfortable home for you and your children.

The roofs of private houses amaze with their diversity. Sloping and flat, covered with tiles or completely transparent, made of glass - there is room for your imagination to run wild. But the roof should perform not only a protective, but also an aesthetic function. This is facilitated by both the variety of geometric shapes and the large selection of materials.

The roof structure of two-story houses can be flat or pitched. Accordingly, both the first and second have their positive and negative sides.

Flat design

This type is quite rare in the construction of small (two-story) private houses. This is directly related to its feature: in fact, this roof is not absolutely vertical, but has a slight slope of 3 degrees. But in this situation, snow and rainwater roll off very poorly near a small house. Therefore, reliability and durability in this case is less than that of pitched types.

It is worth highlighting individual cases when a flat roof outperforms a pitched roof. First of all, if you plan to build a pool, terrace or small garden. It is impossible to implement any of these solutions with a pitched roof.

Flat roof in a private house

Pitched design

This type is considered the most practical. The main advantage is the sufficient angle of inclination, which allows precipitation not to linger and roll off. It is believed that the pitched structure has greater reliability and durability.

Another advantage of this type of construction is the possibility of arranging an attic or attic room. If we consider the negative aspects of a pitched roof, we can highlight the following:

it will be more expensive to build than a flat one, especially if it is of a combined shape;
difficulties in carrying out repairs.

Pitched roof

Geometric shapes

Pitched roof types have a fairly large selection of shapes. Moreover, they can be designed independently, taking into account the loads, selected materials, as well as the design features of the building.

The most common are:

Single-pitched is the simplest option, both in terms of construction and in terms of financial costs. The structure rests on walls of different heights. It is used both for buildings (garage, barn) and for country houses. However, when choosing this option, it should be understood that installing an attic is impossible.

Gable - constructed from two pitched elements connected to each other using a “ridge”. However, the slopes do not have to be symmetrical. They can be located at different angles and, accordingly, be of different lengths. Currently the leader in popularity and practicality. The fact that it is very easy to equip an attic or attic under such a roof is also positive.

The hip one is a more complex type in terms of construction, which consists of two triangular-shaped slopes. Construction of this type must be carried out only with the help of professional craftsmen. But the costs are recouped due to high sustainability indicators.

The half-hip type is a cross between a hip and gable roof. The ends in this version have the shape of a trapezoid. Such roofs often have windows that provide a good level of lighting into the attic or attic. In general, it is an interesting solution, but more difficult to construct than “classic” gable roofs.

Tent - in fact, is nothing more than a type of hip. The minimum number of slopes is 3. They are symmetrical, do not have a ridge and converge at one point. It is used in cases where a house of the correct shape (in particular, a square) is being built.

Multi-tongue - used in cases where the house under construction has a complex shape. What’s not enough is the complexity of the rafters. However, the result is a unique design, which, in addition to its main functions, will certainly attract the views of passersby.

Broken, or, as it is otherwise called, attic type. This type of roof is popular due to the fact that it has fairly large bend angles, which make it possible to increase the space of the attic room.

Conical and domed are not used so often. They are usually used for their decorative shape to cover individual elements of the house, for example when making a bay window roof.

The combined type has the most complex design. They combine several types at once - multi-pincer, hip, tent. The positive side of such roofs is their unusual appearance, the possibility of arranging an attic and decorative elements (in particular windows). The negative side is the high cost of construction, difficulty in operation and repair.

Features of the device with or without an attic space

When designing a house, every owner is faced with a choice: attic or non-attic roof? Both the first and second types have significant advantages, so before you finally make a decision, it is recommended to compare the positive and negative aspects of both options.

Option No. 1: with an attic

In this case, the main advantage is that the roof is quite simple to make. If you have certain skills, you can cope independently with one or two assistants without the involvement of specialized workers.

The second advantage, which will certainly benefit the owners, is the ability to replace the entire structure without the need to replace it. When deciding to build this type of roof, you need to pay attention to the following points:

you need to calculate the load that the roof must bear in order to select the appropriate material;
The slope of the roof with the attic often depends on the choice of material;
the choice of attic flooring, which largely depends on whether the attic space will ever be used.

