Chalet-style roof: construction and photo

How to make a chalet-style roof with your own hands

A solid gable roof in the chalet style is still finds admirers due to a successful combination of excellent qualities. In this article, we will tell you about all kinds of architectural features and advantages of a roof from a large area.

You will learn about all the nuances of designing overhangs, as well as the rafter system, and you will also learn about building materials, and they are suitable for arranging an alpine roof and its insulation.

Chalet Features and Benefits

Chalet is usually referred to as a rustic style, and this roof is the distant ceiling of alpine huts that served as shepherds. shelter in bad weather.

Today, such buildings have become familiar elements of the mountainous regions of France, Switzerland and even Austria, and their characteristic appearance is given not only by the two-tier traditional use of building materials, but also by roof structures. The name of the style is consonant with the Russian word "shawl" and will convey, and in fact, the same meaning - a cozy cover. The roofing structure cannot be pointed, and it is always very simple: flat, gable, covering the entire building.

Excellent options for traditional houses and chalet roofing are these features:

1. A sloping roof is the main characteristic feature of Alpine housing, and a slope of up to 30 degrees is laid in suburban modern buildings (but for Austrian and Swiss chalets they often make a slope angle of 23-25 ​​degrees).
2. Eaves overhangs - their length sometimes reaches 1/4, or even 1/3 of the total rafter length.

   This solution makes it possible to protect the facade, blind area and basement from moisture. The filing of spotlights and rafters is made only of wood.

3. Combination of materials - the first stage is made of stone (that is, conditionally), the second and third, this is the attic - from wood. For external finishing, stone, wood and plaster are used. The classic material for creating a roof is wood shingle.

4. Variants - the slopes of classic chalet roofs have the same length, but in modern architectural projects you can often see an asymmetrical roof, which gives the building a stylish and even original appearance.

Several design features can be considered the advantages of a building with a roof to the ground:

• The streamlined shape makes the house resistant to wind and snow loads.
• A fairly common rafter system that is suitable for a one-story and two-story house.
• With this roofing form, the installation of a drainage system can be safely abandoned.
• The space under the eaves of large width will be convenient to use in order to organize balconies and terraces.

  In certain projects, it is important to lengthen the overhang to the ground, and in this case, the rafter system will also play the role of a wall structure.

Now we should look at the roof structure.

Details

Roofing chalet

To make a wide roof look beautiful, presentable and at the same time did not look like alien elements for the house facade, its design is carried out on the basis of traditional ideas and proportions. Chalet roof design, in which the structure is created on the basis of precise load calculations, including the following elements:

• The structural base is a rafter system, which is made of a truss with a triangular shape, and it provides the maximum degree of rigidity ..

  . Long triangular side, with the inclined beam serving as the base for the roof covering.

• If the roof created according to the project is large enough (a project for a huge house in terms of area), the rafter system must necessarily rely on a reinforced belt, which will be equipped before installation work. It is required to install a Mauerlat on it, and the basis of the future rafter system.

It will not be superfluous to order the service of designing country houses, and it is worth talking with representatives of companies in advance to choose the ideal roof for yourself.

• The chalet-style overhangs and peaks of the roof structure protrude significantly beyond the home. The beam length in modern projects is calculated so that their ends are necessarily brought out of the facade boundaries by a maximum of 3 meters on all house sides. It is required to fix metal brackets on the walls, which will fix the beams to the wall surface.
• The characteristic elements of the chalet roof, consoles, will play an important decorative and supporting role. They are mounted under overhangs, on side-type walls.

  In order for the consoles to be functional, it is recommended that all allowable loads be calculated very carefully when arranging the protrusion.

• Long overhangs can darken windows and may not always be acceptable. For this reason, the design of the protruding visor over the windows is required to be designed with a lattice, which does not interfere with sunlight from entering the room.
• The rafter system will serve as the basis for the lathing, and it is required to assemble the roofing cake and lay the roofing material on it.

The rafter length is determined by the basics of roofing parameters, by its size and the angle of the slope.

the width and length make it possible to determine the area of ​​the chalet's roof, and the angle of inclination of the roof will depend on certain parameters, including the features of the regional climate (distribution of precipitation and amount) and the material for the roof intended for use. If the region has long and snowy winters, reinforcement of the rafter system is required. Its pitched angle is greater than 45 degrees, the snow load should not be taken into account. It is worth finding contacts of construction companies that offer turnkey construction services for country houses.

Materials for the roof of an alpine house

The practicality of the roof of a chalet consists, among other things, in the presence of an attic room.

