An excellent form for a small structure is that shown in Fig. 393. This has a hip-roof, which is the only essential difference between it and the types already shown.

Fig. 393.

Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square,

Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Hinges, Painting, in Part V., and look up any other references.

This roof is somewhat more difficult to make well than the simple kinds, but is not beyond the skill of the amateur. Up to the plates the construction is the same as that already shown. In this roof, however, the ridge-board is short and the end rafters (called hip-rafters) incline towards it (Fig- 393a). .Laying out the upper bevels of these rafters will require careful planning. After you have succeeded in laying them out, cutting the bevels at the ends, and fitting them in place, the shorter jack-rafters can readily be put in place.

Fig. 393a.

Fig. 394.

Fig. 395.

The shingling is more difficult at the corners than in the other roofs shown, as the shingles must be cut. It is well to cover each hip with a line of shingles, laid parallel to the hip and along each side of it. Boards can be used to cover the hips, as shown in one of the illustrations of " Cottage Row."

Another form, embodying the same roof construction, but larger and correspondingly more difficult, is shown in Fig. 394.

A small cottage for summer use (Fig. 395) is not more difficult than the cases already shown, except in the matter of size.

Fig. 396. End Elevation.

Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Hinges, Painting, in Part V., and look up any other references.

The process of staking out and setting the foundation has been already described under A Workshop, pages 259-264.

The frame can be built upon the same general principle as shown in Fig. 389, the dimensions of the stock depending upon the size of the house ; but the directions given in these chapters are intended only for small structures. The sills should be 4" x 6" or 6" x 6", the corner-posts can be 4" x 4" or 4" x 6," the floor-timbers and rafters 2" x 6"', although, if the house is quite small, 2" x 4" will do for the rafters, which can be braced by " collar beams," or simply horizontal pieces of board nailed across in the upper part of the roof.

Arrange the studding according to the doors and windows. As this house is not to be lathed and plastered, it is not essential that the studding should be at any exact distance apart.

The essential difference between the frame of this house and that shown in Fig. 389 consists in the projection of the second-story floor-timbers over the piazza, the ends resting upon an outer plate on top of the piazza posts (Fig. 396). The arrangement of the attic floor-beams, the rafters, and the side-plates is shown in Fig.

The frame for the piazza floor can be arranged as follows: Fasten a strip of 2' x 4" joist along the side, spiking it through into the sill. On this fasten an arrangement of floor-timbers, such as is shown in Fig. 398, the inner cross-beam and lengthways stringers resting in gains, as shown in Fig. 399. The details of the arrangement can be varied according to the height you wish the piazza floor to be relatively to the floor inside.

Fig. 397.

For a quite small structure, or for a temporary one, it will answer to make this piazza-floor system of 2" x 6" stock simply sawed square and spiked together, on the principle shown in Fig. 378, but for a good house which you wish to be permanent, it is better to put a little more labour into the piazza.

Fig. 398.

Another way is to have the main sills extend under the piazza as well as under the house proper. This is a more thorough way as regards stiffness, but extra pains must be taken to pie-vent the water working down on the sills where the house and piazza join, as this will tend to rot this portion of the sills. With this arrangement of sills an extra sill, or cross-sill, should be added under the juncture of the body of the house and the piazza. The ends of this sill can rest in gains cut in the end-sills, and the middle can be supported by one or more posts.

Fig. 399.

For the stairs, which can be put wherever you wish, take two pieces of plank, 2" x 9" or 10", and of sufficient length. Having determined the points for the top and the bottom of the stairs (by laying off on the floor in the same way as for the rafters, page 268), lay one of the planks on the floor in the proper position and mark the notches for the steps and the bevels for the ends. After these " notch-boards " or string pieces have been cut and put in place, you can easily get out and nail on the " risers" and " treads." Examination of any common stairs will show you how to arrange these details without difficulty. You can mark on a stick the height from the top of the lower floor to the top of the upper. Divide this distance, on the stick, into as many parts as you wish to have steps, and you can use the stick as a gauge by which to determine the points for sawing the notches for the steps.1 It is best to have the treads not less than 9" wide, and 10" is better, while 7 1/2" or 8" will do for the risers. A "header," or cross-piece, must be securely fastened between the second-story floor-beams where they are cut off to make the opening at the head of the stairs.

The partitions inside require no directions, being simply made of studding to which sheathing is nailed.

The remaining details do not differ from those of the preceding cases, and the interior fittings you can arrange without further instructions. A regular brick chimney will, of course, be a desirable feature if you can afford it.

By the slight modification of having the roof overhang on each side, two piazzas will be provided and space given for larger chambers (Fig. 400).

1 To find the number of steps for a given situation, find the height, as just shown, from floor to floor, 102" for example. Assume, for trial, a satisfactory height for each step, as 7". Divide 102 by 7, which gives 14 4/7 for the number of steps. To make the number even, call it 14, and you have only to divide 102 by 14 to get the exact height of each step. 19

The construction differs from that of the design just shown only in the arrangement of the framing for the second story.

Fig. 400.

The floor-beams of the second story will overlap at each end and the rafters be correspondingly longer, and the end-plates can be omitted and the end-studding continued up to the rafters, except where interrupted by the window-spaces. This house, like the others, can be clapboarded, shingled, battened, or sheathed, as you may prefer.