A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a building. A roof protects the building and its contents from the effects of weather and the invasion of animals. Structures that require roofs range from a letter box to a cathedral or stadium, dwellings being the most numerous.
In most countries a roof protects primarily against rain. In Persia the citizens used their roofs for milling wheat,farming,gardens and extra space. Depending upon the nature of the building, the roof may also protect against heat, sunlight, cold, snow and wind. Other types of structure, for example, a garden conservatory, might use roofing that protects against cold, wind and rain but admits light. A verandah may be roofed with material that protects against sunlight but admits the other elements.
The characteristics of a roof are dependent upon the purpose of the building that it covers, the available roofing materials and the local traditions of construction and wider concepts of architectural design and practice and may also be governed by local or national legislation.
Read more about Roof: Design Elements, Form of A Roof, Parts of A Roof, Gallery of Significant Roofs
Famous quotes containing the word roof:
“Banners yellow, glorious, golden,
On its roof did float and flow”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)
“But whenever the roof came white
The head in the dark below
Was a shade less the color of night,
A shade more the color of snow.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“I am invariably of the politics of the people at whose table I sit, or beneath whose roof I sleep.”
—George Borrow (1803–1881)