HOUSE AND GARDEN 
August, 1911 
Slates of graduated size and thickness, varying in color, give un¬ 
limited possibilities for obtaining distinctive character in the 
appearance of the roof 
ing- criticism before it can make itself heard. That roof is there 
for an unmistakable purpose. It shelters a household with a 
“rooftree broad and high.” More than that, it breathes a sense 
of homelikeness and is a tangible evidence that the good old word 
“roof” is synonymous with home and hospitality. In its breadth 
and sweep there seems to be the motherliness of a brooding hen 
with wings outspread over her young. Severe simplicity gives 
not a suggestion of austerity and the proportions are so well 
balanced that the bearing walls appear quite sufficiently evident. 
From every point of view the house is dignified, restful and satis¬ 
fying. And here just a word of practicality. The rather unusual 
height of the ridge gives ample air space and assures a minimum 
temperature in summer in the sleeping rooms. There is room, too, 
for both an attic and a cockloft, which latter old Dr. Johnson 
defines as "the room"above the attic" quite forgetting that he has 
already committed himself to the statement that the attic “is the 
topmost room in the house.” 
While speaking of the height of ridges, a word of caution will 
not be amiss about the angles of roofs that they be neither too 
steep nor too squat for the structures they are meant to surmount. 
A nice sense of congruity must direct the designer in this matter. 
What would be highly suitable in one case would be egregiously 
hideous in another, showing plainly that the roof as well as the 
other parts of a building must be carefully planned to meet the 
requirements of each individual case. A roof suitable to one 
■fi- 
The spasmodic sky-line and confusing angles of this collection of 
buildings may serve as an example of what not to do when plan¬ 
ning a new building if unity and repose are to be obtained 
The charm of the English cottage roofs is due to their unbroken 
surface. Note the difference between the lines of the slate and 
thatch 
house cannot be adapted to another house of similar style without 
doing violence to the principles of proportion, while the divorcing 
of a roof from the architectural type to which it belongs, and 
clapping it on another with which it has no connection, is almost 
too reprehensible for words. Each type has been evolved in the 
course of years under its own peculiar conditions and along with 
it, as an integral part, has grown up its particular kind of roof. 
A great collection of gables on a Colonial mansion would be as 
incongruous as Julius Caesar in a tunic and toga with a beaver 
tile on his head, and a mansard on an old Dutch farmhouse 
would be manifestly absurd. And yet we sometimes see such 
things. In remodeling and alterations architects often accom¬ 
plish some of their best work by changing the angles and shapes 
of roofs and reconciling previous incongruities. Unfortunately, 
too, it must be admitted that the inexpert sometimes work their 
(Continued on page 120) 
The softness and flexibility of the thatch roof is sometimes simu¬ 
lated to advantage by laying shingles with varying but narrow 
spaces exposed to the weather. Albro & Lindeberg, architects 
