66 



The Country House 



owing to the tendency of water to back up under them. The width of a roof 

 shingle should not exceed 8 inches, owing to the tendency of a wide shingle to 



curl and crack. They should break 

 joints at least one and a quarter inches, 

 and no joints should be made within 

 less than an inch of a nail head. Galvan- 

 ised nails should be used, with two 

 nailings to a narrow and three nailings 

 to a wide shingle. 



The roof should be covered with 

 thick sheathing paper, stretched flat, well 

 lapped and nailed through tin washers. 

 The shingles can be laid on this or, 

 better, on seven-eighths furring strips, 

 leaving an air space between the 

 shingles and the roof covering. If this 

 space be filled in with mortar it makes 

 an excellent fireproofing. For the slate 

 covering the roof would naturally have 

 to be made stronger than for shingle. 



If slate is to be used, the roof 

 boarding should be matched to offer a 

 further obstacle to sifting snow. As 

 slate does not lie quite as tight as 

 shingles, this is necessary. As to the 



size of slate, there seems to be some difference of opinion. The preference, 

 however, leans toward the 9 x 18 inch, which is a medium size. Slate should 

 be laid 7 inches to the weather no more. If laid in mortar they are less liable 

 to breakage in nailing, and a cooler roof is also obtained. There should be 

 two nailings to each slate, galvanised nails being used. 



Slate, though an excellent fire- 

 proofing agent, is out of harmony with 

 the ordinary frame house. With the 

 formal Colonial or half-timber structure 

 it is not so noticeable as with shingle 

 walls and the like. In a locality where 

 considerable wood abounds, or where the 

 nearness to other structures makes the 

 flying spark a menace, the question of 

 the slate roof is not to be considered 

 lightly. Under such circumstances it is 

 unequalled by any other material. 



In a climate where snow is a rarity 

 the tile is an excellent roof covering. 



Entrance motive to house at Locus. Valley, LI. B.bb, j eff ^ f corrugat j on anc ] j t 



Cook & willard, architects. An excellent example of the i* r> i -i 



Elizabethan treatment in brick and stone IS Commonly Called Spanish tile. As 



Entrance to a brick house at Cambridge, Mass. The trim is 

 of wood, a common practice in Colonial work 



