Se suele distinguir entre dos tipos: la cubierta inclinada"), y la cubierta plana, diferenciándose entre sí por su inclinación respecto al plano del suelo, poco inclinada en el segundo caso.

Ambos tipos de cubierta tienen una gran tradición en la arquitectura; las inclinadas se utilizaban más en climas principalmente lluviosos pues permiten desalojar el agua por simple gravedad, y las planas en climas más secos, donde el problema de la lluvia es episódico y el de nieve casi desconocido; las cubiertas en forma de terraza tienen aprovechamiento o habitabilidad en las noches de las épocas más cálidas, incluso para dormir al aire libre.[3]​[4]​.

A medida que se han ido mejorando los sistemas de impermeabilización, la cubierta plana se ha extendido a climas lluviosos también.[5]​ Por ello la cubierta plana se ha convertido en característica de un tipo de arquitectura iniciada a principios del siglo en los países lluviosos del norte de Europa, llamada Movimiento Moderno, países de gran tradición en cubiertas inclinadas, donde las planas resultaban chocantes. La ventaja que le atribuye este movimiento, en esos países muy fríos, es el de dejar la nieve acumulada sobre la cubierta formando un "revestimiento" aislante del frío. Antes no se hacía porque su peso producía graves problemas, como hundimientos frecuentes en las cubiertas de poca pendiente, y se hacían con gran pendiente, para que la nieve resbalase hacia el suelo. El Movimiento Moderno aprovecha los mejores conocimientos sobre cálculo de estructuras y sistemas más modernos de construcción.

Sloped roofs

Each plane that forms an inclined roof") is called a skirt "Skirt (architecture)"). The edges that separate each skirt are called files "File (architecture)"), which can be a valley (in the concave part), a hip (in the convex part) or a split file") (between panels with a different inclination). The upper crowning file is called ridge, ridge or gallur. The lower ends that protrude from the façade (to direct falling water away from the building) are called eaves or wings.

The elements that can appear on a roof to illuminate and ventilate the interior are usually called skylights. On traditional sloping roofs, they may be given the following names: la beata&action=edit&redlink=1 "Beata (architecture) (not yet written)"), also called attic or attic; the gable, the skylight&action=edit&redlink=1 "Sightlight (architecture) (not yet written)"), skylight, skylight or skylight; and the montera.

For better protection of the facades, the inclined roofs extend beyond the plane of the facade forming an eave or wing.

To describe the shape of the sloping roofs, reference is usually made to the number of slopes, which - especially in this case - are called "waters", thus we speak of one-water, two-, three-, four- or more-water roofs. In gable roofs, the enclosures of the building into which the water does not flow, end in a triangular shape that is called gable or pinion.

flat roofs

The biggest problem with flat roofs is that they are subject to large temperature differences, which is why they must be divided into "barracks", that is, sections that are not too large in size (it is usually accepted that they have a maximum dimension of 6 m in any direction), leaving an expansion joint between them. Each barracks forms a kind of funnel with horizontal perimeter edges and from them, slopes are formed with a slight slope towards the drainage point. In small buildings, they are done the other way around, similar to sloping roofs, draining away from the perimeter of the building, but with a lower slope. There are techniques to avoid having to make these small divisions, such as the Inverted Cover.

In certain types of flat roofs, such as the so-called Catalan roof, the roof is also extended outside the façade plane, forming an eave, generally less protruding than in inclined roofs.

A large amount of materials are used to build roofs. Romans and Greeks made them with tiles carved from stone materials in representative buildings and with pottery tiles in the others. The Arabs standardized the so-called Arab pottery tile, which solved with a single piece, always the same one very similar to the Roman blanket, all the problems of a sloping roof: channels, blankets, hips and valleys.

The flat roofs were also made with ceramic pieces in the form of tiles, with construction arrangements that resolved the problem of expansion without affecting the construction they protected. In countries with a particularly dry climate, uncooked, caked clay was (and still is) used directly to finish the covers.

In poorer areas, flat pieces of stone, mainly slate "Slate (rock)," were used as roof tiles. Roofs made of flat pieces have the serious drawback that, as water can slide due to capillarity between the pieces, steep slopes of more than 50% inclination and large overlaps between them are required to avoid this; Therefore, the unit weight (per unit area) of the roof is usually very large. On the contrary, it is a material that resists the elements (frost) well and is highly durable.

In the flat roofs, the upper part was protected, over the various layers that acted as waterproofing, using pottery tiles (called in Spain, Ariza tile or, smaller and thinner, Catalan tile).

A very convenient arrangement for flat roofs consists of the so-called inverted roof: if the normal thing is to put the thermal insulator under the roof material (hence the name inverted), in this it rests directly on the top board and the waterproofing, and on top of it a layer of protection, which can be large tiles or a layer of river pebbles. The thermal insulation (mandatory made of a water-repellent material such as expanded polystyrene) protects the waterproofing layer from the sun's rays and excessive cold (preventing frostbite) while preventing movements due to expansion due to changes in extreme temperatures (the roof undergoes the most important changes). Rainwater slides under the insulation and is carried to the drain.

Currently there are also green roofs, made from different types of plants that are even used on the facades.

