Even while on vacation I couldn¡¯t get away from my interest in cool roofing. In late June my family went on a cruise with Royal Caribbean¡¯s Explorer of the Seas to the beautiful island of Bermuda. The weather was perfect, the seas were calm, and we had a fantastic time. We gazed at the waters around Bermuda, with the different shades of blue and turquoise. We basked in the sun on the beaches where the pink sand is as fine as baby powder. And we marveled at how clean and pristine the island was, with a population of 62,000.

While my family was taking in all of the sites, sounds and experiences of Bermuda, I couldn¡¯t help but notice all of the white roofs. Every building and home has a white roof, to complement the light pastel colored walls. On a ferry ride from Kings Wharf to Hamilton, I had the pleasure of sitting next to a local resident of Bermuda. We struck up a conversation on what else¡­.cool roofing.

The Bermuda roofs are composed of slabs or ¡°slates¡± of limestone, measuring about 18¡± x 12¡± x 1¡±. (today other materials are used such as aerated concrete, PVC and metal) They are applied over an open batten structure in a horizontal fashion, with each slate overlapping the previous row by about 9¡±. Then a mortar is applied over the top and edges of the slates. The whole roof is then given a thin wash of cement to create a monolithic structure. And finally a white non-toxic paint is applied. As I traveled the island using the local bus, I started to notice that there were no gutters on the buildings. Instead, a long concrete trough is sculpted along the lower edge to catch and direct the rainwater to a pipe on the side of the building. That pipe filters the rainwater and funnels it into a cistern that is beneath the building or buried alongside.

Original:http://www.designandbuildwithmetal.com