How car tyre shingles could help transform roofing style

Eco-friendly building made from used vehicle tyres as roofing material. [Courtesy]

The emergence of new architectural styles can alter the home-building journey. Take the case of high roofs and hidden roofs. They were not a common sight in the countryside, where the gable roof has been the dominant style.

Use of Makuti (a traditional thatching material made from woven coconut palm leaves) for roofing may be treated as a sign of poverty depending on the region of the country where such houses are common, but in essence, it could be an eco-friendly and cost-effective option.

The downside is that the grass is susceptible to inclement weather and insect attacks, necessitating regular replacements.

Most people associate makuti structures with social joints that blend traditional and modern architecture for aesthetics.

It would surprise many to see an eco-friendly building made from used vehicle tyres as roofing material. This trend has not yet caught up in many places, but as builders look for cost-effective materials as costs of building go up, roofs made from car tyre shingles may gain popularity.

Architect Peter Mburu, a manager with a real estate agency that handles construction and management of client properties, sees the idea as a good one.

"Tyres can withstand heat, rain, heavy impacts, and don't rot or discolour like ordinary mabati, and have a long lifespan," he says.

Depending on the size of tyres used to make shingles, he notes they may require strong supporting roof infrastructure like trusses and beams.

"Heavy-duty tyres can weaken less-strong supporting trusses and beams, and this can lead to caving in or roof collapse," he says.

He adds that before roofing, a lining material can first be spread to minimise leaving areas where water can leak in.

To him, used tyres are cheap. One can get them at knockdown prices or even for free from garages.

"If you take a look at the back of garages, you'll see used tyres in piles with no takers. Some are so bald, with no treads for traction when the vehicle brakes. Unless we're speaking of customers who specialise in making chicken cages, sandals or those with handcarts or donkey carts, as these types of carriages don't need hydraulic braking systems."

If garages were to dispose of worn-out tyres by burning, it's likely they'd be closed down for releasing toxic fumes and endangering the health of others, particularly with chemical fumes. This makes them eco-friendly as roofing materials, he observes.

He says rubber is a good thermal material that can hold heat and remain cooler even in hot weather than ordinary roofing mabati, which will warm a room with rising heat.

"You may not need to turn on the fans as tyres are good insulation materials against heat," he says.

John Wangeka, a developer, however, wonders about the downside of using vehicle tyres as roofing material in homesteads.

"Take this from me, such ideas will be fought against, including likely enactment of legislation to ban their use as roofing material," he says.

The reason, he observes, could be health related one. He gives the example of where a vehicle applies brakes suddenly on tarmac, with the friction created releasing a toxic-smelling, rubber-like burning fume.

"Under heat, the same smell will be produced. Now think of living with that kind of smell throughout the dry months. This will be seen as endangering the health of house occupants in the long run," he says.

 If the homeowner has invested in water harvesting gutters for rainwater collection for domestic use, such water would likely be contaminated.

"This would require treating the water before use. That scent under the hot sun is a highly toxic chemical being released into the air."

He notes cutting tyres into shingles is a labour-intensive undertaking and could need an electric saw or metal graters to cut through tough wires.

"Even if worn-out tyres are cheap, what if that cost of cutting shingles is a fraction of buying conventional roofing materials?" he poses.

It would, however, make sense if tyres as roofing materials are used in structures not to do with family habitation.

"If it's a farm structure like cow sheds or barns, that could be an ideal place to use them. But in a family house, it can prove to be a danger to occupants themselves. For instance, in case of a fire outbreak, rubber will burn fast, with the fire spreading quickly. Tyres are highly combustible owing to their chemical makeup," he says.

In countries where tyres are approved for use as roofing material, there are likely tough building regulations that make them more ideal than, say, in Kenya, where it's difficult to enforce regulations or agencies mandated to follow through look the other way.

Like makuti thatch bandas or gazebos, tyre roofing can be ideal in such structures as well.

"They can be good structures at social joints to go with that ideal stylish architectural look," he says.

But will one day vehicle tyres transform the roofing style of Kenya's architectural landscape?