Option No. 2: without an attic

In another way, this type is also called attic. Its main difference from the attic is that the roof structure will serve not only as a roof, but also as external walls in the attic. This is a rational and original option. After all, in this case, at least one more room is added to the house, which can serve for almost any purpose. And besides, the room will be very original due to the walls with a slope.

However, the attic roof is quite complex in design. It is almost impossible to do it yourself, without the involvement of specialized craftsmen.

Another feature, which can be both a negative and a positive side, is that pitched mansard roofs usually have a kink that needs to be supported internally by beams. Such supports can either ruin or transform the interior of a room.

Use of non-traditional materials

At the moment, new materials used for roof construction deserve special attention. In particular, glass. Nowadays, hardly anyone can be surprised by a panoramic roof, because more and more construction companies are offering to build glass roofs for private houses. Considering that this option has become more affordable, it is now possible to make dreams of a veranda, an attic bedroom with a glass ceiling or a winter garden come true.

The main geometric shapes of roofs for which translucent structures can be used:

flat;
pitched (1 or 2 slopes);
pyramid;
dome;
arch.

Important! The advantage of this material is that the glass roof fulfills not only its traditional role. It is also a large window that provides lighting to the room.

The frame of this design is made of profiles, which, in turn, can be made of steel or aluminum. In very rare cases, wood is used. This is due to the fact that glass roofs are often installed over greenhouses and gardens, where high levels of humidity prevail, which naturally leads to rotting of wood structures.

Features of a glass roof:

In summer it will get very hot. Accordingly, so does the room underneath (the attic). Therefore, it is necessary to take care in advance of climate control equipment and insulation that muffles sunlight.
The glass structure must fulfill its main function - protection from precipitation and wind. But unlike traditional roofing materials, glass does not overlap. Therefore, all seams must be carefully sealed and insulated.
Glass comes in different varieties. For roofs, it is better to choose an impact-resistant type or glass that, when broken, does not leave sharp fragments and edges that can cause injury.
Debris and dirt will be visible on the glass roof. It is necessary to consider easy access to it and the possibility of cleaning.

The roof is an integral part of any building. For private homes, it has a huge variety of shapes, as well as non-standard materials that will make the house a dream come true. The choice depends on the project of the house. Some types of structures can be built independently, which allows you to save money and not have to resort to the help of specialists.

A pitched roof, according to modern architects, is of major decisive importance in the development of not only economy class housing, but also stylish housing. After all, the efforts and costs that usually go into building a multi-slope building can now be directed to the exterior. For example, for the construction of a swimming pool in front of the house or the addition of a barbecue terrace. But otherwise, the pitched roof is not inferior in any way.

Therefore, it does not mean at all that a house with a pitched roof will turn out unsightly or too simple. On the contrary, by playing with the slope and direction of such a structure, roofing material and interior space, you will get a unique architectural design that no one you know will have. And our website will allow you to make such a house inexpensive to build and modern both inside and outside!

Architectural advantages of pitched roofs

Of course, where gable roofs have existed for thousands of years, everything unusual seems ugly and ridiculous. But the Eiffel Tower in France in the first years of construction embarrassed local residents with its “ugliness.”

The fashion for single-slope European villas has come to Russian open spaces quite recently. And to this day, individual architects rebel against this trend, calling mono-pitched roofs exclusively “barn” and claiming that clients do not even look at such projects.

But in fact, not only customers of their future “dream home”, but self-builders with golden hands are increasingly making the roofs of their buildings pitched, with different angles, directions and combinations with other roofs. Because, in addition to the more dynamic look that only an inclined plane can give, shed roofs are actually more functional and even economical.

Most often in world practice, pitched roofs can be found in Finnish houses, which are known for their pleasant combination of modesty and restraint:

In warm and hot countries, houses with a pitched roof are especially popular: no insulation is needed from the inside, the design always looks original, and such a roof is much cheaper in terms of costs. So the northern countries began to adopt this useful fashion.

For example, not long ago a new type of residential building was created in Norway - a high-tech one, with a pitched roof sloping at 19°. It generates its own energy thanks to solar panels on the roof: the atrium has enough thermal mass to accumulate enough heat during the day and release it throughout the night. And not only to give, but also to provide the entire house with electricity.

