Our Philippine House Project Roof and Roo ng

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What weve learned about roo ng systems, roof trusses, roo ng materials and cost of roo ng in the Philipp

Roo ng systems have become verystandardizedin the Philippines. What we describe here is the roof syste

Concrete Roofs. See THIS POST

We have drawn some conclusions from Typhoon Yolanda damage in Tacloban, including ways that our roof

Metal Roof Basics. Steel trusses of various designs rise from the topmost concrete roof beam. The trusses

The trusses are almost always welded-up on-site and then primed. Its best to use one of the two part epox
especially trying to clean brushes. Finally, I learned to buy cheap brushes which could be discarded. Once th
Metal trusses of of various designs rise from the roof beam which top the hollow block walls. The trusses a
Our roof trusses were a bit unusual. Most trusses use the interior walls of the house for support so that th
The center girt is 40cm wide and is welded up from 2 x 2 angle bar, 5mm for the frame and 3mm for the w

Originally, the height of our roof from the top of the wall to the peak of the roof girt was to be 2.5 meters. W
materials.
Once the trusses and or rafters are in place, a system of lightweight steel purlins are installed perpendicular
for purlins to make sure the material is not substandard in thickness.
This photo shows the purlins installed across the rafters (trusses). The photo really shows all the elements o

The purlins support the long span steel roo ng, but before the roof itself is put on, a metal facia frame is
This is a photo of a very simple roof. It shows the scalloped prefabricated steel facia, the prefab gutter attac
Once the purlins, facia and sot frames, facia board and gutters are in place, the long span roo ng can be s
This photo shows the sot frame (below) and the facia frame. The sot frame is constructed of 1 x 1 1/

To recap; a system of lightweight steel purlins are installedperpendicularto the trusses. The purlins provid
gutter allow the tweaks and adjustments so that the nal roof installation can proceed smoothly.

These roo ng systems are generally available in .4, .5 and .6mm thickness. Generally .4mm is used as its th
aluminum and zinc which is supposed to be more durable than ordinary galvanized steel. Supposedly the p
Insulation. Metal roofs are notorious for turning your attic space into an oven. Its fairly common to install
The insulation, foil face up, is supported by a network of 16 gauge galvanized tie wire. Holes are drilled in

Followup. Having lived in the house for four years, we have found another big advantage to the insulation is that

The roo ng is available in a range of colors. Were using a light color. See this New York Times article on h
Now that the roof is on, the house looks a bit like a Philippine basketball court. The interior walls are 3.4 me

This photo also shows electrical conduit running from outlets to the panel box. The concrete oor will be po

The design of our roof includes two large vents high in the roof. More on that later.
Sots. Sots are one of the parts (along with gutters) of the Philippine house that tend to deteriorate quic
story house, maintaining the sots (and gutters) is a really big job, probably requiring bamboo scaolding.

Material options for the sots include pre-painted, ventilated steel sot packages, plastic ventilated sots
but actually measures 10mm. Since a hole punched in the sot can open up access to the building, we felt
Note that, except for the plywood sots, not one bit wood is used in the entire roof structure. Termites are

The nished sots with vents. The long vents are available for purchase at building supply stores. We built

Our choice of plywood for the sots was probably not a good one. While we have not had serious problem
You can get creative. This is a sot with decorative ventilation on an old building in Lucban, Quezon Provin

Cost. The surface area of our roof is about 300 square meters. The total cost of the roof excluding the stru

We purchased the roo ng from and it was installed by Far Eastern Hardware, 38 Quezon Street, in Iloilo City
order for more building materials. She joked, if you want friendly, go to Jolibee and laughed. Our business

FAR EASTERN HARDWARE ON QUEZON STREET. ILOILO CITY

Summary. All parts of this Philippine roo ng system are matching; preformed and pre-painted so that the
have some experience with high quality metal roo ng on U.S. historic restoration projects. I consider the us
use proper design, not sealants and will be leak free for decades.
 2016 Roo n

The previous p
material used on our garage. The underside of the garage roo ng, the purlins and the tek screws have be
told we should wire brush the heads and repaint them. We are doing that, but its a big job. If you can nd
The other problem we have had with our house roof is corrosion where the downspouts connect to the gut

Of course keeping gutters clear of leaves and other debris is another constant task. Whenever we have a he

See also your problems with catch basins settling and disconnecting downspouts atBeware of clay soils in P

Roof Design

Heres a little about the architectura

GUTTER, DOWNSPOUT CONNECTION
choice.

