38 
House & Garden 
At the eaves there is a special problem caused by the neces¬ 
sity for accommodating straight shingles to the curves. The 
method is shoivn above 
In the open valleys a curved piece of boarding is fitted in 
before the shingles are nailed on. A sheet of copper or 
lead insures it against leaking 
SHINGLE AND THATCH FOR THE COTTAGE ROOF 
Described by GUSTAVE CARETTO 
Sketched by FRANK J. FORSTER 
The thatch simulation is successfully carried out with shingle in the curves and 
valleys of this roof. It covers the residence of Mr. Burrows at Hartsdale, N. Y.. 
of which A. J. Bodker was architect 
Photographs by Gillies 
Shingle thatch is the roof culmination of the 
cottage type of achitecture. With any other 
style this roof is out of place, for it calls pri¬ 
marily for simplicity and intimacy 
INSTINCTIVELY all men love a 
A cottage in a dell. It would seem 
to typify simplicity, intimacy and con¬ 
tentment—virtues that we crave in an 
age of complicated living and glacial 
indifference to the things that count. 
And so we visualize the cottage—a lit¬ 
tle dwelling beneath a thatched roof, 
a tiny giant with touseled hair. 
Wliile it is true that the cottage 
type of architecture has suffered many 
alleged improvements and modifica¬ 
tions, the roof of the cottage permits 
no such changes. Thatch, either in its 
old form or in the form of shingles 
laid to simulate thatch, is a sine qua 
non in satisfying cottage architecture. 
Shingle Thatching 
In the best style of 
shingle thatching, the 
shingles are laid 1 ^ 2 " 
to the weather, there¬ 
by making the thatch 
ten or twelve courses 
thick. This makes a 
heavy roof and, of 
course, a more ex¬ 
pensive roof than one 
on which the shingles 
are laid regularly. It 
has the advantage of 
preventing leaks, 
however, a danger 
current with shingle 
roofs where the wood 
warps under the heat 
of the sun, especially 
on the exposed curves 
of ridges and eaves. 
The choice of wood 
to use for this pur¬ 
pose is not restricted, 
although white and 
red cedar are prefer¬ 
able. For this sort of 
roofing cypress is too 
stiff. These shingles 
come in bundles of 250 each, and in 
length vary from 12" to 16", 18" and 
24". There is a varying width in the 
individual shingles, and those that are 
too wide the carpenter splits as he nails 
them on the furring. In the course of 
weathering the split becomes complete. 
The foundation for shingle thatching 
is composed of (1) the roof rafters 
themselves, which in this case should 
be especially heavy because of the 
weight of the many courses of shin¬ 
gles, augmented in rainy weather by 
the quantities of water the wood ab¬ 
sorbs; (2) preferably a roof-boarding 
or sheathing should cover the rafters 
or forms, following the curves set by 
them; (3) a heavy ply 
roofing felt, on which 
the thatch is nailed. 
E.we Treatment 
The shingles are, as 
has been noted, laid 
in courses about IE 2 " 
to the weather, re¬ 
sulting in a very 
heavy roof. At the 
eaves there is a spe¬ 
cial problem, caused 
by the necessity of 
accommodating the 
straight pieces of 
wood to the curve. 
Here the shingles, 
though of varying 
widths on the roof 
itself, are uniformly 
cut very narrow, run¬ 
ning from a scant 
inch, or even less, to 
about 2". By over¬ 
lapping them the 
problem of the curve 
is overcome, and since 
so many shingles are 
used—they are some¬ 
times six deep—there 
