Self-locking Seam Roof With A Description And Characteristics, As Well As Features Of Its Design And Installation

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Self-locking seam roof: a new technology with unlimited possibilities

Today, self-locking seam roofing is gaining more and more popularity among developers. Its uniqueness lies in the particularity of panel fastening, which results in an extremely durable and completely sealed roof covering, as well as in ease of installation, when there is no need for special knowledge and equipment to perform roofing work.

Content

• 1 Self-locking seam roof: description and characteristics

  • 1.1 Video: making a self-locking fold
  • 1.2 Video: the best roofs - seam

  • 1.3 Advantages and disadvantages of clickfalle roofing

    1.3.1 Video: advantages and disadvantages of standing seam roofing, how to avoid noise

  • 1.4 The best manufacturers of self-locking seam panels and their products

    1.4.1 Video: New Ruukki Silence - Silent Recessed Roof

  • 1.5 How beneficial is a click-rebate roof

• 2 Construction of a self-locking seam roof

  2.1 Video: the largest aluminum seam roof - Ferrari World Abu Dhabi

• 3 Installation of self-locking seam roof

  • 3.1 Video: Tools for installing a seam roof
  • 3.2 Video: installation of a single-pitched click-roof
• 4 Servicing a seam self-locking roof

Self-locking seam roof: description and characteristics

Click-roof, as it is also called a folded self-locking structure, is a kind of metal roofing with an original joint of sheets using a special fold (click-fold or auto-fold). The main feature of this type of fold is that each picture (figuratively speaking "sheet" of the roof) is equipped with a bend on one side a certain shape that imitates the fold. On the other hand, there is a spring device called the Clickfalz. With its help, the roofing sheets are simply snapped onto each other, which greatly simplifies the installation of the entire coating.

To reliably join two roofing panels (pictures), just insert the groove of one of them into a special ledge on the other and press it with a little effort

Video: making a self-locking fold

For many centuries, seam roofing has been considered a symbol of reliability and wealth. The most famous buildings of the past are crowned with folded roofs.

1. Cologne Cathedral is the pride of Germany, the spiers of which have been attracting admiring glances for hundreds of centuries. All this splendor is covered with folded roofing, which does not stand out from the style even against the background of modern urban architecture.

   

   Cologne Cathedral, the absolute world record holder for the size of the church facade, is crowned with a seam mansard roof, which still retains the power of Cologne during those ancient times when the city was the most powerful in Europe

2. The fairytale castle Neuschwanstein near the German city of Fussen, built by Ludwig II, is luxurious and refined, which at one time inspired Tchaikovsky to write "Swan Lake" is also decorated with a folded roof. Although, it would seem, the air castle and the monumental Cologne Cathedral are different styles, different directions, and the roof is the same, which is wonderfully combined with the architecture of one and the other building.

   

   Castle Neuschwanstein under the gigantic but graceful seam roof looks so fabulous that it even inspired the builders of Disneyland Paris to take it as the prototype for the Castle of the Sleeping Beauty

3. Notre Dame Cathedral, the magnificent Palace of Westminster, St. Peter's Cathedral in the Vatican, rooted in the origins of the Christian faith, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo - these are just a few examples of European architecture using folded roofs.

   

   The sovereign state of the Vatican is pleased to demonstrate to admiring tourists the Cathedral of St. Peter with beautiful folded domes, whose history goes back to the origins of our era, to the emergence of Christianity as an organized world religion

Of course, during all this time, roofing metal and the technology of its installation have undergone many changes. The sheet metal has received a protective zinc coating. Small-sized sheets have significantly decreased in thickness and turned into a roll material, convenient for covering roofs of any design. And after the double rebate was invented in 1940, metal roofs became widespread due to their aesthetic appeal, economy, high technology and strength.

