Common Roofing Terms Explained

When having any construction work carried out on your home, explaining exactly what it is you want doing to your home can prove to be a rather challenging task.

The specialist terminology can cause communication between you and tradesmen to break down, meaning you are left wondering what your home will look like after the work is completed.

To prevent this from happening to you, our expert team here at Abbey Roofing have put together a detailed glossary of the most common roofing terms used within the industry, ensuring you understand the relevant jargon when speaking to a professional roofing company.

Roof construction

There are two main types of roof construction:

• Flat roofs
• Pitched or sloping roofs

Flat roofs

As the name suggests, a flat roof is specially designed to sit as flat as possible on the top of a property, typically having a pitch no greater than 15°. A flat roof is made of six basic components:
1. Waterproofing: this is the outer surface of the roofing which resists water; it can be made from a wide range of materials, such as metal, slate, tile, wood or asphalt.
2. Insulation: mainly provides a thermal barrier, but can also have sound-proofing or fire resistant properties.
3. Vapour Barrier: prevents moisture escaping.
4. Substrate: also sometimes referred to as sheathing, this is the surface that the roof is laid on, commonly a timber deck (plywood sheeting).
5. Joists: horizontal supports.
6. Plasterboard ceiling

Pitched roofs

Pitched roofs are constructed in two ways:

• Gable: easily identified by their triangular shape, gable roofs are generally two sided with a peak formed at the top
• Hip: all four sides slope downwards and are all equal in length to form a ridge at the top of the roof

Common terminology associated with pitched roofs include:

– Ridge: the horizontal top of the roof.
– Ridge board: the horizontal board along the line of the ridge.
– Ridge tiles: are usually V shaped and provide a waterproof top to the roof.
– Truss: a triangular wooden frame that supports the roof.
– Fascia/Barge board: decorative boards which run along the wall underneath the bottom of a sloping roof.
– Battens: lightweight strips of a solid material, such as wood, plastic or metal, crossing the joists horizontally to secure slates or tiles.
– Soffit: the flat horizontal board used to seal the space between the back of the fascia board and the wall of the building.
– Eaves: the lower edge of a sloped roof which includes the fascia, soffit and guttering.
– Dormer: a vertical window that projects from the slope of a pitched roof.
– Valley: the angle between two sloping roofs.
– Valley gutter: exposed guttering which runs under the roof surface where two main roofs meet.

Other elements of pitched and flat roofs include:
– Underlay: a thin waterproof and insulating layer laid between the back of the slate/tiles and the frame of the roof.
– Flashings: pieces of lead sheeting which form a weather seal to minimise water penetration from a joint.
– Cladding: the overlapping of roofing materials to create a durable, waterproof layer for protection.
– Void: the space between the ceiling and the roof surface.

We hope that you find this glossary helpful when conversing with roofing experts, so you can understand the terminology and explain your requirements more confidently.

Here at Abbey Roofing, we have a dedicated and skilled team of roofers with more than 20 years’ experience working in both the domestic and commercial roofing sectors.
We work hard all year round, carrying out emergency repairs and re-roofing, and take great pride in the reliable and quality service we deliver.

We offer a range of roofing services including; lead roofing, slate roofing, flat roofing, felt roofing, sheet metal roofing, emergency roof repairs, commercial roofing, new roof installations, gutter cleaning.

To customers in Hemel Hempstead, Watford, St Albans, Bedford, Slough, Milton Keynes, Watford, Barnet, Harpenden and beyond.

Why not contact Abbey Roofing for a free quote today, quality skilled tradesmen at great prices!