Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Roofing
roofing your house
gives it the final shape
it will wear, and of course lets you start keeping things
dry inside. Any number of styles and procedures are
acceptable, but I'll outline the one most used by most
settlers after sawn lumber became available, which
incidentally is also the simplest and most practical.
A 45-degree (12/12) pitch was common because it
was easy to figure, was steep enough to shed rain and
snow but not too steep to work on, and gave headroom
in the loft. The kids were stowed away up here, where
wind whistled between the shakes in winter and only
a little warmth found its way up from below.
Gable ends were sometimes just more logs, tapered
and shortened to the slope with log purlins lengthwise
and no rafters. This was done throughout the country,
mostly before sawn lumber became available for the
gables. The classic but unrestored Henderson cabin,
near Hemmed-in-Hollow in north Arkansas, was
built this way. This method requires more logs and
results in a very heavy roof.
seasoned, tight-fitting oak, locust, or hickory peg and
cut it off flush; or you can bore a small hole and use a
steel pin, such as b-inch rebar. This is to hold the top
course of logs against any outward thrusts. The set-
tlers often used a very heavy, wide top plate front and
back to hold the outward push of the rafters, and
pegged the ends this way. But even a big beam will
bow out as the roof weight settles, with no chords to
hold the rafters together at the eaves. Of course, this
Ridgepoles and Rafters
A ridgepole was rarely used because the slats that the
shakes were nailed to served the same bracing pur-
pose. The rafters were cut to fit together at the peak,
and were braced temporarily until these slats could be
nailed down. Earlier cabins had mortise-and-tenon
joints or were half-lapped and pegged at the peak.
Before you begin with the rafters, bore an auger
hole down and through the top plates, right in the
notches, well into the top end logs (I use a two-inch
auger or expandable wood bit). Now drive in a well-
John and I peg pole rafters into the top plate.
