DIY Chinese roof

A beautiful legend or a desire for practicality?

Chinese roof

If we consider the issues of the appearance of roofs of such an unusual shape, then there are many legends explaining their appearance.

Here is just one of them. In ancient times, dragons lived on the roofs of houses, which guarded a person's dwelling so that evil spirits could do nothing to harm the owners of the house. And when they had little dragons, they had to somehow learn to fly.

For this, people built such roofs with steep and curved slopes in the form of trampolines. When the time comes to learn to fly, the dragons will slide down the ramps so that, thanks to the curved shape of the roof, they will be able to fly up and not fall down. Thrown into the air, they would be able to stay in a state of free fall for longer, which would allow them, working with their wings, to learn to fly more quickly.

A wonderful legend, isn't it? Who knows, maybe once upon a time she was not a legend at all, but had real foundations? But seriously speaking, this shape of the roof is determined, first of all, by the geographical features of the region.

After all, Chinese territories are very often subject to very heavy rains, so the construction of a roof of this shape was of extremely practical importance. If it is raining heavily, then you need to somehow protect the house from flooding. Roofs with a strong angle of inclination and curved slopes allow water to go off very quickly, without lingering, and thanks to the bends, "fly away" far from the house, thereby preventing flooding of areas adjacent to the house.

So the emergence of such a roof shape is not only unusual and beautiful shapes that attract attention, but, above all, it is an urgent need for this place of residence.

Secrets of installation work

Best of all, Chinese roofs are obtained on the basis of hanging rafters. The sequence of operations from the first to the last step will consist of the following steps:

If the instruction seemed complicated, then there are other solutions:

• take as a basis the structure of a half-timbered roof and make a number of changes until the desired result is obtained;
• supplement the rafter system with flexible metal profiles, which will allow you to achieve an air configuration of the roof.

Large overhangs are an integral part of the Chinese roof. For their device, it is worth using decorative cornices or consoles of the required size. Decorative elements - figures of dragons, snakes, animals will also become a mandatory attribute. They will help to recreate the necessary oriental flavor.

To cover such a roof, it is best to use soft bituminous materials or various types of sheet metal coatings.

If you think of decorating your home with a Chinese-style design, don't expect to do it yourself. A competent project and extensive experience in the construction of roof structures is what is required to implement such a complex work. Professional craftsmen will cope with a task of this kind and create a house, approaching which the mysterious atmosphere of the East will be felt.

In each country, houses have their own type of roofs. This is due to the established centuries-old traditions. The shape of the roof is primarily created in accordance with established architectural styles. Chinese roofs on houses and religious buildings are in stark contrast to traditional European roofs in the presence of curved corners and a variety of decorations.

This roof structure is explained by several legends, one of which says that dragons like to descend from roofs at night, wanting to harm people. And the curved shape does not allow them to do this, and they, rolling off the edge of the roof, are forced to fly back into the sky.A more prosaic reason is that there is a lot of rainfall in those places and the shape of the roof allows water to be diverted far from the building itself. Therefore, the Chinese roof has such raised corners and far protruding overhangs, which, among other things, protect the interior space from the abundance of sunlight.

How to make a drawing of a rafter system

Naturally, you first need to make a drawing of the roof. The device of the hipped roof truss system is taken as a basis. The harness along the upper perimeter of the gazebo will be used as a Mauerlat (in our design it will be a support bar). To create a curved roof, the rafter legs should not rest on the corner supports, but on the support bar at a certain distance from the corners (this will be 1/4 of the length of 1 support bar).

Bituminous tile laying technology.

The bend is formed due to the fact that a connecting oblique bar is attached to the corners of the support bar and to each rafter leg at a distance of 1/3 from the support bar.

Then its middle is connected with another plank with the middle of the rafter leg. The middle of the leg is taken from its top point to the connection with the first oblique plank. Then the crate is made.

As an example, the basis for the construction of the roof in the idea of ​​a pagoda can be used not only with the rafter system of our hipped roof. The Dutch “half-timbered” roofs are the closest in design to the Chinese ones.

The roof is made of plywood attached to the lathing. Soft roofing material is best suited for Chinese roofing. For example, the so-called euro tile. Other roofing materials can be used, but not large sheets. These can be metal or better wooden plates. Since pagodas are bright enough not only in architecture, but also in design, the roof of your gazebo can also be made bright and elegant. For this, you can use tiles in bright colors.

Lightweight metal structures can be used to design curled edges. To make the stylized structure even more similar to the original, Chinese dragons can be attached to the folded ends of the roof.

