Why roof tiles exist. I understand why we don’t have flat roofs, but why do we have hundreds of tiles that sort of overlap each other and can be pulled or blown off easily?
Why aren’t roofs like a giant tent, still A shaped but each side is just a big sheet of whatever weatherproof material we got?
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Mainly it’s because ….how would you build it?
There are many ways of waterproofing a roof. Asphalt roll roofing, shingles, tiles, built-up roofing, metal panes etc. Their construction are all a compromise between durability, cost, ease of maintenance and construction costs/feasibility.
When it comes to roof tiles. Clay is cheap and available and it’s also very durable. It is however quite heavy, and clay tiles are about the maximum size that clay that thick can be without risking it breaking under its own weight because you lifted it in one corner. The tile size also makes it relatively easy for a human being to construct the roof.
Like, how would you get an entire roof made from burnt clay in place? Because it would be prohibitively difficult and expensive to cast it in place. It would also be extremely expensive if you had to replace the entire roof because it cracked somewhere.
For the same reason asphalt rolls, another common roofing material, are a certain width and length because otherwise the roll would be too cumbersome to handle and handling it would risk damaging the material.
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