It was whilst building my first home that I realised how difficult it was to construct the timber roof overhangs properly as they are currently designed, a common problem on most building sites and one which was quickly covered-up in the rush to get the roof on only to reveal itself later in higher maintenance costs to the home owner.
I found it particularly difficult to construct the gables roof overhangs and to properly fire seal the top of the cavity walls with the timbers in place to prevent the spread of fire to the main roof timbers.
Also having to regularly clean and maintain the roof overhangs 3 storeys high at the top of a ladder, I then decided to design out this task and at the same time eliminate the risk of a serious accident or even death when working at these heights.
My first opportunity to do something about this major problem arose when I was constructing my next new house, which was almost at roof level and I still had to solve the timber roof overhang problem. The trend was to use uPVC cladding but this has only a limited life due to UV degradation and would need to be replaced at sometime during the life of the building, and because it still also required a timber supporting structure that was susceptible to rot and insect attack
As a Civil Engineer, concrete was a natural choice of materials for me to work with. It is both durable and inexpensive, and can be easily moulded into almost any shape. For my new idea to be readily acceptable on site it had to be easily built and when finished it had to look like a traditional roof overhang.
You can see the result of my work at
www.roofblock.euand let me know what you think?