Broken seam burgundy roofing successfully sets off the white facade and organically fits into the landscape of the site

Video: the best roofs are folded

The capabilities of sheet metal roofing have become even broader today. The labor-consuming process of seaming folds until recently has become much easier with the advent of modern seaming machines and bending machines. It would seem that the evolutionary path of age-old technology has passed and nothing new should be expected. However, the self-locking standing seam roof was exactly the highlight that gave impetus to the next surge in the popularity of standing seam roofing - as a beautiful and stylish one that allows the most daring design ideas to come true.

Copper roofing has always been considered a sign of wealth and good taste, and in combination with the elegance of shape and the beauty of folded sheet fastening, it can turn a house into a luxurious castle.

Advantages and disadvantages of clickfalle roofing

Perhaps the main advantage of the new clickfold technology is that it allows you to make paintings right on the construction site by installing a rolling machine there. And sometimes even on the roof, if given the opportunity.

The rolling machine for the production of seam panels can be placed directly on the construction site and thus reduce the cost of transport and storage of finished metal sheets

This significantly reduces the risk of deformation of paintings and simplifies the construction process, because it eliminates the need for transportation and storage, which usually impose many restrictions:

• during transportation and storage of roofing panels, it is required to ensure their protection from moisture;
• storing paintings on the roof is allowed only if the load-bearing capacity of the structure corresponds to the additional load;
• it is necessary to protect the panels from dirt and direct sunlight, including radiation through water lenses;
• when storing packs or rolls, ensure adequate ventilation to avoid condensation;
• the roofing material must be laid on a flat surface with a permissible slope specified in the manufacturer's instructions.

In addition, the protective film from the sheets should be removed no later than 2 weeks after delivery, and then they should no longer undergo any processing. This limits the styling process in time, which is not very convenient in some situations.

In addition to the above self-locking roof:

• eliminates damage to the coating, since its lock is designed taking into account the contraction and expansion of the metal in different weather conditions;
• provides excellent tightness;
• does not need special tools, which reduces the time for erection of the roof and simplifies the process of installing the roofing;
• differs in a variety of colors and textures;

• allows you to produce and install paintings of various sizes, and therefore significantly reduce waste, it becomes possible to cover the roof with solid sheets, increasing its tightness, or to combine the sizes and lay the paintings at your discretion, creating stylish architectural ensembles.

  

  A restrained gray seam roof made of solid sheets not only gives the house a beautiful exterior, but also provides a reliable and airtight covering

Of course, it is worth noting the disadvantages of standing seam roofing:

• high noise level, especially during rain and hail, which, however, can be reduced by installing additional insulating layers;
• the ability to accumulate electric current, which is why it is necessary to provide lightning rods during installation;
• rather high fragility at temperatures below + 5 ºC;
• not too presentable appearance of raw material and rather high price of titanium-zinc and copper plating.

Video: advantages and disadvantages of standing seam roofing, how to avoid noise

Top manufacturers of self-locking seam panels and their products

Click-fold roofing is an excellent combination of classic seam construction and new technology and fastening, which have been adopted by the best corporations for the production of roofing materials:

1. The Grand Line plant (St. Petersburg) specializes in the production of seam roofs with double seam stitching and auto-rebate with a nail shelf for attaching metal pictures to the crate with self-tapping screws. The latest know-how of the Grand Line is the production of Profi seam paintings with stiffening ribs that provide additional strength to the roof, which is especially important for long slopes.

   

   The light facade of the house is harmoniously combined with a gabled gable roof of a dark turquoise tone made of clickfalt paintings Grand Line Profi with stiffening ribs for greater coverage

2. The RetroLine seam roofing (Pruszynski company), thanks to its elegant appearance, perfectly matches the old architecture. Therefore, it is often used in the restoration of old buildings. Correct installation of the coating through oval holes on the shelf eliminates the effects of thermal expansion of metal paintings and maintains clear lines. Austere aesthetics combined with reliability and durability attract the attention of not only retro-style property owners, but also owners of modern private houses.