And for water heating of walls and floors, rainwater heated by the sun is used, which flows down the pitched roof directly into the drain. With a conventional gable or hip roof, all this would not be possible!

Is it worth making a “single roof” for a residential building?

Until recently, pitched roofs could not be called popular in Russia. It just so happened historically that due to the winds and heavy snow in this country, it was gable roofs that proved to be the most practical, which were sharp in snowier regions, and flat in more windy regions.

And purely visually, the indigenous population is accustomed to seeing roofs on houses with a slope of at least 30-40°, where there is a traditional attic for storing a variety of things. And pitched roofs carry the following inconveniences:

An obscure space near the upper mauerlat. You can’t use it for an attic, but the attic turns out to be unusual. If left without an attic, then the entire geometry of the interior will seem broken and cause discomfort.
On a pitched roof, rainwater exerts twice as much pressure as on a gable roof. Why? It's simple: all the liquid that gets on it flows down one slope until it falls to the ground. And if you take and break this slope in half, “like a house,” then now the water at the ridge will split into two streams. And this is half the quantity and influx. This is why shed roofs are problematic in terms of leaks, especially if you choose the roofing material incorrectly.
A pitched roof is one integral plane, and this is a real sail. That is why during storms and strong winds it is these roofs that are the first to suffer.
The need for a durable rafter system. The load here is always distributed less than on a gable roof, and therefore the rafters will have to be made thicker and stronger.
A complicated ventilation system, which is sometimes not given any attention at all, and then people are surprised at the short service life of such roofs.
Another disadvantage of such a roof is that during heavy snowfalls it will have to be cleaned, otherwise the roofing material and the building system may break. But on ordinary days, on the contrary, the snow melts off such a roof on its own, and not like an avalanche, but gradually.
Unpopularity of experiments. Even more: neither the rich nor the poor want to risk their own investments in construction, and designers even fall into despair at any unusual roof.

Because of all these reasons, pitched roofs in our country in 99% of cases are found only on bathhouses, garages and summer country houses. Although, in a region with little snow and not particularly windy, such a roof could bring many bonuses, including the same unusual stylish design.

Frame houses with a pitched roof are considered the most energy-efficient. This does not take into account the fact that the area of the southern wall in such a house will be the largest, and the northern wall will be the smallest. Now see the difference with gable projects? Moreover, the northern side itself is still being built without windows, and serves as one of the walls of the utility room: a boiler room, boiler room or storeroom, where garden tools are stored. But the presence of an attic under the roof in private construction is already considered outdated.

A pitched roof is remarkable because it has:

Simple design. So simple that during small private construction they don’t even make particularly accurate calculations for it. Here there is no need to adjust the slopes to each other, to ensure that their weight and load on the walls are identical. There is no need for complex support systems, which are often found in other types of roofs.
Highly practical. In addition to the main functions of the roof, with a minimum angle of inclination, it is also used as an open area for a variety of purposes.
Reliability. Due to its simplicity and unpretentiousness, such a roof is actually the most reliable among all others.

And from the practical aspects we highlight the following:

The ability to build a house without an attic and the problems associated with it.
The original geometry of the ceiling, which is used as a separate design element.
No ridge or cracks underneath.
The ability to drain rainwater and snow from the roof in only one direction - where the slope is inclined. This is important if people walk right in front of your house (as on city streets) or if you have created a beautiful garden and do not want to flood it when it rains.

And, of course, ease of construction work:

Know-how: combinations of pitched roofs

There is one new architectural fashion: a gable roof, which consists of two single-pitched roofs, but not connected at the ridge. And technologically, we are still talking about two separate pitched roofs, which are built according to all the rules. And in the middle they place either a flat part or an open terrace between the two halves of the house. An incredibly successful and functional solution, we note, which allows you to add more natural light to the house.

Houses with a pitched roof are recognized throughout the world as the most favorable in terms of energy saving. Which is not surprising, because the cube also takes first place in this regard, but what then is such a house if not a cube?

Now we’ll tell you a secret: it’s all about compactness. Any structure is called compact if it has the minimum possible area of all external surfaces. Thus, a house is sometimes built according to rather intricate designs, when almost every room has three external walls, plus a complex roof. And sometimes it happens that the rooms have only one such wall, and the roof is generally pitched.

