74 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



If the roof beneath them be tight they 

 cannot dry so readily on the under side as 

 they would if it were not tight, they there- 

 fore decay. The boarding of a roof should 

 therefore be open. One builder of our ac- 

 quaintance recommends roofs to be board- 

 ed with boards only four inches wide, and 

 these laid three inches apart. 



In such a case shingles laid upon them 

 would have a chance to dry on the under- 

 side when they become damp or wet, 

 which is pretty often the case. 



Since writing the above, the following 

 from the Rural New Yorker has come to 

 hand. We shall recur to the subject of 

 "Roofs and Roofing" again, and we invite 

 communications from others in regard to 

 the matter. It is one of no small impor- 

 tance. — Maine Farmer. 



"As shingles are in general use in this 

 State, and will be for some time to come, 

 it is important to know the best method of 

 making and laying them. I have been a 

 practical builder for a number of years, 

 and from my own observation, I think 

 there are great errors committed in making 

 shingles, and in roof-boarding to receive 

 them. It is a very common mistake in 

 making shingles to cut down the tips to the 

 thickness of a mere shaving, and from 

 one-fourth to half an inch narrower than 

 at the buts. Now, in width this order 

 should be reversed, and every shingle 

 made one-fourth of an inch widest at the 

 top, and the thickness of the latter, should 

 be three-sixteenths for a shingle eighteen 

 inches in length. The butt should be at 

 least three-eighths of an inch in thickness 

 — a half would be better — as a thin shin- 

 gle becomes very brittle when only partly 

 worn. A shingle should never exceed 4 

 inches in width for a good roof, as a wide 

 one will crack at the butt much worse than 

 a narrow one. Roof boards should not be 

 over three inches in width, and are better 

 an inch and one-fourth thick. 



"Many still adhere to the old custom of 

 placing the roof-boards close together, and 

 I have known some to match them, think- 

 ing to have the boards carry off the water 

 if shingles would not. This must be call- 

 ed pound foolishness, as shingles made of 

 most timber would soon decay, especially 

 if shaded by trees as many houses are. — 

 I have made good roofs with boards six 

 inches wide, leaving the same space be- 



tween them, and nailing the shingles to 

 them near each edge. Shingles shaved 

 from good pine, if made in the form I have 

 recommended, undoubtedly stand at the 

 head of wooden roofing. Sawed pine shin- 

 gles also make an excellent roof, if board- 

 ed so as to give them plenty of air from 

 the under side, and each space between 

 the butts about one-fourth of an inch. — 

 Cedar, chestnut, hemlock, &c, also, make 

 a very good roof. 



" Guilford, m Y., Nov. 1857." 



For a number of years past we have 

 urged our carpenters to board the roof in 

 such a manner that the shingles may have 

 a chance to dry. Lay the boards apart 

 we tell them, or, "what is still better, make 

 use of strips four or five inches wide, that 

 the shingles may soon dry after a storm. 

 We are in the practice of building annu- 

 ally, but we find it quite difficult to per- 

 suade common workmen to lay on the 

 boards so open as to let in the air freely. 

 They incline to press them together as 

 close as a floor is pressed where grain is 

 to be threshed. 



We are aware that many master car- 

 penters are in favor of laying the boards 

 apart; still their workmen hold back and 

 prefer to lay all the boards as close as pos- 

 sible. A few weeks ago we gave most ex- 

 plicit diret tions how to lay the boards on 

 the roof of a building, and the master car-^ 

 penter agreed 1o have the work done in 

 the manner here advocated ; but in his ab- 

 sence the directions were totally disregard- 

 ed ; and we, on our return from a journey, 

 were left to sigh and moan at the neglect 

 of our positive orders. We must pay for 

 this work because we did not hire a man 

 to stand with a whip over the stupid men 

 who were too old to catch a good idea. 



We incline to think from actual trials, 

 that shingles will last at least one-third 

 longer when the boards under them are 

 quite open, than when they are pressed 

 close together, as many careless workmen 

 press them. Let the employer see to this 

 in season, or he may be cheated with a 

 poor roof, though his materials are good. 



It is not necessary to lay new shingles 

 once in ten years in case the workmen 

 have any brains. 



Closely connected with this system of 

 boarding the roof, is the laying of the shin- 

 gles on the boards. It was an old rule 



