Shingles and Tiles, What are shingles and tiles
Shingles and tiles speaks to what are shingles and tiles and why use shingles and tiles.
They are different from each other although both are used to cover steep roofs.
They are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below. Historically, at the roof ridge there was a cap consisting of copper or lead sheeting which in modern times has been replaced by shingles with a plastic underlay.
Shingles have been made of various materials such as wood, slate, asbestos-cement, bitumen soaked paper covered with aggregate (asphalt shingle), composite or ceramic. Due to increased fire hazard, wood shingles and paper-based asphalt shingles have become less common than fibreglass based asphalt shingles.
Other materials used for roof shingles may be sheet metal, rubber, fiber reinforced cement and plastic.They must be laid on a roof deck that slopes sufficiently to ensure leakproof performance.
Minimum slopes for each material are specified by the manufacturer and the building codes. For example the minimum slope for a standard asphalt shingle roof is usually 4:12 (33 percent). However with specially protective underlayments, slopes as low as 2:12 (17 percent) may be acceptable in some circumstances. For any shingle type, slopes greater than the minimum should be used in locations where water is likely to be driven up the roof surface by heavy storm winds.
Tiles are made of a ceramic material that are hard and brittle, poorly suited for places where tree limbs can fall on a house's roof, but not subject to deterioration due to rotting.
A traditional shingle is made of wood. Roofing material made of more modern material (e.g., asphalt composition, asbestos) is sometimes referred to as "shingles".
While tiles tend to last much longer than wood or asphalt shingles, they are brittle and prone to fracture. Walking on tiles can break them, requiring replacement or the roof will begin to leak.
Slate shingles for roofing are delivered to the site slit, trimmed to size and punched or drilled for nailing. The slates are hand split and form a fire resistant long lasting roof that is suitable for buildings of the highest quality. Its first cost is high but will last 60 to 80 years.
Clay tiles have been used on roofs for thousands of years. It is said that the tapered barrel tiles traditional to the Mediterranean region were originally formed on the thighs of the tilemakers. Many other patterns of clay tiles are now available, both glazed and unglazed.
Concrete tiles are generally less expensive than those of clay and are available in some of the same patterns. Tile roofs in general are heavy, durable, highly resistant to fire and relatively expensive in first cost. Expected life ranges from 30 to 75 years, depending on the climate and the resistance of the tiles to water absorption.
Shingles and Tiles
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