What's the point? The fewer external surfaces that come into contact with cold street air, the warmer the house itself will be. This is why compactness is so important in construction!

In this design, everything is simple: pitched roofs are built according to the same templates, but rest on two parallel mauerlat purlins. And the main advantage is that such a non-thrust structure does not “pull apart” the walls of the house with its pressure, and, therefore, there are much fewer strength requirements for the frame structure itself. True, such a house must have at least two internal walls.

And in modern architecture, a new style has recently appeared: roofs united into a single whole, which are inclined in different directions.

Modern frame house: from foundation to roof

A frame house with a pitched roof is a structure made of lumber and fixed wood panels. The frame of such a house itself must be built either from metal or from hardwood timber. Precisely hard ones, whereas the rafters for the roof should be made from coniferous trees. Let's explain now.

The fact is that hardwood has the ability to maintain its geometric shape and not change over time: it does not dry out, shrink, or twist. And, naturally, due to such properties, they do not work well in bending. But coniferous species are just good because they cope well with dynamic loads, which is why the walls are made static and strong, and the rafters are more flexible and can withstand both the shrinkage of the house and a slight deflection due to snow.

Although, even on a metal frame, wonderful houses are obtained:

Laying a foundation for a frame house

The easiest way to build a small one-story house is to make a columnar foundation. But, if you are building a good-quality two-story frame house with a pitched roof, the technology will be a little different.

The fact is that a simple columnar foundation will no longer work here. A frame house can withstand seasonal ground movements, land subsidence or other similar problems worse than any other, and therefore experienced builders advise making a slab foundation for it. This takes all dynamic loads upon itself, and the integrity of the frame is preserved.

Therefore, for a two-story house, make exactly this foundation:

Or a more modern insulated Swedish stove:

Frame wall construction technologies

There are two main frame construction technologies.

Frame-panel technology

In this case, a frame house is built from various individual building materials: beams, cladding, insulation, interior decoration, vapor and waterproofing. All this is attached to the frame in its own sequence, and as a result we have a house that is no worse in quality than a building made from timber.

Here is a good example of construction using this technology:

And the main components of a house built using this technology look like this:

Frame-panel technology

To assemble such houses, a detailed design is initially made, according to which panels of the required size are manufactured in the factory. We are talking about multilayer panels, which initially include internal lining, insulation and all types of insulation. All you need to do is attach these panels to the frame of the house, which generally takes only two days. As a result, the entire house, from design to roof installation, is built in just a week.

Thus, insulated SIP panels are the most popular in frame-panel technology. SIP is a wall panel that is designed to carry longitudinal loads. A frame house using Canadian technology, which specifically involves the use of SIP, turns out to be especially warm and holistic.

And when building a frame house from such a material, the following question arises: should the roof be made from the same material, or should it be traditional? With beams, rafters and sheathing? The fact is that everything here is decided by the length of the overlap.

So, with small spans, up to 5-6 meters, the pitched roof of a frame house may well be made of SIP. It will already be insulated, durable and easy to implement. Moreover, SIP has good bending strength. But for large spans it is better to build a traditional ceiling and reinforced rafters. After all, it is impossible to make a complex roof from SIP, but just a single-pitched one is quite easy:

It is only important to know how to correctly connect floor beams to the following walls:

Installation of a pitched roof on a frame house

In the design world, a pitched roof is also called a mono-pitched roof. Modern architects see a house with such a roof as something different than a single-pitched or hip roof: lighter, airier and more stylish.

A pitched roof behaves remarkably well where spans are from 6 to 8 meters. Usually the slope of the slope is made to the north, and large windows are installed in the southern facades. External insulation of such a roof is often practiced: on top is extruded polystyrene foam, which is filled with a cement screed, and on top of it is a roofing carpet.

What is also good is that the drainage system in such a roof is simplified and is needed only on one side, and not on two or four at once. But this is not necessary: solar collectors are often installed abroad on a south-facing slope.

Step 1. Design

A shed roof of any format always differs from a gable roof in that here the rafters are not connected at the ridge, but are attached at both ends to the walls of the building. Those. there is no skate as such at all. The only exception is the purlin on which the layered rafters are attached, but its height never exceeds the level of the entire slope.

