Guide to soft roofing: everything you need to know.

What is it?

The phrase “soft roofing” refers to several materials created on the basis of fiberglass, cellulose sheet or polyester impregnated with modified bitumen. These include PVC membranes and other roll coverings, but above all, these are flexible tiles, which are very popular these days, and have a decorative and protective stone dressing.

The photo shows a two-story brick cottage with black soft roofing, which contrasts well with the white windows and facade elements.

Characteristics and application features

There are four types of soft roofing:

• roll roofing;
• membrane roofing;
• roll tiles;
• flexible tiles.

They are listed in order of increasing cost of materials and increasing complexity of installation work, but the characteristics of each subsequent type are improved. And it’s not just about design and reliability, but also about the possibilities of application. Roll coverings are suitable for flat or slightly sloping roofs, but for those with a steep slope or complex shape, you need to take flexible tiles.

The main area of application of soft roofing is private low-rise construction. This is a relatively inexpensive roof covering for a gazebo, garage, summer house or cottage, and even a less experienced craftsman can handle the installation on his own.

The photo shows a country house made of rounded logs, the natural color of which is beautifully set off by light gray soft roofing

Pros and cons

To begin with, bituminous shingles are both the most beautiful and the best-in-use type of soft roofing. Firstly, they are individual, which means they do not have to be as flexible as rolled roofing, and therefore can be more durable. Secondly, for repairs it is easy to replace only the damaged segment without re-laying the covering.

However, all types of soft roofing have significant advantages.

What types are there?

Roll roofing is the simplest type. The prototype of all soft roofing materials can be considered the good old roofing felt. It is short-lived, because it consists of cardboard impregnated with a small amount of bitumen.

Instead of cardboard, polyester or fiberglass is now used, which can absorb much more bitumen, and polyester compounds are added to the bitumen itself, improving the characteristics of the roofing: strength, durability, plasticity, adhesion, resistance to high and low temperatures. The aesthetic qualities are improved by a dressing of stone chips, painted in different colors.

The coating in rolls serves for up to 10-20 years, it is very quickly and easily installed by the fusion method, but it is only suitable for flat roofs or those with a slope of no more than 25°.

There are three types of membrane roofing:

• PVC membrane – with the addition of plasticizers for use in harsh climates;
• EPDM membrane – using ethylene propylene rubber for the best plasticity;
• TPO membrane is the most modern, contains environmentally friendly thermoplastic polyphenols.

The first type is most often used. The second is quite difficult to install, requires special fasteners and heat treatment of seams, you can’t do it with just nails. And the third one has collected all the advantages of membrane soft roofing and eliminated the main disadvantage – the risk of releasing harmful substances into the air.

The membrane looks extremely simple – a dense single-color canvas, it is laid using an adhesive or ballast method only on roofs with a slope of no more than 15° and lasts on average about 30 years.

Roll tiles are much more attractive in appearance – they successfully imitate real tiled masonry, thanks to stone dressing and painting technology with a volume effect. From a distance, it is difficult to immediately recognize a “fake”, but in this regard, the rolled material is far from flexible shingles.

But in terms of performance characteristics, it comes very close to the standard: it lasts up to 50 years and also perfectly withstands loads, damage and the vagaries of the weather. But there remains a significant drawback – a limitation on roofs with a strong slope or an intricate shape.

Flexible shingles are piece roofing materials made in the form of segments called shingles. They can have different shapes, due to which the range expands and more opportunities appear for creating a unique and attractive roof design.

Soft tiles are recommended for roofs with a slope of 12°, but their characteristics allow them to be laid even on roofs of complex configurations, for example, on “domes” or “onions”.

Such tiles consist of three layers:

• base – fiberglass, which is elastic and lightweight;
• impregnation – either oxidized bitumen with increased heat resistance, or SBS-modified bitumen with the addition of rubber for the best elasticity and operation in frost conditions, or APP-modified bitumen with the addition of polypropylene for good adhesion;
• external coating – stone chips, which protects the material from sunlight and mechanical damage, and also provides a variety of colors and structure.

The quality of flexible shingles is regulated by the EN 544:211 standard. According to it, it must contain at least 1300 g of bitumen per square meter.

The standard characteristics of bituminous shingles are as follows:

• length ― always the same, 1 meter;
• width ― 317-349 mm, depending on the geometry of the shingle;
• thickness ― 3-9 mm;
• weight ― from 7.3 to 25.4 kg per square meter of coverage, but one shingle will never weigh more than 5.8 kg.