To equip a residential attic will require materials that can provide reliable thermal insulation and a comfortable life for the owners. At the same time, in order to preserve the beautiful and elegant appearance of the Alpine house, materials of natural origin are used as the topcoat, including:

1. Shingle is a material of durable type, has a high aesthetic value, which looks like wood plates (another name is wooden tiles). The main disadvantage that limits the use is the high price, which is why this structure can be attributed to an elite type of construction.
2. Clay Tiles - Tiled roof type fits perfectly with the style, most of the shades of the material perfectly support the style of the traditional lifestyle. Also, the material is distinguished by a long service life, high thermal insulation characteristics, a beautiful external design with a tangible weight.

   The use of ceramics will require strengthening the rafter system, which means an increase in the budget.

In addition to materials of natural origin, this type of roof can be covered with:

1. Ondulin - compressed sheets of cellulose with bitumen impregnation are affordable, light a little and perfectly protect from atmospheric moisture.
2. Flexible (that is, soft "tile is a multilayer material, beautiful and light in appearance, easy to maintain and install. When choosing flexible tiles, remember that its operational life is from 25 to 30 years .
3. Composite shingles - this roof, stylized as shingles, does not get out of style and perfectly protects the space under the roof.

4. Metal shingles - it is not recommended for use in chalets due to the limitations of such material - with inclined angles, typical for do-it-yourself chalet-style roof structures; snow will linger on a metal tile roof, and under its weight the surface sometimes deforms and loses its tightness.

Time-tested and Shingle (shingle) is a classic roof covering for a house with a roof to the ground. Such high quality wooden tiles are made of solid wood species (cedar, oak, larch and spruce). Exclusive wooden covering will be harmonious to match with all landscape surroundings and has ideal properties:

• The rutting roof perfectly absorbs noise during rain, and also perfectly insulates from precipitation and will not freeze over with a crust of ice.
• It is characterized by low thermal conductivity, which makes it possible to effectively keep warm in the house.

• Wedge-shaped dry dies weigh very little, but they create a strong load on the base and walls, and their use does not require reinforcement of the rafter system.
• Natural material helps to regulate the microclimate in the house, and also keeps it comfortable all year round.
• The best quality shingles can be considered as dies made of larch - wood, which is known for its special resistance to decay. The larch shingle has a beautiful structure, pleasant shade and does not need impregnation protection.
• For fastening the roofing wooden flooring of the chalet, wooden dowels (fastening rods with a cylindrical shape) or pins (wood nails) are used.

  This method corresponds to the maximum Alpine technology.

By the way, when arranging the roof, you should think in advance how you will clean it of snow.

Nuances of insulation

The process of insulation is an indispensable component of the process of roofing a chalet-style roof, because residential premises are located under it. An unusual option for making a thermal insulating layer is to use dry reeds. A material that can hardly be called classic - it was hardly used in the Alps.

But fans of eco-style can consider it as a high-quality alternative, especially since reeds are heat-intensive, lightweight and very durable raw materials. Sheaves or mats are made from the reeds, which will be laid between the rafters, and from the bottom they are hemmed with clapboard or drywall. Warming with reeds, due to its structure, is well ventilated and will not allow condensation to form. For thermal insulation, industrial materials are also suitable, for example, expanded polystyrene or mineral wool. The roofing cake should always include an air gap between the roof and the insulation, as well as a layer of steam insulation.

Violation of the rules can lead to a slowdown in air circulation in the space under the roof, the appearance of condensation, the formation of mold and the premature destruction of wood elements.

Tips & Tricks

Despite the enormous frame weight in the chalet style, the structure will remain highly vulnerable to wind gusts and heavy rainfall. But the biggest problem is the appearance of powerful snow caps in the winter season. In conditions of strong and frequent high mountain winds, there is almost no snow on the roof, and most of it is swept away by a stream from almost flat slopes. In simple conditions, an Alpine-style roof must be equipped with a heating system for the roofing and defrosting water, and at the moment this is the only way to protect the frame from being pushed through by snow and ice.

Conclusion

The hallmark of the style is a sloping roof with huge overhangs, and sometimes it is required to design an additional support row in the form of pillars. Such technical solutions will transform the space under the canopy into a spectacular gallery with various application possibilities. In order not to "walk" the pillars, but to regularly perform their role, you need a competent calculation of loads, both on the roof structure and on the base. At the same time, the quality of lumber will acquire great importance - they give preference to durable, dried wood of the needles.