If you are building using frame-panel technology, then it will be easiest for you to create a difference in the walls:

But if you use sip panels or the walls are already made of the same height, then you will have to make roof trusses.

Layered rafters in a pitched roof are made when the building has a strong internal partition. After all, the longer the rafter leg, the greater the danger of it bending or twisting. Therefore, if there is an opportunity to support such rafters, you need to use it.

In this case, a purlin is attached to the load-bearing partition:

Now we make the rafters twice as short - so that each of them rests on the wall with one end, and on the purlin with the other. And be sure to check the angle of inclination of such rafters with a laser level - it must completely coincide. And outwardly such a roof will not differ from simpler pitched roofs.

But in general, the layered rafters of a pitched roof can be in all of these options:

Although layered rafters in a single-pitched roof of a frame house can be generally without thrust:

Hanging rafters are good because they can be built directly on the ground, in the form of ready-made trusses. After all, their main difference from layered ones is that the load is now transferred to the rafter triangle itself, and not to the walls of the building. And this is quite reasonable, because most often pitched roofs are installed on small buildings, such as a bathhouse, a garage or a change house. And the walls of such ones usually do not please with special strength.

So decide: if your building is not distinguished by monumental walls, make hanging rafters, and if it is more or less strong and there are internal walls, then layered ones. The choice is quite simple!

Step 2. Cutout for the Mauerlat

Have you decided? Then check the future angle of inclination of such a roof and make a template for the rafters:

And the cutout itself needs to be made in order to support the rafters of the pitched roof on the mauerlats. The main task of the Mauerlat is to compensate for the horizontal unevenness of the walls. That’s why when laying it, be sure to arm yourself with a building level.

Step 3. Making rafters

For this task you will need the following fasteners:

And how complex your rafters will be depends on what kind of load is planned on them. The higher, the rafters should be more reinforced from the inside:

Step 4. Calculation of the sheathing

Once you have secured the rafters, move on to the sheathing. The lower the slope of a pitched roof, the more often the sheathing should be (up to solid):

And on steeper slopes - whatever your heart desires, just calculate in advance the weight of the roofing covering for the entire house and foundation:

All that remains is to lay the selected roofing covering and organize the drainage. Which, fortunately, in a pitched roof is done only on one side:

Step 6. Glazing

Since relatively recently, a new fashion has appeared in frame construction: cleanliness, laconism and a lot of glass surfaces. What is most easily achieved precisely through frame technology, for which the presence of a single-pitched roof instead of massive and awkward multi-pitched ones is a real outlet:

The easiest way, according to modern architects, to bring more light and lightness into a frame house is to make transparent inserts in the roof or even make some part of it transmit light. For example, above a covered veranda or part above the attic. Moreover, in fact, we are not talking about glass at all, but just about modern roofing polycarbonate, which is often used monolithic or corrugated. There is a separate article about this on our website, but here we will only note some technical points.

When choosing the thickness of the polycarbonate that you are going to use for roof construction, calculate the climatic and static loads in advance. You've probably seen photos where beautiful, durable greenhouses have completely broken roofs in the spring? And all because when purchasing, the owners decided to save on quality, without calculating that such tons of snow fall in the harsh Russian winters. You wouldn't want something like that to happen to the roof of your house, would you? After all, replacing the top of an ordinary greenhouse is not difficult, but replacing the roof of a house is a real problem.

You need to attach profiled polycarbonate sheets to the roof using the same fastening that is used for metal profiles. These are self-tapping and self-drilling screws of the STSD type. The sheets themselves are fastened together with special profiles, which are equipped with EPDM rubber seals. All this is necessary to ensure that such a beautiful roof does not leak. There is also a special connecting aluminum profile on sale - for polycarbonate P-6066. It consists of a special clamping strip and a seal, but it must be secured using self-tapping screws directly to the pipe or sheathing.

In addition, if you have leftover polycarbonate (after all, standard sheets are produced), use it for glazing utility rooms:

And you can’t use the excess from another roofing covering.

A house with a pitched roof, built using frame technology with the right approach, will be the most modern and stylish!