Built with his own hand, such a garden gazebo will become the pride of the owner.

Roof on gazebos in true Chinese style

Quite often, "non-professionals" confuse Japanese types of roofs with Chinese versions, which is undoubtedly a gross mistake.

Japanese classic roofs were traditionally covered with thick-stemmed thatch and at the same time had a rather modest, poor appearance. In contrast, the Chinese roofing style is characterized by rounded protruding elements (cornices). This interesting feature passed along with the religious philosophy of Buddhism to Japan around the sixth century.

An important feature is the presence of raised edges of the roof - this is an interesting result, which has a geometric nature of appearance. Technologically, the rafters and the created puffs should not be concentrated in one plane, so they were fastened using strong ropes, which form such an interesting configuration.

But, the main difference between the Japanese version of the roof and its Chinese counterpart is the absence of any decor typical for the architectural structures of a large continent (in particular, Europe). When decorative, ornamental elements are present in Japanese architectural structures, they have an exclusively practical function, for example, to strengthen the entire structure.

In fact, the organization of the roofing frame of Eastern cultures is very similar. This nuance is due to the presence of the same materials for construction and the practical absence of its range.People used straw, branches of appropriate trees and, of course, bamboo for any construction, since more "serious" wood was in short supply.

Curved, curved roofs gradually appeared in China. Certain variants of tents, gazebos or small houses were completely devoid of a roof. So, during excavations, the discovered models of buildings of the Han era do not have clearly curved cornices. This feature of architectural structures appeared approximately between the historical Tang era and the Han period of the Li dynasty (617–906 AD).

The device of the rafter system from the hanging rafters

Here you will need:

• boards with a section of 150x30 mm;

• boards 20 cm thick (for lathing);

• plywood up to 10 mm thick.

Construction stages:

1. The stand must be fixed in the center of the support bar, making sure to observe the right angle (90 °).

2. The rafter leg should be fastened exactly in the middle - between the post and the edge of the support bar. Its second end is fixed at the free end of the rack.

3. Next, a board is attached, one end of which is located in the middle of the rafter leg, but the second is connected to the edge of the support bar.

4. For similarity to eastern counterparts, a smoother bend is needed. This is achieved by adding an additional brace.

5. Now you need to repeat the first four points for the other side of the ramp, mirrored in relation to the B-pillar.

If you did everything correctly, you will end up with a single truss. Now, only the size of your roof will determine how many of these elements you need to use. The optimal distance between them is 50 - 70 cm.

1. Further, the process will become more familiar. It is necessary to mount the crate, placing it horizontally with a step corresponding to the width of the selected plywood.

2. We will describe the roofing device in more detail and point by point.

Stages of building a gazebo in Chinese style

Before making a gazebo in the Chinese style, you need to mark the area of ​​3.5x5 meters and remove fertile soil from it. If you do not carry out this preparatory work, the grass will continue to grow slowly under the gazebo, moisture from the stems will be transferred to the floor, ventilation will be difficult, and the boards will begin to deteriorate. Instead of natural soil, it is necessary to fill in crushed stone, screenings or slag and tamp it well, add another layer of sand on top.

As a foundation, we will use brick posts on small concrete slabs. We will make 10 posts for the crown, plus two more blocks for the steps. Each element of the foundation must be covered with sand pillow 10 cm and strongly tamp the sand with water. We install a square formwork with a width of 30 cm on it. We fill a footing with a thickness of 50 mm. And so under all 10 racks. For two blocks under the steps, the size of the base must be made 30 by 80 cm. When the concrete hardens, you can start laying bricks in accordance with the drawings.

Before installing the lower harness, do not forget to put gaskets of roofing material or other waterproofing on the posts. For the crown of our fairly light gazebo, we use two frame boards installed on the edge with a gap between them. In accordance with the project, we will install the strapping logs along the short side of the arbor. Immediately on top of them we will lay floorboards, taking into account a span of one and a half meters, it is better to use a grooved board. 80 mm nails, preferably galvanized, will be used as the main fastening material.

When the floor is ready, proceed to the installation of the planed timber support posts. We need 10 supports. It is better to set the racks vertically using an ordinary plumb bob, because the usual building level indicates the vertical very inaccurately. The timber must be temporarily fixed with the slopes of the boards.In the future, when the roof and the lower row of fences are built, these boards can be removed. But the base of the racks can be immediately overhauled on four sides with small blocks of 40x40 mm.

