With the cement work basically done up here, let's take a look at the main features of our laminated ferrocement roof. We've made liberal use of crickets, which are architectural features designed to direct the flow of rainwater on low pitch roofing. This cricket sits on a high point of the compound-plane roof and directs water towards planes on either side of it which lead downhill towards drainage.
Once the rainwater has run downhill from the inside wall towards the outside, it is caught by a parapet wall which also acts as guttering (as well as shielding our roof from wind loading and uplift). Note the slope downhill from left to right towards the drainage port (called a sepa). The bolt of stylish and chic emerald green nylon mesh cloth is used in combination with hand-troweled cement to make a material we call meshcrete, which forms much of the roof.
The underlying sandwich of insulation and ferrocement is overlaid by several layers of meshcrete, which are applied as finishing layers. The types of angles needed to make this roof work would have been difficult if not impossible with any other roofing material than cement. The drainage trough in this photo is a good example of the malleable nature of cement construction.
Of course, all that angled runoff for your roof is no good without someplace for the water to go. Current plans call for taking water from the sepas and piping it into a ferrocement cistern for household usage. I'll need to take a leaf blower and a stiff broom to the roof to clean off the sand and gravel from our cement work prior to sealing the roof.
A month for the cement to cure and we'll be ready to apply the sealant. The roof, as well as the entire house, will be a brilliant white to deflect sunlight and summer heat buildup. I'm going to pause a moment here to admire our handiwork, especially since we had no idea how we were going to build a roof when we started the walls. We've learned from mistakes and invented a few solutions along the way and that's really all you can ask out of yourself at the end of the day.
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