Mechanical performance of lap joints of flat roof waterproofing membranes

• Autor(a) principal: Gonçalves, M.
• Data de Publicação: 2008
• Outros Autores: Lopes, Jorge, Brito, J. de, Lopes, G. A.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.21/12316
• topic: Mechanical performance; Lap joints of flat; Roof waterproofing membranes

The roof is the building’s outer envelope element responsible for guaranteeing the upper tightness of the living space. Its function is complex and important since environmental agents act more directly and intensely in it than in any other envelope element. Rain, for example, has a direct impact on roofs and is capable, especially in flat roofs, of leading to dampness manifestations in buildings. Consequently, it can lead to anomalies capable of putting at risk total fulfillment of the most basic dwelling demands. Nevertheless, because flat roofs have functional and formal characteristics that in many cases recommend or even impose their choice, there is a recognizable need for discussing, clarifying, and disseminating design solutions, compositions, and construction detailing of waterproofing systems that, by using new materials and execution techniques, may lead to a good functional performance. Roofs waterproofing materials and the systems they constitute are diverse, and their classification can be established according to different criteria: functionality, raw materials nature, traditional or nontraditional character of the solution, execution technique, and bonding system to the substrate and composition.