Design and Detailing Considerations of Roofs in a Hot-Dry Climate: A Case of a Large Flat Roof

Failures of flat roofs in hot-dry climate arise mainly because designers are not taking climatic factors, especially rainfall, into consideration. Usually roofs are designed with a slope to allow for proper drainage. However, in some hot-dry areas there are cases of flat roofs designed as dead level with no slope provided. In addition, failures result from careless detailing of up stands at parapets and joints, the discharge points and projections on the roof. This paper investigates these problems by studying a case of a large flat roof in a hot-dry climate.