   

   The restraint and elegance of the RetroLine mansard standing seam roofing in dark ash color does not prevent it from being organically combined with a bright elegant facade finish

3. Ruukki Classic click roofing (Estonia and Finland), the main feature of which is the increased thickness of the zinc layer - 275 g / m². The manufacturer offers a wide range of polymer coatings - PuralMatt (matte pural), Polyester (polyester), PVDFMatt (matt PVDF), as well as an official 25-year warranty for the protective layer and 40 years for steel.

   

   Ruukki Classic's black click-rebate roof is a harmonious architectural element for a private red brick house

4. The production association "Imada" (Belarus), which uses steel of world brands for the manufacture of folded paintings - the steel concern ThyssenKrupp (Germany) and ArselorMittal (Belgium). The products of Imada LLC differ from most manufacturers of self-locking roofs in that the sheets are attached to the base not with self-tapping screws or nails, but with clamps, due to which the efficiency of using roofing metal increases by 14%.

   

   A gable seam roof made of dark gray paintings by Imada LLC successfully sets off the light yellow plaster of the house and the brown wooden attic

Video: new Ruukki Silence - silent rebated roof

When choosing a roofing material, you need to consider:

• the purpose of the building;
• snow and wind loads in a specific region;
• climatic conditions;
• exposure to temperature and humidity.

How profitable is a click-folded roof

The cost of standing seam roofing worries many developers. And not without reason, since the price of the fold is not the lowest. Although of all the varieties of this coating, the self-locking roof has perhaps the best combination of price, quality and ease of installation.

The striking bright red façade of the country house forms an interesting tandem with a dark gray clikfalt roof, which looks charming against the background of the lush nature of the forest

If we take into account that the rebate is a technology, not a material, then the spread in the cost of a click-fold roof is mainly determined by the raw materials used to make paintings. The budgetary option in the form of galvanizing with a polymer coating costs about 400 rubles / m², and elite materials coated with titanium-zinc and copper will cost around 2–3 thousand rubles / m².

The cost may vary due to the thickness of the material, the density of the zinc coating and the declared service life. If, for simple galvanizing, the service life of a folded roof is on average 15 years, after which it needs to be updated and painted every 3 years, then a correctly assembled copper roof will last 150 years or more without repair.

Of course, you can save money and choose a thinner roofing material without a polymer protective layer. But the roof is being built for more than one year, and as practice shows, it is better to initially make it of high quality, so that then for many years to be content with a reliable, strong and waterproof roof. And along with it warmth and comfort in the house. And the roof made of panels with a protective pural coating with a matte surface based on polyurethane, purex or polyurethane looks much more aesthetically pleasing and solid than with polyester.

A roof made of folded paintings with a high-quality protective layer of matte pural (on the right) looks much more noble than a deck made of simple galvanized (left)

But what you can really profit from is the independent production of paintings, which will cost much less. Significant savings can also be obtained with the independent production of components and additional elements from scraps of roofing material, since the purchase of finished products - ebbs, slopes, chimneys, parapets, drainage and ridge components, valleys, and others - will add at least 30% to the cost of the roof.

In addition, for finished panels there are limitations in size - they are usually made no longer than 6 m. This is due to the convenience of transportation, storage and lifting of paintings to the roof. At the same time, a high roof will have transverse seams, and special skill is required for a beautiful symmetrical installation, which will entail additional labor and financial costs. And when making pictures on your own using a mechanical machine, you can use roll technology - to cover the slopes with solid panels without transverse seams. Such a roof will look much more attractive, and the cost - due to savings on delivery and storage - is less.

The clickfold roofing without transverse seams is effectively combined with the architecture of high-tech houses, where there is clarity of forms, restraint of colors, an abundance of glass and facade metal elements

In addition, the metal seam roofing is lightweight, which means that you can reduce the cost of building a rafter system - use lumber of a smaller section, which is cheaper. But not contrary to regulatory documents - SNiP II-26–76 *, SP 17.13330.2011, SNiP 12.01.2004, SNiP 3.03.01–87, etc., which should be followed in the design and construction of a metal roof.