These over-complex roofs are a recent development in the Philippines. TraditionalPhilippines houses had
HIP ROOF

The hip roof has been very popular in traditional Philippine buildings and for good reason. In a land where

The roof above was popular in the 19th century but during the Commonwealth era one starts to see a modi
In Western architectural lingo such roofs are called gablet roofs or Dutch gable roofs.
Certainly the aesthetic for this roof is inspired by the roof pro le of the beloved Philippine bahay kubo na
houses in Manila, lives lled with greed, envy and bickering. Then in a ash you are in the provinces, in a ba

This rustic bahay kubo roof design, transferred to wood frame and concrete buildings, has evolved to incor
We nally decided on a one story home but kept the roof design we liked so much. In retrospect (5-12) this
maintenance and really providelittleor no bene t. The low pitched hip roofs seen on many Philippine hous
More at /our-house-project-design-devolution/

Related

Cool Roof Philippines - metal roofs and cool buildings in the tropics
May 24, 2010
In "Keeping Cool - Air Conditioning and Ceiling Fans"

Related posts:

1. Cool Roof Philippines metal roofs and cool buildings in the tropics
2. Our Philippine House Project Roof Design
3. Our House Project Steel and Welding
4. Concrete roofs and roof patios in the Philippines?
5. Our Philippine House Project Carport

MAY 20, 2012 COMMENTS 158

Filed under: Roof, Insulation and Ceilings
Tagged: ACI Insulation, Concrete Roof Deck Panels, Concrete Roof Philippines, Cool roof Philippines, Cost of Roo ng, Epoxy p
tejado de dos aguas, un tejado de quatro aguas

Comments (158)

JeanLuc
You did a good job with your metal roof.

But I built my house on the beach.

My roof (it was not good quality metal roo ng) even good quality are subject to electrolytic corrosion (some
Result: some holes after 3 years.

Any other solution is better, even treated wood for the structure (not so much insects by the sea).
And the salty wind make imputrescible the wood, big dierence with the metal.

And over the wood : nipa, PVC, polyester, asphalte or anything else but not metal.

Now I know.

Far from the shore, the only problem with metal can be hight condensation (and then rust) with a big
Friendly, JeanLuc, from Dumaguete

Reply

Bob and Carol

JeanLuc,

I wonder if the material Onduline might be good? See http://www.onduline.com/en/roo ng/onduline-ro

Bob

Reply

JeanLuc
You are right, a lot of bad return with onduline or so.
In France we use some big panel in asphalt (or in bro ciment) but under roof tiles in terra cotta.
May be the shingles is a better solution in asphalt ( and cheap), because it can move , but I never use.
The problems with metal:
It is noisy with the rain, It can rust or more ( the best I think are the usual galvanized and thick one) and it be
I am still wondering for renewing my roof ( close to the sea), but without spending too much

And with the local conditions (strong wind during typhoons, and earth quakes), you can follow few contradi
Something heavy and consolidated, hard to y away with the wind, but heavy on your head with earthqua

Something parallel:
The walls like they used to do in Philippines are in fact not thick enough to support anything.
The blocks less than 20 cm thick are not allowed, except for inside partition, in most of the western countrie
The cost of these usual locals walls in Philippines is quite expensive, specially because of the metal bars ins
These metal bars only prevents the wall for not to break in big pieces on your head.
But not to have cracks in case of very strong earthquakes.
They are in fact not load-bearing walls
Friendly, JeanLuc

