C ONCRETE I DEAS

Have you come up with an inventive way to place concrete more efficiently or to solve an annoying
concreting problem? If so, please share your idea. Send information to: Ideas Editor, Concrete Construction,
426 S. Westgate St., Addison, IL 60101 (fax: 630.543.3112; e-mail: cceditor@wocnet.com).

A system for building sloped concrete roofs

BY M.K. HURD
n spite of the growing acceptance
of insulating concrete forms (ICFs)
for residential construction, concrete
generally stops at the roofline. Even
the roofs of most ICF homes are
conventional wood-frame construction. The few concrete roofs that
have been built usually are flat and
have little aesthetic appeal for most
homebuyers.
However, the residential roofing
market may soon change due to the
ingenuity of architect Jose Henriquez and engineer Francisco
Bermudez. They have developed a
method of forming and building
sloping roofs of reinforced concrete
and have applied for a patent for
their system, which uses commonly
available construction materials
and methods.
Because both men live and work
in South Florida, theyre especially
conscious of the need for stronger
roof structures, anchored to resist
the ravages of nature. In fact, the
name of their company, Enviro-Safe
Concrete Roofing System Inc., was
selected to reflect their concerns
with homeowner safety and environmental issues such as resource
and energy conservation.

Roof construction
The sloping roofs are suitable for
homes having masonry or concrete
walls. Forming for the roof begins with
post or scaffold-type shoring, erected
to support wood joists and stringers
like those used in conventional suspended-slab construction. Workers
place the form sheathing4x8-foot
sheets of polyisocyanurate insulation
board, 278 inches thickdirectly on the

Wood 2x2s placed on the

roughly finished first layer of
roof concrete (right) retained
the concrete for the final layer,
creating a tiered slope. The
gleaming white finish (above)
was achieved with two applications of an elastomeric coating.
joists, which are
typically spaced 16
inches on center. A
network of metal or
plastic channels
placed along the
edges of the insulation board projects
above it to support
the roof reinforcement.
The
358-inch-deep steel
studs used in commercial/residential
framing are suitable
for the channels.

Conventional shoring supports formwork joists and

stringers for the roof. Form sheathing is made of polyisocyanurate insulation panels that remain in place in the finished structure.

All photos courtesy Enviro-Safe Concrete Roofing System Inc.

Embedded 34 inch into the roof slab

after concreting, these channels retain
the insulation and serve as attachment
points for interior ceiling finishes.
Workers can assemble the formwork on the ground in large sections
then use a crane to lift the sections
into place. Reinforcement projecting
from the concrete or masonry walls
is bent to the slope of the roof and
lapped with the roofs rebar to provide secure anchorage.
A stiff concrete mix, specified at
3000 psi, is pumped into place as
workers advance up the slope to vibrate and finish the concrete to the
desired thickness. Polypropylene
fibers have been used in the concrete
for the roofs constructed thus far. A
corrosion inhibitor also is added if
the roof will be exposed to salt-laden
ocean air, and Bermudez says they
plan to experiment with fly ash in
future roof mixes.
Curing practices must meet local
requirements, with a minimum curing time of seven days. When the
concrete has gained the required
strength, workers can remove the
shoring, joists and stringers, leaving
the insulation in place.
Roofs can be finished with an elastomeric coating, conventional roofing or clay tiles. The roof shown in
the photos has a distinctive stepped
concrete surface, primed and coated
with a white elastomeric material.
Interior ceiling finishes such as drywall can readily be attached to the
channels along the edges of the insulation board.

Shoring has been removed, exposing the insulation panels and metal studs, which
are ready to receive the interior finish.

Folded-plate design
Structurally these roofs are folded
plates, so they require an engineering design. But Bermudez says the
design is relatively simple to create
using finite-element software. The
roof should have a slope of at least 3
on 12, with a practical maximum of
6 on 12. This permits concrete placement without the use of top forms.
Hipped roofs are ideal for this
method of construction, but gable
roofs can be constructed by adding a
tie beam across the gable ends.
With a concrete thickness of 5 or 6
inches, the folded plates can span up
to 38 feet. The roof shown in the photos, which was recently constructed in
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., is 5 inches thick
and has a maximum span of 32 feet.

AAAAAA

zzzzzz
,,,,,
@@@@@

yyyyy
CCCCCC


||||||







AAAAAA

zzzzzz
,,,,,
BBBBB


{{{{{
@@@@@

yyyyy
Runner to hold
insulation down

Rebar

Concrete

Reinforcement consists of #3 bars

spaced 9 inches on center.

Cost of construction
The initial cost of the sloping
concrete roof can be significantly
higher than the cost of the conventional wood-frame alternativeas
much as $5 more per square foot in
some areas. But for this price premium, the homeowner gets a fireproof, lifetime roof that, in combination with masonry or concrete
walls, will withstand hurricanes and
tornadoes of great intensity. Calculations indicate the roof will resist
uplift in winds as strong as 400
mph, a real plus in South Florida
where the hurricane season is an annual event. The construction
method will also be available for license in other states.

M.K. Hurd is an engineer and

writer specializing in concrete building methods. She is a former editor
of Concrete Construction and author
of Formwork for Concrete published
by the American Concrete Institute.

Insulation

C-shaped metal
or plastic channels

Intermediate support
for insulation

Cross-section view of a finished roof. Metal or plastic channels holding the insulation
panels project just high enough above the panels to act as supports for the reinforcing
steel. Concrete and insulation thicknesses are designed to meet local requirements.

Publication #C99A144
Copyright 1999, The Aberdeen Group
a division of Hanley-Wood, Inc.
All rights reserved