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Home » Key Considerations

Key Considerations

When making a roofing decision for your tiny house, it’s best to start early in the design process. Getting your tiny house under cover as soon as possible will protect all the work that needs to go on inside. Keep in mind that the roof on your tiny house needs to accommodate the same number of systems, demands and protection of a full-sized house…but in a much smaller space.

Here is a list of key considerations for your tiny house roof:

Aesthetics

The economies of tiny house living allow owners to carefully choose products that reflect their personal style and taste. Roofs can be a great design focus of all homes.

Noise Transfer

Choosing durable products while also creating systems that make a tiny home quiet and livable is important to most owners. Roof and wall coverings, skylights, ventilation, and insulation all play major roles in helping to keep outside noises where they belong – outside.

Durability

Freedom from home maintenance worries is a frequent goal for owners of tiny homes. They want to have disposable income for travel, the arts, and philanthropic giving, rather than home repair. While permanent roofing materials may be considered too costly by the owners of large homes, they can be very affordable on small homes.

Fire Safety

Because the time from combustion to complete devastation can be very short on a small structure, owners of tiny homes are seeking products that are fire resistant and won’t ignite nor burn quickly.

Rain Water Control

Rain water can cause rot and mold if it reaches the wrong materials in a home. The roofing system must be watertight and direct water away from the sides of the home. Additionally, many owners of tiny houses will use their roofs to collect rain water, so a roof that sheds water efficiently and cleanly is imperative.

Wind Resistance

Because a tiny house may be mobile and moved from place to place, a roof system that can handle sustained high winds without weakening or damage is very important.

Low Weight

The overall weight of a tiny home is also very important. Depending upon what product is chosen, the roof on a 300 square feet tiny home may weigh under 200 pounds or over 2500 pounds. Lower weight can be very beneficial to overall home design.

Ventilation

Many of the moisture-generating activities such as cooking, laundry, and bathing occur in a tiny home at the same level they would in a larger home. If this moisture is trapped and not removed from the home, it can lead to mold and other dangerous occurrences.

Roof Pitch

The total height of a tiny home may influence the pitch of the roof. Lower pitch roofs have special needs and must have roofing materials made for that pitch of roof. At no time should a roofing material ever be installed at a lower pitch than specified by code and its manufacturer. Pitch is referred to as vertical rise over 12” horizontal run. For example, a 3:12 pitch roof has 3” of vertical rise per 12” of horizontal run.