Reply

Alain
Hi Bob & Carol,

Thank you for your very insightful and informative blog. I have read almost every blog post regarding const

Thank you
Reply

Bob and Carol

In our case there is no easy answer. We had the welders working on the trusses many weeks before they w

Reply

Miguel
Thank you very much for the so detailed info, it solved me a lot of questions I had discussing my roof trusse

Reply

bertz
Hello Bob & Carol!
I learned a lot here .
I am planning to go x our house in Ilocos Norte.
The contractor did not do good on our Long Span Tile.
I am just wondering whats the Pro & Cons of using Corrugated GI.
Would it better if I buy those Tek Screw here in Amarica & send it there?
I noticed that you used Long Span Rib.
Thanks and More power to you Guys.
bertz

Reply

Bob and Carol

The type of metal roo ng used for residences in the Philippines is practical and fairly inexpensive. There are

Reply

Ian
Nakakatuwa po ang mga Q & A nyo sir bob n carol , pero itatanong kopo sana if advisable poba ang asphalt

Reply

Bob and Carol

I have seen them used in the Philippines, but only rarely. Asphalt or any shingles generally have to be over a

Reply
 allan
Hello guys..i think the berglass insulation installed in this article should be foil face down..

Reply

Yusuke
The insulation was installed incorrectly

Reply

Bob and Carol

How so?

Reply

Noel
Hi Bob and Carol as well as other readers,

Im thinking of replacing my metal sheet roof with Ondura Asphalt roo ng.

According to their site and pamphlets (which I got from the the Wilcon store depot here in Angeles ONDU

I was wondering if these are any good here in our tropical Philippine climate. Metal roo ng heats up and th

Thanks for any information provided.

Reply

Bob and Carol

Noel,

I am familiar with the product but have no experience with it. Maybe other readers have?

Reply

brad nelson
Hi Bob and Carol. I was wandering why you did not lay the berglass rolls directly on the tot of the ceiling lik

Reply

Bob and Carol

Brad,

That is a very good question. Our purpose was to keep the attic temperatures down through ventilation and
extremely hot as the tropical sun beats down. I think its worthwhile to try to blunt this. But we have also ins

Reply

Keven and Maryann

Hello,
Maryann and I have reviewed your article several times and want to thank you for posting such an insightfu
the ridge as someone else discussed and place screen and then cover with ridge cap , but the roof architect

Reply

Bob and Carol

Keven and Maryann. You are right to be concerned. The Dutch gables and vents are and extra expense an

Reply

Ping
Thanks for your reply, we are building a house 1 hour south from Manila in Batangas now, can you or some

Reply

Ping
Thanks for sharing your experiences, I learned a lot from you
for the roof insulation, the roofer is recommending double-sided foam foil but is it a good idea to sandwich

Reply

Bob and Carol

The foam and foil insulation is the norm. I did not like it because of the re hazard of having all that foam in

Reply

glenn
it is not dicult to trace the leaks in the roof in the future because of the insulation?

Reply
Bob and Carol
De nitely. But the foil and insulation may contain the leaking water to some degree instead of dripping on t

Reply

H Gomez
With regards to the insulation for living spaces with AC, it is also important to seal joints between wall and
batt insulation in the wall cavity (R12 for 4 thick wall, and R19 for 6 thick wall. At the ceiling you can put R1

Reply

wong konfah
This shop dealing with cyclone fan come check my house roof and say cannot install the cyclone fan as it wa

Reply

Bob and Carol

I think the whole house fans which are mounted in the ceiling and draw hot air out of the house and into t

Reply

Wong Kon Fah

Hi Bob/Carol
Thank for your response.
The problem is during day time the metal tile span roof is transmitting the radiant heat to our house thin ha
My question is how my roof cannot be install a turbine ventilation fan to draw away the attic heat inside. I th