At a height of 80 cm, you need to make a middle strapping between the bars of thick planed boards 50x150 mm horizontally. For fixing to vertical posts, you can make shallow cuts in them (in a quarter), you can also use reinforced corners. Now the structure has gained some strength and you can start installing the upper trim under the roof. As well as for the sub-floor, we use paired boards on the edge. As you can see, our project provides for a rather complex rafter structure, but everything is quite clear in the drawing. The basic rules are to assemble the main triangles on the ground and lift them with ready-made blocks. And most importantly, all loaded elements must stand on top of each other. Those. you must first cut off the end of the rafter board at the desired angle, using a miter box, install it on the beam and fix it with nails from above. And do not apply from the side, nail them horizontally, then saw off. Such a Chinese-style gazebo construction would be clearly unprofessional.

In order for the Chinese-style gazebo to acquire the desired design, we will make only two elements. First, add curved wooden plates to the rafters at the corners of the roof. It is better to fix them with moisture resistant glue and cover with several layers of paint. Second, we will install special decorative grilles under the middle harness, which you can make yourself or order in a carpentry workshop.

For the roof, use any roofing material that resembles a tile that interests you. Treat all wooden parts with antiseptics - after all, the greenhouse is not protected from slanting rain, snow and fog.

Now that the do-it-yourself Chinese-style gazebo is ready, you have something to surprise your guests with.

In the photo gallery below you can see a wide variety of options for gazebos, some ideas can be borrowed and applied in your suburban area.

Chinese roof

To build a house in the Chinese style, it is enough that the building is crowned with a corresponding roof, which is distinguished by upward curved corners. It may seem to an unprofessional builder that this type of roof is typical only for buildings in the Middle Kingdom. However, such a building does not seem so unique to a professional architect. European architecture can be proud of half-timbered roofs, otherwise called Dutch. Such roofing models may well be considered analogs of Chinese roofs.

According to the classification of Western architecture, the Chinese roof is simply a hip roof with a broken slope. In addition, the eastern roof can be compared to a half-hip model if the skylights and gables are located on two opposite slopes. However, there are also fundamental differences between the Eastern and Western models. That is why, before proceeding with the construction of an unusual roof, it is necessary to decide whether the roof will only imitate or become an exact copy. It is much easier to build a simulation. To reproduce the Chinese roof, according to the Chinese canon, the entire structure will have to be erected.

The roof of a resident of the Middle Kingdom could tell about the wealth of the owner of the house. If bamboo, cypress or shingles are chosen as covering, this is a poor man's dwelling. If the roof is covered with clay tiles, wealthy gentlemen live here. Using cypress or shingles is impractical. Shingles are expensive. As a coating, metal sheets or soft bituminous materials can be used.

Different approaches

The easiest way to explain the difference is with hanging rafters. The tightening in such a structure will not allow the rafters to expand outward the retaining walls, and the rafters themselves to disperse. The bulk of the roof load will be supported by struts. In Chinese roofs, the load will be transmitted through horizontal braces to the vertical supports.Pillars were not used because the Chinese used materials such as paper or bamboo to erect load-bearing walls. Puffs serve to create a bend. The bamboo trunks used in construction were easily bent upward, forming the desired bend in a natural way. Gradually, this form of the roof became canonical. It began to be used even when other roofing materials were used.

While European architects preferred a triangle for the roof load, the Chinese preferred a rectangle. The classic Chinese roof will have many specific features that separate it from similar European options. In addition to the folded corners, there is a steep roof slope at the top. The eastern roof is often multi-tiered. The roof must have a frame structure. Its overhangs extend far beyond the perimeter of the outer walls of the building, which helps to protect them from the effects of precipitation. At the same time, the room will be protected from excess sun. Part of the overhangs is used to move moisture.

Mounting options

So, lovers of oriental motives can be offered several projects for implementation:

1. Completely reproduce the original structure of the house - without load-bearing walls on vertical bases and with prominent overhangs on a powerful bracket system. However, such a configuration is economically impractical and inconvenient for a European to live.
2. Use the wide possibilities of rafter systems and create a truss of a suitable configuration with a familiar base on the walls of the building. The cost of such works is great, but the result is indistinguishable from the original.
3. Use hanging rafters and reproduce an imitation of a Chinese roof on them with decorative elements and suitable roofing material. The best solution if in the oriental forms you are attracted by the idea itself, and not by the complexity and originality of architectural solutions.
4. Use metal structures whose curved beams are great for creating complex roofs. Metal is an expensive material, moreover, the installation of a roof on it is associated with additional difficulties.

The following materials are most suitable for the roof of the Chinese roof: bituminous tiles, euroruberoid, as well as sheet metal coatings of various types

If there is a desire to go through all the stages of the construction of a truly Chinese structure, then it is recommended to start with a pagoda - a small gazebo in which there are no walls, and therefore it will not be difficult to reproduce the desired structure as accurately as possible according to all the canons of craftsmanship.