Self-locking seam roofing device

When erecting a seam roof, it is advisable to independently follow a special technological map, which can be found in the Techexpert and Codex information systems. This will help:

• ensure safety during roofing work at height;
• it is reasonable to use the various mechanisms used in the installation process;
• achieve the maximum speed of roof erection and avoid miscalculations;
• reduce the cost of construction and installation work.

The basis of the click-roof is an unusual connection scheme of two adjacent pictures (auto-fold seam), and the correctness of its implementation excludes all kinds of leaks. This is of paramount importance for any roof. In addition, the accuracy of the rafter system and the roofing cake is of great importance - the strict order of laying the insulating layers.

Therefore, before installing the roof, you should check:

• the geometry of the slopes and the correctness of the crate arrangement;
• quality of supplied metal panels.

The classic self-locking roofing device is the following sequence of materials:

• clickfold panels fixed to the wooden crate with nails, screws or clamps;
• lining carpet;
• crate;
• hydro-barrier;
• counter-beams, fixed along the rafters with a permissible clearance to the sheathing of at least 5 mm;
• insulation;
• vapor barrier;
• rough crate;

• interior decoration.

  

  Under the clickfalt roof, a crate is arranged with a step from 0 (solid) to 300 mm, on which a drainage membrane is laid

When installing a click-roof, forming additional elements are used, some of which, in order to reduce the cost of the roof, it is advisable to make yourself from scraps of a metal base.

The forming additional elements of the click-folded roof can be made independently from scraps of roofing material

The click-roof is also good in that it makes it possible to lay and fix paintings:

• on a wooden crate;

  

  A seam roof can be laid on a wooden crate, under which counter-lattice bars must be placed

• on metal slats;

  

  When laying clickfold paintings on metal slats, the same rules for constructing a roofing pie are observed as when using wooden crate

• on solid wooden flooring laid on rafters, if its thickness is at least 23 mm, or on chipboards with a minimum thickness of 19 mm.

  

  At angles of inclination up to 25 degrees, the seam roof is laid on a solid base

If necessary, the self-locking folded roof can be laid directly on a high-strength and deformation-resistant rigid insulation placed on a corrugated board with a trapezoidal section. This allows in some cases to abandon the vapor barrier, since the steel profiled base serves as a sufficient convection barrier.

However, in any case, the base for metal panels must be sufficiently strong, rigid and even. Most often, a sparse wooden lathing made of a bar with a section of 50x50 mm and boards of 200x50 mm is stuffed, which is supported on rafter legs installed with a pitch of 0.6-1.2 m. Planks and bars are placed with an interval of 200-300 mm from each other, which provides convenient movement on the roof and prevents sagging of the roofing material.

Near the eaves and gutters, a continuous flooring of 3-4 boards (approximately 700 mm) is arranged, and under the gutters (valleys) - 500 mm wide on each side. In this case, the front board of the eaves roofing should be perfectly straight and have the same indent from the walls along the entire perimeter of the building.

When designing a cornice overhang on a click-in-floor roof, a perfectly flat front strip is used, which is protected with a drip

When equipping the ridge, two boards converging with the edges are laid along the entire length of the ridge, which will ensure the reliability of the ridge joint.

It is convenient to use ready-made Kalzip aluminum systems for flat and unusual curved clickfalle roofs, which are designed specifically for large-span flat and curved complex roofs with a slope of 1.5º.

Kalzip prefabricated aluminum systems are used to create large flat and unusual curved roof structures

The peculiarity of these systems is that the seam panels are attached to the base with the help of clips located along the roof in a certain order depending on the type of base. Installed according to the instructions, such fasteners evenly distribute the load on the supporting structures, which is their big plus.

With this technique, all attachment points are hidden under a continuous roof covering, which increases the strength of the roof and gives it a noble appearance. Moreover, according to the geometry of the roof, Kalzip panels can be produced in different versions - straight, concave or convex, concave-convex, conical, rounded by rolling, etc.

