Residential Roof Parapet Wall Design

If unavoidable get further direction from the design team before.

Residential roof parapet wall design.

The international code council icc is a non profit organization dedicated to developing model codes and standards used in the design build and compliance process. A parapet roof is a flat roof with the walls of the building extending upwards past the roof by a few feet around the edges. The international codes i codes are the widely accepted comprehensive set of model codes used in the us and abroad to help ensure the engineering of safe sustainable affordable and resilient structures. Strive to avoid penetrations through top of the parapet wall.

Roof terraces are one of the dreams of modernist architecture but have not seen the popularity of parapet roofs due to their complexity and the difficulties associated with overlooking provisions written into residential design codes. The addition of a parapet makes a flat roof far safer providing a small barrier that provides additional security to reduce the likelihood of anyone standing the roof falling over the edge. Connect the water control element layer of the roof to the wall the air control element layer of the roof to the wall the vapor control element layer of the roof to the wall and finally the thermal control element layer of the roof to the wall. The first example below shows a hybrid of traditional flat roofs.

The cantilevered roof overhangs have a gravel stop metal flashing piece at the roof edge concealing the slope. Modern flat roofs with parapet walls. If unavoidable get further direction from design team before proceeding.