The four main elements that form a roof design is the type of material, design of construction and its strength and durability. Throughout the history of man, the covering for housing and shelters have been constructed from a variety of different materials such as: seagrass, banana leaves, bark, sod, straw, wheaten straw or rice reed, stone, slate, laminated glass, concrete, aluminum, copper, animal hides, wood or solar shingles, ceramic tiles, and even snow.
The roof’s construction is determined much by its underneath support, space it bridges and weather, whether a roof is pitched or not. Most modern solid roof's in the United States are sloped or pitched to allow for runoff but as seen above there are numerous options in roof design for an outdoor shade shelter.