If we are talking about a residential building, then it is better to stop at imitation, which outwardly will look like a necessary structure, and structurally it will be possible to comply with all the requirements for thermal and waterproofing of the building. A house created according to such a project will turn out to be elegant, unusual, but its operational characteristics will not suffer.

Features of Chinese architecture and in particular the Chinese roof

Chinese architecture

The entire Chinese-style house is designed in such a way that it can withstand even earthquakes, as they occur quite often in their area. The Chinese roof rests on a central pillar and more often than not, it does not even dig into the ground. As a result, the pillar restrains all vibrations of the earth's crust, and neither the house nor the roof lends itself to destruction.

A few dozen years earlier, the roofs of poor houses were covered with bamboo, and glazed tiles were only on expensive houses, and most often such roofing material was made from clay of a bright yellow color. In addition, the roof was decorated with various images of animals playing the role of defenders of the house from evil forces.And besides, the roofs could be decorated with carvings, and its individual elements were decorated with oil paints.

The difference between Chinese and Japanese roofs

The Chinese style roof is somewhat different from traditional Japanese roofs. The fact is that in Japan, houses are built using a slightly different technology, there, basically, it is a frame covered with special paper. In our understanding, there are no windows or doors. And there all vertical planes are used exclusively as partitions. Such structures are being built for the reason that they are easily restored after an earthquake and do not cause much harm to people when a house collapses under the influence of underground forces. Also in the case of Japanese houses, a strong foundation is not used there, and the load-bearing walls are made of stone or brick.

Chinese style house

If you take a closer look at the Chinese roofs, then in essence it is a certain hipped roof with all the well-known shapes of the corners. But this is an exclusively external property. The internal structure of the roof and its rafter system are significantly different from the traditional designs in the European style.

Before you start creating a Chinese-style roof, you need to decide whether it will be a real Chinese roof or an imitation of it. If you create a real roof with a Chinese slope, then it will be an expensive pleasure, and if you are ready to spend a considerable amount of money on creating such a roof, then this option is for you. But if you want to make a summer gazebo in the Chinese style, then it is quite possible to use an imitation of a Chinese roof, since it will also harmoniously blend with the landscape.

Subtleties of installing a roof in an oriental style

Perhaps the most crucial stage is roofing work. Structurally, they are quite difficult and may seem like an impossible task. Only one thing is required of you - to strictly follow the instructions, to make each element according to the template.

To properly assemble the rafter system, prepare boards with a section of 15x3 cm, plywood no more than 1 cm thick. It will provide the necessary flexibility. If possible, it is better to order bent elements from a carpenter or buy in a hardware store. Bent metal or wood is not difficult to find on sale. Otherwise, you will have to do everything yourself.

• Unlike classic European gazebos, the rafters are not intended to connect the roof ridge to the corner. They run right into the bed. The rafter legs bisect the distance from the support post in the center of the plank beam to the ends. In simple words, when viewed from the side, the figure looks more like a compass.
• The obtuse angle between the console and the rafter is smoothed out. You will need to stock up on two bars. One will be on the rafter leg above the bottom end (connected to the Mauerlat with the other end). The second is mounted on top of the first, the corner is cut off. You can also make the bend as smooth as possible with a metal profile, but the effect will not be the same.

When the rounding is done, you need to form the sheathing across the rafters. It will be the basis for sheathing the frame with plywood. The roofing material is already laid along it. Because ceramic tiles are quite heavy and weigh 50 kg / m2. You don't need such loads when ceramics are completely replaced by a stylized soft roof.

To get a better understanding of the process, watch this helpful video on the topic:

Read more about the construction of the "Chinese roof" in a separate article: "Chinese roof - energy protection of the gazebo"

DIY Japanese roof construction technology

Consider the method of arranging the roof using the example of a country house.

Before starting the construction of an oriental-style house, it is necessary to accurately determine the type of the entire structure - whether it will be a fragmentary imitation of the Japanese type of roof or the structure will completely repeat the style of Asian art.

The difficulties that come to light during the construction of an absolute analogue also lie in the price cost of materials, but at the same time, designing the most similar roof does not represent an extraordinary work. It is possible to use modern soft one - or multicomponent materials, for example, bituminous shingles, as a roof covering.

Recommendation! It is worth very thoughtfully to consider, as an option, a metal-sheet coating. It is more durable, greener and stronger!

