Roofing Materials
- Attap RoofAttap is the nipa-palm leaf thatch of the Malay world, once standard on kampong houses in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.
- Bamboo RoofingRoofs built with bamboo, either as split culms laid like interlocking half-pipes or as a frame for thatch and other coverings, common in tropical Asia and Latin America.
- Clay Roof TileA roofing unit moulded or extruded from clay and fired in a kiln; one of the oldest and most widespread roof coverings in the world.
- Colorbond SteelColorbond is an Australian prepainted steel product line made by BlueScope, first produced in 1966 and ubiquitous on Australian roofs.
- Ijuk ThatchIjuk is the black fibre of the sugar palm, used in Indonesia as durable thatch and binding cord on Minangkabau, Batak and Balinese roofs.
- Palm and Grass ThatchThatch made from palm fronds, leaves or tropical grasses, used for traditional and resort buildings across tropical Africa, Asia, the Pacific and the Americas.
- ThatchA roof covering of dry plant stems such as reed, straw, sedge, palm or grass, laid thickly so rain runs off the outer layer.
- Vietnamese Yin-Yang Tile (Ngói Âm Dương)Ngói âm dương, a thin handmade curved clay tile from northern Vietnam laid alternately face up and face down; still made by Tay and Nung craftspeople.
Roof Shapes & Forms
- Gonjong Roof (Minangkabau)Gonjong are the upswept, horn-like roof peaks of the Minangkabau rumah gadang in West Sumatra, Indonesia, said to recall buffalo horns.
- Joglo RoofThe joglo is the steep, two-peaked Javanese roof over four tall central columns and a stepped tumpang sari ceiling, historically reserved for nobility.
- Pagoda RoofA pagoda roof is the stacked series of projecting eaves on a tiered tower, typically an odd number of tiers, found across East, Southeast and South Asia.
Installation & Methods
Manufacturers
- BlueScopeBlueScope is a Melbourne-based steel company, demerged from BHP in 2002, whose brands include COLORBOND, ZINCALUME and LYSAGHT roofing steel.
- BMI GroupBMI Group is Standard Industries' European-based roofing and waterproofing group, formed in 2017 from Braas Monier and Icopal.
- OndulineOnduline is a French roofing manufacturer founded about 80 years ago, known for lightweight corrugated roofing sheets and present in more than 100 countries.
History of Roofing
Roofing Around the World
- Bahay Kubo (Nipa Hut)Traditional Philippine stilt house with a tall, steep roof thatched in nipa, cogon or anahaw leaves, built for heavy rain and heat.
- Bahay na BatoSpanish colonial Philippine house of stone and timber with a steep hipped or gabled roof of clay tile, thatch or, from the late 1800s, galvanised iron.
- Batak House (Jabu)Traditional houses of the Batak of North Sumatra: the Toba jabu with a huge saddleback roof and projecting gables, and tiered Karo houses with hip roofs of ijuk.
- Ifugao House (Bale)The bale, the traditional raised one-room house of the Ifugao of northern Luzon, Philippines, with a steep pyramidal thatched roof and rat-guarded posts.
- PyatthatThe multi-tiered spired roof of Burmese palaces, monasteries and pagodas, built in odd numbers of tiers, with nine reserved for the king.
- Roofing in BruneiRoofing in Brunei, from the palm-leaf and timber roofs of the Kampong Ayer stilt village to the glass-mosaic dome of the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque.
- Roofing in CambodiaRoofing in Cambodia, from the corbelled stone and brick temples of Angkor to timber pagodas and a housing stock now roofed mostly with metal sheet and clay tile.
- Roofing in IndonesiaRoofing in Indonesia, from horned, saddle and towering vernacular roofs of ijuk, bamboo and thatch to clay tile, now on about 56% of houses.
- Roofing in LaosRoofing in Laos, known for the sweeping tiered temple roofs of Luang Prabang, with bamboo and timber stilt houses and colonial brick buildings.
- Roofing in MalaysiaRoofing in Malaysia, from steep atap-thatched Malay houses with long, five-ridged and limas roofs to modern tile and metal under the Uniform Building By-Laws 1984.
- Roofing in MyanmarRoofing in Myanmar (Burma), from the brick vaults of Bagan and teak monasteries crowned by tiered pyatthat to dhani palm thatch and corrugated metal sheet.
- Roofing in SingaporeRoofing in Singapore, from attap and zinc kampong roofs to the flat concrete roofs of HDB blocks, now widely fitted with solar panels and greenery.
- Roofing in Southeast AsiaOverview of roofing in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia: steep tropical roofs, clay tile, thatch and widespread metal sheet.
- Roofing in ThailandRoofing in Thailand, from tiered temple roofs with chofa finials and naga bargeboards to regional stilt houses with tall gables, clay or wooden tiles and thatch.
- Roofing in the PhilippinesRoofing in the Philippines runs from nipa and cogon thatch on stilt houses to colonial clay tile, and today about 86% of homes use galvanised iron or aluminium sheet.
- Roofing in Timor-LesteRoofing in Timor-Leste, from tall thatched sacred houses (uma lulik) to a housing stock where 81% of roofs were modern materials such as metal sheet by 2015.
- Roofing in VietnamRoofing in Vietnam, from Dong Son-era stilt houses and handmade yin-yang clay tiles to the glazed double roofs of Hue and modern concrete tube houses.
- Rumah GadangThe traditional Minangkabau house of West Sumatra, Indonesia, known for its curved, horn-like gonjong roof peaks thatched with palm fibre.
- Swallowtail RoofA swallowtail roof has a main ridge whose ends sweep up and split like a swallow's tail, typical of Hokkien temples and mansions in Fujian and Taiwan.
- Thai Temple RoofThe tiered, steep roof of Thai Buddhist halls and palaces, with overlapping tiers, naga bargeboards (lamyong), hang hong finials and the bird-beak chofa.
- TongkonanAncestral house of the Toraja of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, raised on piles under a huge boat-shaped saddleback roof of layered bamboo.
- Traditional Thai House (Ruean Thai)The raised timber or bamboo house of Thailand, with a steep gable roof and long eaves, built in distinct central, northern, northeastern and southern forms.
- Uma LulikThe sacred clan house of Timor-Leste, a raised timber house with a tall, steep roof of thatch or palm leaves, rebuilt widely since independence.
Climate, Hazards & Sustainability
- Green RoofA roof partly or fully covered with vegetation and growing medium over a waterproofing membrane, used for stormwater, cooling and habitat.
- Hurricane Roof DamageHow tropical cyclones (hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones) damage roofs, from lost coverings and edges to deck blow-off and wind-driven rain.
- Rainwater Harvesting from RoofsCollecting rain that falls on a roof for storage and reuse, and how the roof material affects the quality of the collected water.
- Singapore Skyrise GreenerySingapore's policies and incentives that encourage rooftop and vertical greenery on buildings, including the Skyrise Greenery Incentive Scheme.