The Roof! - Tipperlinn Road

This is the next installment of our blog charting the construction of a new house on site in Morningside, Edinburgh. Following on from the insertion of the steelwork we were able to begin to build the roof and that's when the building really did begin to take on its final form.

Tipperlinn Road has a large expanse of flat roof with concealed guttering. The rainwater leaves the roof via stainless steel chains. We'll post a video of this once they are fitted and working, it's an interesting idea. Basically the rainwater clings to and runs down the chains into the drain below. The harder it rains the more effective it is and it is quite a pleasing thing to watch.

The roof is a 'warm roof' construction and this means that the insulation is laid on top of the construction materials which gives very good thermal protection inside the building. The interior of the building is separated from the external environment by a continuous layer of insulation. In a cold roof construction the insulation is fitted between rafters which allows cold bridging in the roofing materials.

The roof is then covered in a single ply membrane, we chose Alwitra but there are several similar products available. It has a life expectancy in excess of 25 years and it is a single-ply polymeric membrane, suitable for all types of flat roof construction. The roofing membrane remains permanently flexible and is available in a range of colours. We chose grey which resembles a lead finish and has good reflective properties.

There are several rooflights which let in light into the rooms below and the roof coverings carefully wrap up to these making the whole building water tight.

The flat roof itself overhangs the building forming a canopy which offers shelter from the rain and protects the fabric of the building as it does so. This becomes an important feature of the finished building.

The next installment of the blog will feature the installation of the windows, completing the external envelope.