The Bent Page

Now that the foundation and walls have gone up, we’re ready to frame out the roof. Since you don’t have to worry about the snow load in Aruba, the framing is a bit lighter. My own house is framed lighter than I prefer, but it’s been on the house for over 20 years without a problem (wood knocking sounds) so I’m going to leave well enough alone. Just the same, these photos will go on to show clay tile roofs that are built to newer, and better, standards. Here’s a house with the cross members in place.

That V shape looks like the man is ready to put a dormer in there or something which would add some character to the house. Either way, this is a good start. Some roofs are built with internal trusses that allow for a cathedral ceiling inside, such as this one.

Do some finish work on that and stain it nice and you’d have a great feature on the inside. On the outside, the cross members are covered with plywood, then tar paper, and then the slats that accept the tiles, as shown in the next photo.

The roof is all ready to go. Here’s a closer look at those tiles.

 I’m a big proponent of clay tiles as a roofing material. They’re durable, reflect the heat, low maintenance, and look great. Some houses in Aruba have switched to asphalt shingles. I don’t think this is a wise move. The sun here is brutal and those shingles may be cheaper but there’s no way they’re going to stand up to sun. You’ll be replacing them or dealing with leaks.

In the next post, I’ll show a couple of roofs with different styles of tiles just for fun.