We will have a flat roof, this is a cost-driven design choice. Roof trusses and slates cost a whole load of extra money. Early in the design process it was a butterfly roof but it eventually became flatter. If we are honest, this was not our first choice from a practical basis - we get a lot of rain and having it run down a steep pitch is just common sense. However it suited the design of the building and we have been reassured that materials have improved massively to make flat-roofs a safer bet nowadays.
In order to deal efficiently with water runoff, the roof has been designed to slope gently to the centre, and then slope to the outer edges where there are downpipes. There was a lot of last minute phonecalls between CLD and Andrew where the tension between cost and pitch were debated. With a smaller pitch the furring strips (a tapered batten) can be cut from a single piece with both sides being used. As the pitch increased each strip would have to be cut from a single piece, doubling the cost. In the end cost was the winner, I'm sure the water will move effectively down and off the roof!
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| The parapet |
The openings for the rooflights have been built and this means that the measurements could be passed to Roof-maker, so that they could manufacture to the exact internal measurements. Andrew and Paul made them to precisely to the exact mm. So retrospectively we could have put the order in earlier, as there is now a few weeks wait before they are delivered. The rooflights will be fitted and then the Single Ply membrane installed. At that point we will be weather-tight (except maybe for the parapet capping)!
Another development was resolving how the utilities, which currently terminate in 'The Hub', were going to be ducted into the house. As we were perforating the building there was a lot of air-tightness and insulation issues to address. The ducting has been done now and eventually the electricity, gas, water & telephone will be pulled through.
With the building somewhat, although not entirely, impervious to rain, the Upper floor was boarded out, which meant that we could walk around upstairs for the first time (I was not a joist-hopper like Andrew and Paul).
Cracking on!