Straight and concave Kalzip aluminum panels are ideal for creating an unusual stretch sail roof

Video: largest aluminum seam roof - Ferrari World Abu Dhabi

Installation of a self-locking seam roof

Installation work on the arrangement of the click-roof includes not only the construction of the rafter system and the laying of the roofing cake. This also includes the installation of forced ventilation elements, roof ladders, walkways, snow guards, drainage and anti-icing systems.

Tools for the job:

• manual collet clamps;
• tape measure, ruler, square and rubber mallet;
• screwdriver or drill with speed control;
• pliers and scissors for metal;
• Collet clamps for overhang edging and other special accessories.

A folding machine for arranging a self-locking roof is not needed, so this is another item of savings in the construction of this type of coating. All tools must be checked before starting work.

Video: tools for installing a seam roof

Stages of work:

1. Measurement control. The metal panels are installed along the slope perpendicular to the eaves, thus checking how even the plane of the roof slope is made, as well as the straightness of the eaves and ridge.

2. Laying waterproofing. They begin to mount the waterproofing layer from the cornices so that the material protrudes beyond the walls by at least 200 mm. Then they move up the rafters, attaching a protective layer to them with staples. The final fixation is carried out with a counter beam, stuffing it along the rafter legs. The waterproofing material is laid with a sag of no more than 2–4 cm and an overlap of 100–150 mm.

   

   The waterproofing film is laid along the rafter legs with a slight sagging and fixed with locks

3. Installation of battens. It also starts with the eaves, securing the first board to the facing sheet. Subsequent rows are mounted with a pitch of 200–300 mm. The top board is packed so that the fasteners of the ridge sealing strip do not fall on the batten strip.

   

   At the eaves overhang, a continuous crate with a width of about 700 mm is stuffed, then the boards are mounted with a step of 200-300 m

4. Installation of roofing pictures. First, the eaves planks are installed to the extreme board, connecting them end-to-end, and not overlapping, and the correct installation is checked using a wire beacon. Then, in the middle of the paintings from the seamy side along the entire length, a soundproofing tape is attached, which will serve as additional sound insulation to reduce the noise of the metal roof. The first panel is laid perpendicular to the eaves strip so that the bottom fold of the sheet goes under the edge of the eaves lining. Without overtightening, it is fixed with a self-tapping screw in the lower hole of the nail bar. Then the end strip is mounted in the same way as the cornice strip and only after that the upper section of the picture is fixed. The outer panels are attached to the lathing along each hole. All other sheets are fixed to the upper lathing strip at the ridge and three lower ones at the cornice,and on the rest of the gap - through one lathing bar. After fixing the first panel, the protective film is immediately removed, after which they begin to attach the second fragment, pressing the joint along the edge of the paintings in the direction from the cornice to the ridge. After joining (snapping in), remove the protective film from the second mounted sheet. All pictures are laid in a similar way, aligning them along the cornice with a mallet.

   

   Installation of clickfalt paintings is carried out from right to left, snapping locks along the length of the slope from the eaves to the ridge

5. Installing the valley. Along the entire length of the valley, a continuous crate is filled with a gap between the boards of 20 mm. The bottom plank is formed from the scraps of the roofing material and fixed along the crate, bending the edges under the overhang of the eaves. It is recommended to apply sealant under the valley strip. Pictures are laid sequentially before the beginning of the knot. The elements entering the valley are cut to the desired size using a triangular template and then mounted, fixing each of them to the crate with two self-tapping screws located at a distance of ⅓ from the upper and lower edges.

   

   The plank of the lower valley is laid on a solid crate and is wound under the paintings on both sides

6. Skate device. They begin to equip the ridge with the installation of the ventilation lining, for which the bar is put in place and the markings are made on the roofing material. Having retreated 20 mm from the bottom edge of the marking, lay a ventilation pad, connecting its parts end-to-end and fixing it with self-tapping screws to the roofing material. A ridge bar is installed on top, fixing with self-tapping screws to the ventilation pad with an interval of no more than 1 m.

