The main objective of the roof covering is to protect the house from adverse weather conditions and to make its appearance nice and stylish. When choosing a roof cover one should also have in mind the following criteria - technical characteristics, initial and ongoing costs, environment friendliness. Connections to chimneys, the outside parts of vents, lighting-conductors and solar panels should be also decided. The places where rodents and insects can enter the building should be located.
Shingles
Roof shingles are one of the most popular roof covers lately. They have a life-time of about 15-17 years. If the daily temperature differences are small their life could be even longer. Shingles are appropriate for roof pitches from 10-12° to 90°. They are 4 times lighter than ceramic tiles and their weight is 8-12 kg/m2. They allow for a simplified and lighter roof construction. Shingles are offered in a wide range of colors and shapes - oval, triangle, trapezoid-shaped, rectangular, hexagon, etc.
The main advantages of shingles: they are easy to work with (shingles can be easily applied even on roofs with complicated shapes), they have small expenses for maintenance over time, their quality is proven for roofs with high pitches, shingles don't shrink and expand when weather conditions change, on the top of one layer shingles you can apply up to two more layers, shingles are resistant to hurricanes, they don't rust and don't bend. Recycled materials can be used in their production, shingles have low toxicity and low inner energy.
Metal tiles
Metal tiles are steel sheets with a cover looking like ceramic tiles roof. They are offered with different anti corrosion covers. Metal tiles are appropriate for roof pitch from 12° to 90°. Their production warranty is from 30 to 50 years.
The main advantages of metal tiles: they have extremely long life, metal tiles are offered in wide color range (traditional red, imitation of copper or platinum, ultramarine or metal), they don't deform from changes in temperature or snow load, can be recycled, metal tiles are fire-resistant and have small maintenance expenses in the long term.
Ceramic tiles
The traditional ceramic tiles are produced almost entirely from clay. Their life duration could be 100 years and the producers' warranties are from 20 to 50 years. They are suitable for roof pitch from 22° to 60°. In order to increase their functionality more producers offer tiles with snow-holding appliances or special ventilation tiles, as well as accessories for shaping hips, ridges and valleys. Ceramic tiles are a heavy roof covering with weight 40-60 kg/m2 and this requires an increase of the number and section of the timber rafters and joists of the roof construction. Ceramic tiles are offered in a variety of shapes.
Main advantages of ceramic tiles: they have exquisite outlook and good sound absorption, ceramic tiles are resistant to high decreases in temperature and fire, sun radiation, hailstorm, acid rains. They don't support bacterium growth and have low heat conductivity, don't make noise from wind and rain, can be used many times, easy for maintaining, low toxicity.
Cement-sand tiles (concrete tiles)
Cement-sand (concrete) tiles (Bramac) are offered on the Bulgarian market for ten years and their main benefits are identical form and lack of deformations. These tiles have a life duration over 100 years and the producer's warranty is 30 years. The concrete roof tiles and the ceramic tiles are with identical weight (43-47 kg/m2).
Main advantages of cement-sand tiles: extremely resistant to bad weather conditions, successfully protect the house from snow, ice, hailstorm and hurricane winds, without being broken or disarranged. The tiles are offered in an integrated system with all necessary accessories, they can survive temperature changes from –30°Ñ to +70°Ñ and wind pressure up to 180 km/h. Concrete roof tiles are fire resistant and their cover doesn't allow mold growing; they can be installed quickly and you can easily change a broken tile with a new one.
Stone roofing (shists)
The roofing sheets from natural stone are produced completely from natural materials so they are environment friendly. Most producers give 30 years of warranty for this type of roof covering. They are suitable for roof pitch from 11° to 90°. Stone roof sheets are light and don't absorb water.
Main advantages of stone roofing: stable color and structure, fire-resistant, strong and durable, quick and easy installation, perfect resistance to cold.
Plastic (polymer-sand) tiles
Plastic tiles are two times lighter than ceramic and concrete tiles, which leads to lighter roof construction. They are suitable for roof pitch from 22° to 80°. The producer's warranty is 50 years. Each tile has a loading capacity of 150 kg.
Main advantages of plastic roof tiles: they are offered in a wide range of colors, they don't brake during transportation, installation or when falling. Polymer-sand tiles are resistant to bacterium influences and weak acids, weather changes, as well as sun aging. They are water resistant and have good sound and heat insulation abilities.
Wavy bitumen sheets (Onduline)
The wavy sheets impregnated with bitumen have a structure like shingles. The minimal roof pitch when using these sheets should be 6°. Their life durability is over 40 years and the producer's warranty is 15 years. They are easy and quickly to install, the color of the covering could be red, green, brown and black. They are non-breakable, resistant to high temperatures (up to 110°C) and are somewhat light - about 3 kg/m2. This type of roof covering is used mainly in the construction of residential and agricultural buildings.
