JAMAICA'S GEOGRAPHICAL location makes it highly susceptible to heavy rainfall and strong winds, from tropical depressions to hurricanes which occur every year. In addition, the island experiences tremors and earthquakes of varying magnitudes at varying times.Based on these realities, it is not unusual for buildings to literally lose their roofs, or develop serious cracks that weaken their structure. Under these conditions, roofing becomes a shelter as well as a safety feature in construction.
In the same way, therefore that building plans pay careful attention to the superstructure of the building, that is block and steel, with the required number of stiffeners, columns, and other engineering safeguards to ensure their suitability to local conditions - roofing ought to get the same level of attention.
It is imperative that the choice of roof be made with particular attention to how watertight the roofing material is. All other considerations should be secondary.
The recent flood rains dumped on Jamaica underscores this point. Even those roofs without leaks, might have noticed a drop of water here or there.
The above factors begs builders to be more discerning about the roofing aspect of construction. Below are a few tips to assist the average consumer in making an informed decision when considering roofing or re-roofing. The extent to which one might be affected by roofing problems, can be influenced by one or all of the following:
1. The roofing plan: i.e. the design of the roof - for example, hip and valley roof, gable roof, flat roof (or shed roof), or slab roof.
2. The type of material used for the roofing - example fibreglass shingles, concrete roofing tiles, clay tiles, cedar shingles, zinc/alu-steel sheets, concrete slab or alu-steel metal tiles. There are other types of roofing material but these are the most commonly used.
3. The method of installation/construction for each type of roofing material.
4. The preparation of the sub-structure or framing.
The next article will examine in more detail the widely used 'hip and valley' roof design.
Contributed by George Elliott, managing director of Coverall Roofing Limited. This is the first in a series of articles to be run on roofing. Send feedback to lclarke@gleanerjm.com.
