# Influence of Climate Conditions on Deficiencies of Building Roofs
## 4 Discussion

Table 6: \(p\)-values corresponding to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for deficiencies per 1000 inhabitants for a 0.05 level of significance. Modality 3: Very frequent inspections, thorough follow-up and detailed control of inspection points. To be applied as determined by the designer and, necessarily, to those buildings that, in addition to meeting at least two of the criteria indicated for Modality 2, also met at least one of the following classes related to thermal-hygrometric conditions: 'Medium' heating degree days,'medium' cooling degree days and 'high' wind speed. This modality would be of mandatory application in the RED climate-geographical area and optional in WHITE and YELLOW. Another important aspect to take into account is the maintainability of roofs; in other words, the effort required to repair them once a deficiency is found [32]. Maintainability is inversely related to the duration and effort required by maintenance activities, therefore it is an intrinsic characteristic of roof typologies and, is also affected by climate conditions. As a design proposal, the authors consider that the Spanish regulation should be modified by increasing the slope of flat roof plans (\(\geq\)2%) and gutters in pitched roofs (\(\geq\)1.5%). Furthermore, bi-membrane waterproofing systems should be used in roofs located in zones with high precipitation, it should be mandatory for these construction units to be tested once completed, and the proposal of the three maintenance plans mentioned above should be included within the Spanish technical-legal framework. The above is not incompatible with the responsibility that designers have (e.g., by their lack of skill or knowledge) or with the poor quality conditions in the construction as factors that may intervene in the presence of deficiencies (Figure 9 shows a number of examples). In fact, there is research evaluating the quality of designs [13], though this is an unpredictable factor, specific to a given particular climate area and, as such, it cannot be ascribed to a rank of concentration of anomalies in the face of another rank. Figure 9: Photographic examples of some construction problems in roofs due to design or execution flaws. (**a**) PITCHED ROOF: Incorrect tail-end between the base of a chimney and ceramic tiles; (**b**) PITCHED ROOF: Position of a roof hip improperly draining towards a wall; (**c**) FLAT ROOF: Lack of sufficient height in the access door silk; (**d**) FLAT ROOFs: Inadequate tail-end of the membrane with the perimeter parapets. On the other hand, there is not a significant difference in the construction of flat roofs [33] and of pitched roofs [34] between the different regions of Spain, given that the technical regulations are the same for the entire country [27] and they are similarly constructed. This paper contributes new knowledge to science through its identification and quantification of deficiencies related to climate conditions in a locality. This knowledge can be used as a tool to reduce the occurrence of these deficiencies in future buildings. With these results, technicians will be able to know the most significant types of deficiencies, as well as their recurrence, allowing them to improve the quality of the construction and maintenance of buildings. Future work should focus on analyzing the influence of climate conditions in the maintainability of roofs, on ascertaining the results of the maintenance strategies proposed above, and on analyzing several of the causes that may predictably have an impact: deficient overlaps in the waterproofing membrane, design of very small slopes, incorrect resolution of the union with drains and outlets, inadequate tail-end with perimeter parapets, etc.