Roof price in Vietnam

cougarcar20 wrote:

Hi everyone, my name is Peter and hope someone can help me with an argument I’m having with my Vietnamese wife.
We have purchased a property in LaGi  which is in Binh Thuan Province and I’m designing a three story house. I want a flat concrete terrace roof but she wants a tiled V-shape roof because she says it’s cheaper then the concrete flat roof ( the area of the roof will be about 80 m2 ). So if anyone can help with which one is the cheaper to build in Vietnam.
Any help would be very grateful.
Stay safe and healthy.
Peter

Just a quick guess that the flat roof would need to be weight bearing and the other one wouldn't.

cougarcar20 wrote:

Hi everyone, my name is Peter and hope someone can help me with an argument I’m having with my Vietnamese wife.
We have purchased a property in LaGi  which is in Binh Thuan Province and I’m designing a three story house. I want a flat concrete terrace roof but she wants a tiled V-shape roof because she says it’s cheaper then the concrete flat roof ( the area of the roof will be about 80 m2 ). So if anyone can help with which one is the cheaper to build in Vietnam.
Any help would be very grateful.
Stay safe and healthy.
Peter

Rule 1. Don't argue with your wife.
Rule 2. See rule 1.

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

cougarcar20 wrote:

Hi everyone, my name is Peter and hope someone can help me with an argument I’m having with my Vietnamese wife.
We have purchased a property in LaGi  which is in Binh Thuan Province and I’m designing a three story house. I want a flat concrete terrace roof but she wants a tiled V-shape roof because she says it’s cheaper then the concrete flat roof ( the area of the roof will be about 80 m2 ). So if anyone can help with which one is the cheaper to build in Vietnam.
Any help would be very grateful.
Stay safe and healthy.
Peter

Just a quick guess that the flat roof would need to be weight bearing and the other one wouldn't.

Flat roof poured concrete slab with re-bar will or should support itself.

Pitched roof spreads weight over outer walls, which in the west wouldn't be a concern. Here, those skinny brick walls having to support the weight as well as remain upright would be my concern.

Go in between.. pitched roof finished in tin sheet like the Aussies do

Waterproofing flat roofs here is very challenging - and I would not recommend. Flat concrete roofs may be cheaper here but that is because the waterproofing systems used are so crude. As an Architect working here I often have to try and deal with water penetration problems from flat concrete roofs. For my own house that I built 10+ years ago, my worst mistake was having some areas of flat roof. A common way here to have a pitched concrete roof with tiles, it produces a typhoon safe roof that looks nice. My preference is to have a flat concrete ceiling soffit with a pitched roof above. It can be designed to be storm proof and has a useable loft storage area with good noise deadening. Both of the above are more expensive than the common basic arrangement of a pitched roof with just a paneled ceiling (which is not storm or noise proof).

Stay away from flat roofs, nothing but trouble when it comes to trying to control water. Put a pitched roof and sheet the underside if you want it to look more professional. You should also think about resale when building.

Make sure you have someone who is trustworthy to watch over the builders. Also, buy all your own fittings, dont trust the builder.

We hope to be building in the Philippines soon. I've designed a 2-storey house with 6 degree skillion, concrete roof. Lots of downpipes on one edge; and I'll be fully sealing the concrete before tiling over. 6 deg is obviously not flat as such for walking etc, but flat roofs are a big problem for ingress no matter how well they're sealed. If I feel like it I'll build a 6 degree opposing deck on top.

In term of monetary spending, you better ring a local builders for a rough estimation.

My mom and dad owned a V-shaped roof house years ago. The only good thing about this V-shape is low maintenance in long run.
Given the tropical weather with high level or rain, you don't have to worry about the clogged drain. It'd be expensive to fix and might damage the ceiling as well.

If the architect, and more importantly the builder, had done their job, the flat option earn some merits.
You can put some planters on top or convert it into a mini bar.

But again, you have to worry about the heat.
The flat roof absorb heat in sunny season and heat up the top storey dramatically.

It's always pros and cons there.

Anyway, it's unwise to argue with your woman. Call her mom instead.

Your terrace is approx. 861 sq ft.
1] A sloped roof drains very well. A roof truss design will clear span your living space and bear/sit on the exterior walls and/or wood posts and horizontal beams, allowing an open floor plan free of interior columns.

2] A light-weight reinforced concrete roof must be supported on concrete or masonry columns at the exterior walls as well as intermediate columns. Does not span well.

3] Concrete form work for a flat roof adds extra labor and materials costs. 

4] If you desire an open floor plan, free of vertical columns, I suggest the post and beam truss design for your roof.

5] Meet with an Architect or contractor.

I can hardly wait to return to Vietnam.
Thank you.
H. Kalb, Architect Retired
Carbondale, IL.

If its your money then do as you please.

We recently finished putting a new roof (plus installing a previously non-existent inside ceiling) on half of my in-laws' rural farmhouse in Quảng Ngãi.

Plan is to complete the entire house later this year.

The half of the roof we repaired was leaking when wet, and the addition of a ceiling is part of a long-term plan to make the main room & bedrooms more liveable.