   

   Before installing the ridge strip, ventilation girders are laid on the crate, between which a ventilation pad is pulled

7. Layout of ventilation openings. It is advisable to place ventilation holes closer to the ridge. When constructing passages in the lower part of the roof, it is necessary to mount snow holders above them. Install ventilation elements as follows:

   • outline and cut a hole between the boards of the sheathing;

     

     It is convenient to use a special template for making a hole for the ventilation passage, which is included in the aerator kit

   • a hole for the seal is marked along the waterproofing layer and also cut along the intended contour;
   • the pins of the seal are pushed into the waterproofing layer, fixed with a sealant, and the waterproofing, together with the sealant, is slightly raised to the bottom surface of the crate, thus organizing moisture removal through the ventilation elements;

   • the seal is fixed to the crate with screws;

     

     The hole for the aerator is sealed from above and below with special nozzles that protect it from deformation and moisture leakage

   • the upper nozzle is coated with a sealant, set in place and fixed to the covering material with self-tapping screws, without tightening too much so that the upper nozzle does not crack;
   • then the ventilation device is installed and fixed to the upper nozzle.

8. Installation of fire hatches. This is one of the elements of fire safety required for every roof. It is best to arrange fire hatches closer to the ridge, however, in such a way that the holes for them are not located directly on the trusses:

   • the fire hatch is placed on the roofing, a contour is marked along the inner walls and a hole is cut, stepping back from each side 30 mm inside the contour;
   • cut out the crate, cut the waterproofing and wrap its ends over the roofing, fixing them with sealant or self-tapping screws;
   • fix the parts of the support strip, install the hatch and fix its sides to the roofing material with self-tapping screws, and the top and bottom to the support strip.

9. Design of joints, pipe bypass, internal and external kinks. Roof ladders, snow holders, drainage systems are installed, cornice overhangs are hemmed, etc.

   

   To design a bypass of the pipe along its contour, abutment strips are installed, which are attached to the crate with self-tapping screws

Video: installation of a single-pitched click-roof

Servicing a seam self-locking roof

Maintenance of a click-roof is reduced to the following activities:

1. Annual care. It is carried out for the purpose of a preventive inspection of the roof in order to identify possible damage and eliminate them in a timely manner, avoiding serious consequences. During the inspection, they examine the condition of the drainage and ventilation system, check the fasteners of the safety elements, the tightness of the junctions, exits, seals, as well as the condition of the paint layer if the roof has been painted.

   

   Over time, various defects can occur in clickfalt roofing, which must be identified and eliminated in time.

2. Roof cleaning. Carried out as needed. Contaminated areas are cleaned with water and a soft brush or with a hydraulic pressure washer up to 50 bar. Stubborn stains are removed with a cloth dampened with white spirit. Gutter systems are flushed with water.
3. Removal of leaves, branches and debris. Usually, debris is washed off the roof with rainwater. However, it happens that after the rain, leaves remain in hard-to-reach places - valleys and gutters. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out manual waste collection at least once a year.
4. Snow removal. As a rule, snow does not accumulate on metal surfaces, but melts easily. But when too much snow builds up, you have to clean it off by hand to reduce the load on the roof. In this case, the snow is not removed completely, but a layer about 100 mm thick is left in order not to damage the roofing.

The longevity of a seam self-locking roof, like any other, depends on the timely and proper care of it. And if, for some reason, self-service of the roof is impossible, it is advisable to conclude an agreement with a repair and construction company specializing in the installation of folded structures. The service, of course, costs money, but still this option will cost much less than the inevitable repair of the roof due to its untimely inspection, cleaning and prevention.

Arrangement of a seam roof with your own hands is not difficult. You must first carefully study the installation instructions, which must be provided by the manufacturers of seam panels. And if you adhere to the instructions, as well as the standards mentioned above, then we can confidently say that this unpretentious, unusually beautiful and durable coating will soon become a worthy decoration for your home.