<b><b>Our changing climate and new attitudes on design and density are prompting new ideas in roof specification. Andrew Leech reports</b></b><br><b>As well as being the icing on the kerbside appeal cake, roofs have to conform to a hail of requirements such as PPG3, Part L, Codes of Practice, environmental compatibility, energy efficiency and so on. Plus they hold one of the most important keys to unlocking the means by which we control the rainwater that causes so much flooding. </b><br><b>It has been suggested that currently 10% of UK homes are vulnerable to flooding and it is pretty certain the problem will get worse. Consequently the Building Research Establishment is embarked upon an 18-month Partners in Innovation initiative to consider best practice in roof design. It will also re-examine robust details in relation to building for such climatic changes. </b><br><b>The initiative is focussed on the Tyndall Centre&amp;’s UKCIP02 (United Kingdom Climate Impact Programme) climate change scenarios launched in May by DEFRA. This makes quite dramatic weather projections for periods up to 2020, 2040, 2060 and 2080.</b><br><b>The way in which houses and other buildings impact on the environment will be studied against a background of the pertinent Codes of Practice that currently require …