Reply

Bob and Carol

Have you considered installing insulation in your attic, on top of the Hardi ex? As noted in our article, we in

Reply

H Gomez
Just want to put in my two cents.
On the attic ventilation, the key is cross ventilation to avoid accumulation of hot air in the attic space. In th
provides an entry point for fresh air, and the upper vent provides the exit of hot air. Now the question is ho
0.33 sq.m., and upper vent is 0.33 sq. m. Now, the key is to be able to compute the net area of the vent be
Reply

Jerry Herold
another way to insulate: I am building my home in Catmon. I will be using, in Nov, sandwich hip roof panels
to septic. house will be ICEB blocks, with 3 layers of horizontal reinforcement 3/8 rebar and 4.3 mm rods, w

Reply

Bob and Carol

Interesting. Hope you will send some photos as the project progresses. hammerslag@gmail.com.

Reply

Fred Murrell
I bought an existing house and the underside of the roo ng had foil backed foam attached to it which didn

Reply

Terrance
I live in Mandaue , Cebu.
I have been looking for someone to do blow-in insulation here in Cebu. I get a crazy look when I asked, no o

Reply

Bob and Carol

I have never tried to nd blown-in insulation here. Our supplier (Far Eastern Hardware) located berglass b

Reply

Mel OFW
Just want to ask if this ventilation will not accumulate dew especially when cold weather and rainy season th

Reply

Bob and Carol

Mel,

I have not seen a problem with condensation. Perhaps the weather in lowland locations never gets cold eno

Bob and Carol

Reply

Nida David
Magkano ba Re-Roo ng?Repair sa inyoPque. Area lng? Pls call/text 09272448602Salamat!!!

Reply

Bob and Carol

Sorry, we are just bloggers. We shared our experience in the article you read.

Reply

Rene
Hi,

To the blogger, I just want to know the advantage of Wooden over steel truss. If you were to choose conside

Reply

Bob and Carol

We used both heavy steel trusses and fairly lightweight purlins. The quality of wood available is generally po
good shape after almost 200 years. The roof was of slate. That kind of construction is impossible today unle

Reply

Jerry Herold
Can buy heavier tresses and purlins, galvanized metal, from China. Alibaba to nd mfgrs. Can ship to

Reply

Andy Germinal
Hi Bob & Carol,

I appreciate your blog very much. Its seems that you learned a lot about basic engineering principles while

Reply

Bob and Carol

Andy, thank you for the kind words, but we have to respectfully disagree about the foil, although many othe
http://web.ornl.gov/sci/ees/etsd/btric/RadiantBarrier/rb4a.shtml Bob
Reply

shirly
Hello,

I was looking for information about steel truss design and construction, its cost and advantage over woode

God bless.

Reply

jay
Dear Sir,

I have one comment in the pictures on how the roof insulation was installed We usually install the insulati

I am little bit shock in the way you install the roof installation. i have supplied and install roo ng sheets and

Can you explain to me what is your reason for this,

thanks,

Reply

Bob and Carol

Hi Jay,

In a place with a cold climate, re ective insulation is installed below the insulation. The idea is to re ect hea

Bob

Reply

Noel
Hi Jay,

You said We usually install the insulation face-up and the foil will seen below the insulation, this will also pr

Kindly be reminded of the 3 types of heat transfer:

Conduction- the transfer of heat from matter to matter
Convection- the transfer of heat from matter to air
Radiation- the transfer of heat from one point to another, such as boiling water.

The foil uses convection to re ect heat back up into the attic.
Jay I would be very appreciative if you can explain to us any other reason besides protecting the insulatio

Reply

je
very well said.