Bituminous shingles have an uneven cost, because they vary greatly in thickness and number of layers, and therefore in reliability and durability. The variety of shapes and colors of shingles also makes buyers rack their brains over the choice: to buy a simple soft roof at a lower price or a fashionable more expensive one.

By design, flexible shingles come in three types:

• single-layer ― up to 3 mm thick and a guaranteed service life of up to 20-25 years;
• two-layer ― up to 6 mm and up to 50-55 years;
• three-layer ― up to 9 mm and up to 60 years, some manufacturers promise a whole century.

By the shape of the shingles, soft roofing varies much more, for example, there are such original types of cutting:

• Accord ― a segment is a quadrangular shape of three different sizes connected together;
• Beaver tail ― an eloquent name;
• Brix – the roof seems to be covered with rectangular slabs of natural stone rounded at the edges;
• Dragon’s tooth – irregular quadrangles expanding towards the bottom create a characteristic “toothy” pattern;
• Shingles – soft roofing looks as if it is covered with asymmetrical wooden fragments;
• Sonata – shingles in the form of elongated hexagons form a neat mosaic pattern;
• Trio – the roof seems to be laid out with brickwork.

In terms of color, soft roofing is completely striking in its variety. Of course, the most popular shades are familiar to the eye, brown, gray, greenish and muted red tones. But there are also extravagant samples: black, blue, orange and unevenly colored to create a richer and more voluminous pattern.

What to consider when choosing?

You need to start with the base, this applies to any type of soft roofing, and in the case of flexible shingles – with fiberglass. It should have a density of at least 100 g per square meter, because this indicator determines how much bitumen the soft roof can absorb. The more, the more reliable and durable the material.

As for bitumen, we discussed its types above. Choose the one that will provide the best performance properties in your conditions.

The dressing or granulate is made of slag, large-fraction river or sea sand, shale or basalt chips. Experts consider the latter option preferable for soft roofing, because basalt chips are subjected to hot painting, which ensures color stability, and have a particle shape that prevents them from crumbling.

Flexible tiles should not lose more than 1.2 g of stone dressing from one shingle during transportation and installation.

Design is a purely individual issue, but it greatly affects the final cost of the roof. Here we can only advise one thing: since you are going to use a roofing material that will last for many years, then choose the one you like.

The number of layers is a factor that has a decisive influence on costs. The thicker the material, the heavier it is. This means that it is more expensive to install, it is more difficult to prepare the base, and the roof must withstand such weight.

The photo shows three-layer gray-brown soft shingles with cut shingles of the Brix type, surprisingly similar to natural stone slabs

Installation recommendations

Before looking for everything necessary for fastening and starting to lay the soft roof, you need to prepare a reliable roofing pie, consisting of the following layers (from the inside out):

• vapor barrier – a polymer membrane that does not allow moisture that forms inside the house during the process human activity and household chores, penetrate the insulation;
• thermal insulation – usually a thick carpet of mineral wool slabs;
• waterproofing – a polyethylene film that protects the insulation from water leaks from the outside of the building as a result of precipitation;
• sheathing – a wooden structure necessary to ensure ventilation and protection against condensation;
• base – plywood sheets or edged boards;
• lining carpet – a special material that is overlapped both longitudinally and transversely for subsequent installation of soft roofing.

Describing the process itself in words would take a lot of your time and would hardly allow you to understand the details. Better watch a video about how real professionals perform waterproofing work, carry out final preparation of the roofing cake and lay the top materials.

Beautiful photos of houses

Look how good the soft roof is – the photos eloquently prove it. A small country house, a country cottage, and a luxurious mansion within the city will look decent with such a roof covering.

The photo shows a large private house made of beige and pink brick with arched windows and soft roofing in a calm brown range

Houses with soft roofing are no longer uncommon in our area; over the past decade, the number of people wishing to decorate their roofs with this modern, reliable and beautiful material has increased significantly.

In the photo, the soft roof of a rich brick shade harmonizes perfectly with the bright light beige walls of the cottage

When building their own home, many people prefer well-known and well-tested roofing materials, such as regular tiles. But even its more durable analogue, metal tiles, are inferior to soft roofing in some respects. So if you are inspired by this material, make your choice boldly.