Se suele distinguir entre dos tipos: la cubierta inclinada"), y la cubierta plana, diferenciándose entre sí por su inclinación respecto al plano del suelo, poco inclinada en el segundo caso.

Ambos tipos de cubierta tienen una gran tradición en la arquitectura; las inclinadas se utilizaban más en climas principalmente lluviosos pues permiten desalojar el agua por simple gravedad, y las planas en climas más secos, donde el problema de la lluvia es episódico y el de nieve casi desconocido; las cubiertas en forma de terraza tienen aprovechamiento o habitabilidad en las noches de las épocas más cálidas, incluso para dormir al aire libre.[3]​[4]​.

A medida que se han ido mejorando los sistemas de impermeabilización, la cubierta plana se ha extendido a climas lluviosos también.[5]​ Por ello la cubierta plana se ha convertido en característica de un tipo de arquitectura iniciada a principios del siglo en los países lluviosos del norte de Europa, llamada Movimiento Moderno, países de gran tradición en cubiertas inclinadas, donde las planas resultaban chocantes. La ventaja que le atribuye este movimiento, en esos países muy fríos, es el de dejar la nieve acumulada sobre la cubierta formando un "revestimiento" aislante del frío. Antes no se hacía porque su peso producía graves problemas, como hundimientos frecuentes en las cubiertas de poca pendiente, y se hacían con gran pendiente, para que la nieve resbalase hacia el suelo. El Movimiento Moderno aprovecha los mejores conocimientos sobre cálculo de estructuras y sistemas más modernos de construcción.

Sloped roofs

Each plane that forms an inclined roof") is called a skirt "Skirt (architecture)"). The edges that separate each skirt are called files "File (architecture)"), which can be a valley (in the concave part), a hip (in the convex part) or a split file") (between panels with a different inclination). The upper crowning file is called ridge, ridge or gallur. The lower ends that protrude from the façade (to direct falling water away from the building) are called eaves or wings.

The elements that can appear on a roof to illuminate and ventilate the interior are usually called skylights. On traditional sloping roofs, they may be given the following names: la beata&action=edit&redlink=1 "Beata (architecture) (not yet written)"), also called attic or attic; the gable, the skylight&action=edit&redlink=1 "Sightlight (architecture) (not yet written)"), skylight, skylight or skylight; and the montera.

For better protection of the facades, the inclined roofs extend beyond the plane of the facade forming an eave or wing.

To describe the shape of the sloping roofs, reference is usually made to the number of slopes, which - especially in this case - are called "waters", thus we speak of one-water, two-, three-, four- or more-water roofs. In gable roofs, the enclosures of the building into which the water does not flow, end in a triangular shape that is called gable or pinion.

flat roofs

The biggest problem with flat roofs is that they are subject to large temperature differences, which is why they must be divided into "barracks", that is, sections that are not too large in size (it is usually accepted that they have a maximum dimension of 6 m in any direction), leaving an expansion joint between them. Each barracks forms a kind of funnel with horizontal perimeter edges and from them, slopes are formed with a slight slope towards the drainage point. In small buildings, they are done the other way around, similar to sloping roofs, draining away from the perimeter of the building, but with a lower slope. There are techniques to avoid having to make these small divisions, such as the Inverted Cover.

In certain types of flat roofs, such as the so-called Catalan roof, the roof is also extended outside the façade plane, forming an eave, generally less protruding than in inclined roofs.

A large amount of materials are used to build roofs. Romans and Greeks made them with tiles carved from stone materials in representative buildings and with pottery tiles in the others. The Arabs standardized the so-called Arab pottery tile, which solved with a single piece, always the same one very similar to the Roman blanket, all the problems of a sloping roof: channels, blankets, hips and valleys.

The flat roofs were also made with ceramic pieces in the form of tiles, with construction arrangements that resolved the problem of expansion without affecting the construction they protected. In countries with a particularly dry climate, uncooked, caked clay was (and still is) used directly to finish the covers.

In poorer areas, flat pieces of stone, mainly slate "Slate (rock)," were used as roof tiles. Roofs made of flat pieces have the serious drawback that, as water can slide due to capillarity between the pieces, steep slopes of more than 50% inclination and large overlaps between them are required to avoid this; Therefore, the unit weight (per unit area) of the roof is usually very large. On the contrary, it is a material that resists the elements (frost) well and is highly durable.

In the flat roofs, the upper part was protected, over the various layers that acted as waterproofing, using pottery tiles (called in Spain, Ariza tile or, smaller and thinner, Catalan tile).

A very convenient arrangement for flat roofs consists of the so-called inverted roof: if the normal thing is to put the thermal insulator under the roof material (hence the name inverted), in this it rests directly on the top board and the waterproofing, and on top of it a layer of protection, which can be large tiles or a layer of river pebbles. The thermal insulation (mandatory made of a water-repellent material such as expanded polystyrene) protects the waterproofing layer from the sun's rays and excessive cold (preventing frostbite) while preventing movements due to expansion due to changes in extreme temperatures (the roof undergoes the most important changes). Rainwater slides under the insulation and is carried to the drain.

Currently there are also green roofs, made from different types of plants that are even used on the facades.