HOUSE AND GARDEN 
January, 
I9D 
should be observed with slate roofs, although, as with tiles, slates 
are sometimes fastened to battens on the rafters without using 
sheathing. Ample ventilation should always be provided in every 
kind of roof, but it is especially important that a slate roof should 
have ventilation to prevent decay, to which it is liable when left 
without ventilation. Although the different sorts of slate afford 
as great a variety of color as do tiles, the usual classification is 
"black,” “red" or “green.” Cost is governed by color, size and 
thickness. The 
sizes of slate 
are known by 
n umber i 11 
America, a con¬ 
venient method 
of designation, 
if not as quaint 
as the old Welsh 
custom of nam¬ 
ing them “large 
ladies,” “duch¬ 
esses,” “coun¬ 
tesses,” and the 
like. “R e d" 
slate is usually 
the most expen- 
si v e; “green” 
comes next, and 
“black” is the 
cheapest. Under 
ordinary condi¬ 
tions, a “red” slate roof covering will cost from 18 to 22 cents per 
square foot; “green,” 12 to 15 cents, and “black.” from 10 to 12 
cents. 
For shingle roofs the two best woods are cypress and cedar. 
The shingles may be had either split or sawn, but the former are 
preferable, from considerations of texture, which will be men¬ 
tioned in a subsequent paragraph, and are also apt to be more 
durable. They vary somewhat in price locally, but the best split 
cypress shingles can ordinarily be had for $25.00 per thousand. 
They are 6 inches by 24, and are £4 of an inch thick. The num¬ 
ber required for covering a given area of roof will depend upon 
how many inches are laid to the weather. Seven inches to the 
weather may be taken as a fair average in America, but a much 
finer effect can be obtained by exposing less. 
Some unfavorable criticism will probably be made of the in¬ 
clusion of thatch among roofing possibilities. The two objections 
usually urged against it are its inflammability and its permeability. 
Notwithstanding these objections it is often used on modern 
houses in England with excellent results from both the strictly 
material and architectural points of view. One of the foremost 
London architects, in speaking recently of such roofs, stated that 
properly laid thatch was no more inflammable than shingles, if 
as much so, and that it was absolutely impervious to the weather, 
under ordinary conditions, and was not even affected by melting 
snow lying upon it— 
surely a searching test 
of its powers of re¬ 
sistance. This architect 
has frequently used 
marsh reeds (not straw ) 
tightly bound down 
with courses of sally 
rods or withes near to¬ 
gether. Architecturally 
considered, few will dis¬ 
pute that the effect of a 
thatch roof is excellent. The main difficulty about having one is 
that we have very few competent thatchers. 
For gambrel, hipped, gabled, jerkinhead roofs and mansards, 
if anyone still wishes to have so graceless a covering to their 
house, what has been said before with reference to materials 
available has equal application. 
Although the texture and color of the roof come under a 
separate head of consideration, they must be studied in connec¬ 
tion with ma¬ 
terials, and re¬ 
sults must be 
arrived at by 
their aid. If a 
copper roof is 
laid over paral- 
1 e 1 vertical 
wooden “rolls” 
nailed to the 
sheathing, the 
agreeable effect 
may often be 
heightened and 
a distinct note 
of interest add¬ 
ed to the roof. 
The same sort 
of wooden 
"rolls” ought to 
be used with a 
lead roof, as 
this method of laying provides more play for expansion. Iron 
nails ought not to be used with lead, as they cause corrosion. 
Owing to its great ductility and the ease with which it may be 
dressed and bossed into corners and irregular-shaped places, lead 
usually presents a sympathetic effect. The color, too, is good 
after short exposure to the weather. 
One distressing feature about so many of our tile roofs is their 
smug, close-cropped aspect, due partly to the selection of the 
material and partly to the manner in which it is put on. A great 
many of our “shingle” tiles have a slightly vitrified surface, which 
is an advantage in withstanding the action of the weather, but not 
essential. “Sand-finished” tiles, which are simply baked like 
brick, and have no vitrified surface, have been found to answer 
the purpose admirably, are more sympathetic and varied in color 
to begin with, and soon take on an agreeable diversity of hue that 
the other tiles never acquire. If it is expedient to use the smooth 
tile with vitreous surface, it is well to put in a great many “sec¬ 
onds" with their random discoloration, and occasional tiles may 
be laid upside down so that the light kiln marks of the stringers 
may help to break up the deadly monotony. 
In laying shingles, it is an excellent plan for the improvement 
of texture to “butt" them at an angle of forty-five degrees. This 
can be done “on the job” with a pivot knife. It gives a more 
massive effect, makes the shingle appear thicker than it is in 
reality, softens shadows 
and produces the agree¬ 
able matted texture that 
is so admired in English 
cottage roofs. Another 
device for producing 
agreeable texture is to 
lay the shingles with 
less exposure to the 
weather — about four 
i n c h e s — w h i c h, of 
( Cont. on page 53) 
The roof of “Glen Fern” Is a sincere indication of plan through the medium of the skyline. A rustic simplicity and 
directness in the gradations characterizes both the roof lines and roof covering 
■< —I' 
