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Flat roofs are also architectural wankery here in Canada, but they are more and more popular these days. My friend built a contemporary and modern house with th

Flat roofs are also architectural wankery here in Canada, but they are more and more popular these days. My friend built a contemporary and modern house with the flat roof. Thought they were having troubles with leaks, but then learnt it was condensation because of a lack of an attic.

varjag 10y ago
This is a design defect, not a flat roof problem per se. It is entirely possible to build a house with no attic and no condensation problem.
- honkhonkpants 10y ago
  But that requires the architect to have a rudimentary understanding of thermodynamics, or to actually listen when the engineer tells them what is possible and what is not.
- lmm 10y ago
  If flat roofs make condensation problems more likely and require more design work to avoid them, that's absolutely a flat roof problem.
  - varjag 10y ago
    Multi-story buildings are harder to design than one-level projects, it doesn't mean there's inherent problem in them. You just have to follow the books and do the math. Condensation, airflow and thermal exchange issues are dealt with in any construction engineering curriculum, there are ready solutions to most configurations. If you don't follow them the issue is not with flat roof but with your lack of professionalism: moving condensation to the attic isn't a solution (especially since so many upgrade them to inhabited lofts anyway).
masklinn 10y ago
I don't understand why you'd use flat roofs in canada, doesn't it rain and snow a ton? That sounds like recipe for leaking and collapsing roofs compared to angled ones. Incidentally, mono-pitched roofs seem oddly rare, people seem to go straight from flat to gabled or hipped, even in relatively temperate places where snow doesn't pile up much and a relatively shallow slope would be more than enough to handle rain and snow.
- guyzero 10y ago
  Kinda late, but the reason is building height restrictions. It lets you squeeze in an additional level in urban areas like central Toronto. Plus some people like the modern look I guess.

varjag 10y ago

This is a design defect, not a flat roof problem per se. It is entirely possible to build a house with no attic and no condensation problem.

honkhonkpants 10y ago
But that requires the architect to have a rudimentary understanding of thermodynamics, or to actually listen when the engineer tells them what is possible and what is not.
lmm 10y ago
If flat roofs make condensation problems more likely and require more design work to avoid them, that's absolutely a flat roof problem.
- varjag 10y ago
  Multi-story buildings are harder to design than one-level projects, it doesn't mean there's inherent problem in them. You just have to follow the books and do the math. Condensation, airflow and thermal exchange issues are dealt with in any construction engineering curriculum, there are ready solutions to most configurations. If you don't follow them the issue is not with flat roof but with your lack of professionalism: moving condensation to the attic isn't a solution (especially since so many upgrade them to inhabited lofts anyway).

masklinn 10y ago

I don't understand why you'd use flat roofs in canada, doesn't it rain and snow a ton? That sounds like recipe for leaking and collapsing roofs compared to angled ones. Incidentally, mono-pitched roofs seem oddly rare, people seem to go straight from flat to gabled or hipped, even in relatively temperate places where snow doesn't pile up much and a relatively shallow slope would be more than enough to handle rain and snow.

guyzero 10y ago
Kinda late, but the reason is building height restrictions. It lets you squeeze in an additional level in urban areas like central Toronto. Plus some people like the modern look I guess.