LOCATING AND PLANNING POULTRY HOUSES 



17 



The poultry-house roof must, of course, be water- 

 tight, and should have sufficient pitch to carry off rain 

 promptly. A common mistake made by amateurs is to 

 provide too flat a roof. In such cases it is quite difficult 

 to make the joints entirely watertight without the lav- 

 ish use of roofing cement, and it is better to provide 

 a good slope in order to make certain that there will be 

 no trouble from this cause. 



Under ordinary conditions shed roofs are cheapest 

 and most practical up to a width o/ about sixteen feet. 

 Houses sixteen to twenty feet in width can be built with 

 shed roofs, but combination roofs are generally preferred 



FIG. 16 A SUBSTANTIAL, FRAME FOR SHED- 

 ROOF HOUSE 



This diagram shows in detail the ordinary 

 method of framing" a shed-roof house to be cov- 

 ered with tongue-and-groove siding. The use of 

 double timbers for sills, plates and corner studs is 

 optional. Reproduced from Ohio State University 

 Extension Bulletin. 



for wide houses, as they provide sufficient pitch without 

 making the front excessively high. 



Where a straw loft is to be provided, a gable roof is 

 most satisfactory, giving it approximately one-third 

 pitch. By one-third pitch is meant a roof in which the 

 perpendicular distance, or the "rise" from the top platf 

 to the ridge, is one-third the width of the house. For 

 example, one-third pitch in a building twelve feet wide, 

 would call for a ridge four feet higher than the top plate. 

 Shingles should not be used where the pitch is less than 

 one-third. Metal roofs are seldom 

 used, as they do not last long, are cold 

 in winter and hot in summer, and offer 

 no special advantages. 



In some sections of the country it 

 is customary to use unsurfaced sheath- 

 ing boards for the roof, but the prac- 

 tice is not truly economical. Prepared 

 roofing will wear better on smooth 

 surfaces; moreover, surfacing reduces 

 the boards practically to uniform thick- 

 ness, which is a * distinct advantage. 

 When unsurfaced boards are used 

 there often are sharp corners resulting 

 from joining boards of unequal thick- 

 ness, which will quickly cut through 

 the best of roofing fabric. The sheath- 

 ing should be looked over carefully be- 

 fore the roof is laid, and all sharp cor- 

 ners should be smoothed off with a 

 block plane if the trouble cannot be 



FIG. 17 FRAMING HOUSE FOR COMBINA- 

 NATION ROOF 



.Note method of tying front and rear rafters to 

 prevent spreading. In wide buildings many pre- 

 fer to use girders under the ridge, with supporting 

 posts. Reproduced from Ohio State University 

 Extension Bulletin. 



corrected in any other way. See to it also, that there- 

 are no nail heads sticking up, arid cover all knot holes 

 and weak places in the boards with pieces of tin. In 

 cold climates it pays to use T & G 

 boards for sheathing, as the open cracks 

 left between the edges of unmatched 

 boards will permit serious waste of heat. 



The great majority of poultrymen use 

 prepared roofing, and this material is 

 entirely satisfactory for the purpose, if 

 of good grade. It seldom pays to use 

 cheap roofing, especially tarred paper 

 in which the upper or weather side is 

 liable to shrink and draw away from the 

 nails, making a weak place in the roof 

 and causing its rapid deterioration. FIG. 18. PAPER 



There are various methods of finish- LINED WALL 

 ing the eaves of the roof, some of which are shown in 

 Figs. 21, 22, 24 and 34. A common method is to omit 

 the eaves altogether, as in Fig. 22, simply lapping the 

 roof down over the edges all around. This method of 

 construction results in all the roof water running down 

 the sides of the building, which may or may not be ob- 

 jectionable. It is a cheap and easy method and makes 



FIG. 19 PRACTICAL METHOD OF LOW COST CONSTRUCTION. 



