Soft roof

Soft roofing is a type of roofing material, for the manufacture of which fiberglass impregnated with bitumen is used. It is by no means cheap, but its cost is due to its spectacular appearance, excellent quality and reliability.

To the listed advantages, one can add not the greatest complexity of the work, and it becomes clear why it does not lose its position in the market, even with a frank high cost. This roof covering appeared relatively recently, but is already in demand in construction.

Specifications

The soft roof is a bitumen-impregnated tile. It overlaps and allows you to obtain a sealed coating. The material is distinguished by a wide variety of shapes - semicircle, oval, rectangle, pentagon, etc.

It is characterized by a rich variety of color solutions, so the consumer has the opportunity to choose the material to match the color of the walls or lean towards contrast.

Mounting Methods

The installation of shingles is carried out in two different ways.

• On the back of each tile there is a self-adhesive layer, which, after removing the protective film, adheres firmly to the previously prepared substrate. Installation must be carried out at temperatures above 10 ° C, and at low temperatures special equipment cannot be dispensed with, which increases the cost of work.
• The second method is for simpler tiles without a self-adhesive layer, using roofing nails. This installation method is allowed to be used regardless of the season and weather conditions. In SNiP there are recommendations, according to them, you should not refer to the technique when the roof slope is less than 20 degrees.

Varieties

Soft roofing is a group of materials that includes coverings with a flexible structure. They have different compositions, shape and installation method.

Artificial

This type of bituminous shingles is 100x45 cm tiles, the installation is overlapped. Installation work takes a lot of time, but the self-adhesive layer allows it to be carried out without special equipment.

Roll

Installation of rolled roofing is noticeably inferior to bituminous tiles in efficiency, but it takes much less time. The material is used on a roof with a slope of at least 12 degrees.

Composition

Soft roofing is a modern material based on durable polymers. The composition of shingles is represented by the following components:

• Extruded fiberglass , providing resistance to external temperatures.
• Polyester acts as additional reinforcement , which gives the coating even more strength.
• Bitumen. The fiberglass base is impregnated with bitumen with polyester resins. The impregnation provides moisture resistance and effectively fights the development of mold and mildew.
• Mineral dressing. The top layer of the shingles is sprinkled with a special mineral dressing, which imparts a characteristic roughness. Basalt, marble or granite chips are used for it.

Pros and cons

The main benefits include:

• Durability. The soft roof boasts an impressive service life of over 70 years. Such a long lifespan is the ultimate dream for a homeowner.
• Suitability for repair. The resulting damage can be eliminated without problems by replacing one or two elements.
• Resistant to weather conditions.
• Low labor intensity. All work is carried out without any problems with our own efforts, since the elements are attached to a self-adhesive layer. But it is required to prepare the foundation, that is, you cannot do without a construction team.

You need to know that shingles are highly flammable, for this reason it is better not to install them on buildings with a high probability of fire.