Parapet Wall - Standard Height, Types, Uses & Importance

The Parapet Walls are those walls which continue vertically past the roofline. The Parapet Walls have been used on the roofs of the flats. The vertical extensions of the Parapet Walls help to increase the height of the building structure along with serving other purposes. The Parapet Walls are most popular on urban residential structures which are inspired by European architecture. In most of the commercial buildings with flat roofs, the Parapet Walls have been used. These types of walls can be also extensions of the internal fire or party walls. These types of walls have been designed to give the residents a structure which enables them to protect their houses from attackers. Residents can protect themselves by hiding below the Parapet Walls while dropping heavy objects, firing arrows or throwing rocks at the attackers who try to enter the house.

Apart from the safety features, the Parapet Walls also provide a clean aesthetic and hide mechanical equipment such as condensers from sight and air handlers. The Parapet Walls also help to reduce the tear and wear of the rubber roofing membrane that has occurred due to inclement weather and wind.

Uses of Parapet Walls

➢ The Parapet Walls have been used in a building to prevent the entry of dust particles into the room of that building.
➢ The Parapet Walls are also useful in hiding several materials including machinery, stored materials and equipment on the rooftop of the building.
➢ The Parapet Walls also help to prevent the wind loads that have come from the rooftop.
➢ The safety of the occupants has been provided by the Parapet Walls which helps to prevent mishaps such as falling down from the rooftop.
➢ The Parapet Walls help to provide an aesthetic look to the building structure.

Advantages of using Parapet Walls

There are several advantages of using the Parapet Walls in the building which are as follows:

Safety features

The Parapet Walls act as the safety device for the building structure. In a building structure, gardens, terrace walkways, rooftop patios and the areas around the mechanical equipment are the most dangerous places. In this context, the height of the parapet wall extends to at least 36 inches from the surface area of the building’s roof. This helps to provide a sturdy wall which helps to protect the residents, repair persons, equipment installers or visitors against falls.

Aesthetic appearance

A more pleasing aesthetic look to the building structure has been provided by the Parapet Walls. The Parapet Walls help to give a taller appearance to the shorter building structure. This helps to allow that shorter building structure to stand out among the other buildings. The mechanical equipment which is seen as rarely appealing can hidden from sight with the help of the Parapet Walls which helps to give the building structure a neat and visually appealing appearance.

Protective measures

The expensive machine along with the windscreen has been also provided by the Parapet Walls. In the case of buildings at higher elevations or buildings which are near large water bodies, the chances of wind and wind-driven precipitation that damages the gear can be minimised with the help of the Parapet Walls. The privacy provided by the Parapet Walls helps to add a lot of value to the buildings in the urban areas.

Different types of Parapet Walls

There are different types of Parapet Walls which have been used in the building structure which are as follows:

On the basis of the appearance

Plain Parapet Walls

These types of Parapet Walls are the vertical extension of the wall at the roof edge. These types of Parapet Walls are easy to construct as well as low maintenance is required for the construction of plain parapet walls. This generally looks dull in appearance.

Perforated Parapet Walls

These types of parapet wats are also wall extensions like the plain parapet walls though, in these types of walls, the extended wall portions have been perforated along with different-sized openings which helps to provide aesthetic appearance to the building structure. These types of perforated parapet walls can be of different designs perforations including trefoils, circles, flower shapes and others.

Embattled Parapet Walls

In castles or forts, the embattled parapet wells have been used. These walls have been used by arrow shooters to shoot arrows in ancient periods thus helping to defend castles.

Paneled Parapet Walls

These types of parapet walls have been ornamented with a series of panel designs on the outer side of the wall. A beautiful appearance to the structure of the building has been provided by these types of parapet walls which are not so costly and easy to construct.

On the basis of the shape and configuration

Sloped Parapet Wall

These types of parapet walls have been constructed to provide slope roof structures, for example, trussed structures, industrial structures and others.

Stepped Parapet Wall

These are used for the inclined roof structure. In this context, the parapet wall has been constructed in the staircase-type design.

Flat Parapet Wall

These types of parapet walls have been used for the construction of the flat roof structure.

Curved Parapet Wall

These types of parapet walls are also known as arched parapet walls which are used in both inclined and flat rooftops.

To learn more, watch the following video tutorial.

Video Source: Civil Center

Some modern types

In recent days, there have been significant changes in the parapet walls. New innovative designs of the parapet walls have been seen in recent times. The bricks and concretes of the parapet walls have been replaced by modern materials which helps to create a lasting impression of the modern parapet walls.

Fibreglass and Steel Parapet Walls

These types of parapet walls help to provide a modern and sleek look as well as enable the users to connect the indoor and outdoor experience.

Metal Parapet Wall

These parapet walls are made from metals which helps to offer a good connection between the indoor and outdoor environments. There are many variations in these types of parapet walls as these are made with metals.