Experts identify several construction stages in the construction of a Japanese roof:

1. Formation of a design solution

It is important to carefully draw the desired configuration of the future roof when performing a sketch drawing. There are two options here: gable or gable

Carrying out the design first causes more difficulties of all kinds. A gable analogue with any two pediments makes it possible to become the owner of a fragment of Eastern culture without any particular difficulties.

2. The rafter system and its design

The Japanese roof has a concave profile, which can be accurately reproduced in two ways:

- pyramidal - the structural organization of the rafter system will differ in a rectangular-shaped base. It is mounted using rafter quadrangles placed on top of each other;

- gable roof - quadrangular elements will be the same. The required shape of the roof structure (parabolic curve) can be adjusted as required by the desired result. The adjustment is carried out by selecting the width of the rafter structure and the height of the racks.

Recommendation!

The lathing is fastened in the direction of the eaves from the ridge. There will be line segments on the line of the quads. Their number will differ - the more grounds in the project, the more there are.

The joints of the sheathing boards must correspond to the middle of the edged board of the rafter system. This will require:

- plywood with sheet thickness up to 10.0 mm;

- boards 20.0 cm thick (needed to complete the lathing);

- boards with a section of 150.0x30.0 mm.

Erection

The construction of any structure starts from the base and ends with the roof. This is also true of the gazebo.

Base

The gazebo on which the roof imitating the Chinese one will be installed has a low weight, so a columnar or slab foundation can be built under it. The first one will be much cheaper and can be easily made by hand. The first step is to mark the territory on which it will be located. It is necessary to place support pillars under a gazebo with a Chinese-style roof at a distance of 1.5 meters from each other. Small holes are dug depending on their number. You can use a garden drill with a diameter of 30 cm. The depth to which you need to lower is about 50 cm.

A 15 cm layer of sand is laid at the bottom of each of the pits. It must be well tamped. It is advisable to arrange it evenly so that the supports under the gazebo also stand evenly. In order not to suffer with formwork, you can use an asbestos pipe with a diameter of 25 cm. It must be cut into pieces at least 60 cm long. The pipe is wrapped in a waterproofing material in the form of a film or roofing material. It can also be coated with bituminous mastic. The branch pipe fits into the prepared pit. A concrete solution is being prepared, it must be poured into each pipe.In the process, the pipe must be slightly raised so that the solution flows out a little to the bottom.

For additional reinforcement of the structure, fittings are placed in each pipe under the gazebo. The solution is well sealed with a deep vibrator or a piece of reinforcement. After that, the space around the pipe must be covered with fine gravel; in the process, it is necessary to maintain the vertical position of the pipe with a level. The main set of strength under the gazebo with a Chinese roof will take several weeks. While the solution is still fresh, metal plates can be installed in it, which will subsequently act as a fastener for racks and grillages.

Support

After the base for the gazebo gains its strength, it is necessary to proceed with the construction of the lower strapping or grillage. It can be made from a beam with a section of 10 × 10 cm. A waterproofing material is laid on the support for a gazebo with a Chinese roof, which will protect the wood from rotting and from moisture that will inevitably flow along the concrete supports. The grillage is laid on the base for the gazebo and the logs are fixed to the metal plates that were prepared earlier. Between themselves, the grillage logs are connected by a tenon method, which will increase the strength of the structure of the gazebo with a Chinese roof. After installing the grillage, vertical posts for the roof of the gazebo are attached to their places and the upper strapping is made. It can be made from edged boards or the same timber that was used for the grillage.

Roof

The construction of a Chinese roof for a gazebo with your own hands is the most difficult task in a specific project. The first step is to install a central roof support for the Chinese style gazebo. It is installed in the middle perpendicular to the harness boards. After that, another support is fixed, which should be located in the middle and be a support spindle, which will allow to shape the future Chinese roof. Four or more rafter legs are installed on it at an angle. They should be positioned so that their upper part touches the edge of the support spindle, and their lower end is located in the middle of the center support beam.

Next, plywood sheets are laid on the prepared crate under the Chinese roof. For a Chinese roof, you will need elements with a minimum thickness of 10 mm. They need to be bent along the radius of the future Chinese roof. To make it easier to do this with your own hands, it is necessary to make the cuts not to the full depth in such a step as to obtain the required radius. Further, the folds characteristic of the Chinese roof are made, which look into the sky. They can be made by bending wood under steam with your own hands. After that, the roofing material is laid. The easiest way will be to use soft tiles, which perfectly follow the shape of the Chinese roof and provide the required tightness and moisture protection. A video about the construction of a gazebo with a Chinese roof is below.