Reply

Noel
Dear Bob and Carol,

I would like to get some insight from your own personal thoughts and experiences about the questions belo

Why doesnt anyone use ridge vents here in the Philippines? I am thinking of putting on up on our house so
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uwiuJv03-d4/Srb7Aqcj7gI/AAAAAAAAFeU/LXKUu0a-F6Q/s1600-h/Roof+Ven

http://www.metalroo ng.com/v2/forums/uploads/attachments/ridge_vent.jpg

We have no attic just a little space in between the metal roof and the ceiling boards

My question why doesnt anyone use ridge vents here in the Philippines?

Also I noticed that your roof does not have any roof turbines
http://www.sparrowexteriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/whirly-bird.jpg
What are your thoughts about those and any kind of ventilation here in the Philippines?

How did you fasten the ends of the foil- berglass insulation to the roof? tied down? bolted? glued? or press

Thanks in advance.

Reply

Bob and Carol

Noel,

I am not sure about the ridge vents. We do see roof turbines. They make them from scratch at local tin shop

Bob

Reply

Hector G
On the ridge vents, the reasons why Philippine houses doesnt use ridge vents as opposed to the typical American
In the US, attic ventilation has been studied and experimented throughout the years. Hence, the proper venting te
climate, lower and upper venting should be encouraged.

Reply

Noel
Thank you Hector I already decided to put a ridge vent on my abode. Its just common sense, The heat wou

Reply

Hector G
On the ridge vents, the reasons why Philippine houses doesnt use ridge vents as opposed to the typical Am
In the US, attic ventilation has been studied and experimented throughout the years. Hence, the proper ven
climate, lower and upper venting should be encouraged. Especially if you want to save some bucks when co

Reply

Noel
Hi Bob and Carol,

Ive been researching on the insulation blanket issue that Ian Goddard also mentioned and my thoughts we
build my own house.

Reply

Hector G
The purpose of the foil is to re ect the heat back.

Reply

Bob and Carol

Right!

Reply

Noel
Exactly! Thats why I am dumbfounded by every single place I see where the foil is facing down! I just canno

Reply
Hector G
I understand your frustration. But this practice has been going on for decades in the Phippines. Its hard to

Going back to attic venting, it is imperative that lower venting located in the overhangs be balanced (50/50)
space with a minimum 22x36.

Reply

Jerry Herold
I believe you can use roof vents at the ridge. May not be able to nd in local Philippine stores. Try alibaba to
peak vent, i would extend roof over peak in the shape of a triangle, maybe 2 over, to stop horizontal blowin

Reply

Ping
Could you please share how did you have the ridge vent made? Many thanks

Reply

Justin
Hi Bob and Carol!

I really found your tip with the insulation really useful and Ive been trying to tell contractors here that its th

Im thinking, with the above method, instead of laying the insulation sheets north-south direction, you did it

would really love to learn more about it! hope you can help a fellow out!

Thanks very much!

Justin

Reply

Bob and Carol

Hi Justin,

Thanks for your very kind comments about myphilippinelife.com. They are very much appreciated! We are

Regarding the insulation, yes we applied it the long way. The foil is glued to to top of the berglass and the

Does this answer your question?

Regards

Bob and Carol

Reply

ian goddard
you put your insulation blanket upside down.

Reply

Bob and Carol

Thats true in cold climates where you are trying to keep heat in, but in hot climates you want to keep heat o

Reply

Dust
Hi guys got this from a website discussing foil up or down. Might give everyone an insight on why the foil s

To understand how it works, remember the two properties of aluminum foil from our Thanksgiving turkey

If you install a single-sided radiant barrier with the foil side facing up, the aluminum will (for a time) re ect t

If you install a single-sided radiant barrier with the foil side facing down, the aluminum simply will not radia

At rst, a single-sided radiant barrier will work equally well with the foil facing up or down. However, over ti

Reply

Bob and Carol

I have read the same information. Our spacing from the underside of the roof to the foil is quite modest.

Reply

shayne
Where did you buy your berglass insulation foam?

Reply

Bob and Carol

Through Far Eastern Hardware in Iloilo City. Speak to Victoria Baby Ong.
 Reply

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