Wood-working for Beginners: A Manual for Amateurs

by Charles G. Wheeler

Nail the upright cleats at the edges with 1½" nails, driving two into each board in the way shown in the cut, bearing in mind that the cleats must all be on the inside of the house, and also to have the tongues of the boards uppermost when the house is put together. Mark the front edge of each side in some way to prevent any mistake. The reason for putting the tongues upward and the grooves downward is because the joints will shed the water better, as otherwise each groove would be a little trough into which the rain could soak. Measure 5' 6" from the bottom on the front edge of each side and 4' 6" on the back edge. Draw a straight line on the outside between these points and it will give the slant for the roof. Saw the boards and cleats by this line and then fit and nail the top cleats as in Fig. 365, or nail the top cleats first and saw the boards off by them.

Next make the back in the same way, setting the cleats 1¾" away from the edges. Leave out the boards at the window-space.

Make the shutter, and trim off its tongued and grooved edges (see Paring, etc.) before nailing the back of the house together, as you can thus determine more easily the space to be left open. Also trim off the tongued edge of the board coming next below the shutter. Leave the open space a little wider than the shutter (say ¼" wider) to allow for possible swelling of the boards. When you nail the cleats on the drop-shutter, be sure to use nails long enough to clinch (see Nailing), or use screws (see Screws).

The front is to be made in the same way, the width of the door-space being 27½", and of the boarding at each side, 21¼". Have the two inner cleats project about an inch inside the edge of the doorway for the door to hit against when shut (Fig. 367), and "toe" or clinch the nails for these cleats, or use a few screws, so that the slamming of the door will not loosen them.

Now the four sides are ready to put together. Find a spot as nearly level as you can for your house. Do not, however, put it in a hollow where the floor will be flooded with water when it rains. Hold up the front and one side in the right position, press them closely together at the corner, and drive in a couple of nails to hold them until you can get the other parts in place. Then fit on the other side and the back in the same way. Try the four corners with the steel square, and when you have them right nail all the corners strongly with 2½" nails. If you have no large square, measure the diagonals with a stick, altering the angles at the corners until the diagonals are equal. Toe the nails at the corners, and, in fact, if you can do it neatly, it will be stronger to toe the nails throughout the work.

Now get out boards 6' long for the roof, to run from side to side. When you nail them on have them project 1" all around. Cover the roof with roofing-or sheathing-paper. Lay it in strips from side to side, beginning at the back and letting the second strip overlap the first, as shingles are laid. Three strips will cover the roof once. Of course you can cover it with as many layers as you wish to pay for. Fasten the paper with roofing nails or tacks. Drive them close together, but only where the strips lap and at the edges of the roof. You can bend the edges of the paper down over the edge of the roof to cover the joint underneath and nail neat strips of wood outside to cover the edges of the paper, or you can simply nail the paper around the edge of the roof.

In making the door (Fig. 368) clinch the nails which fasten the cleats, or use screws, and trim off the tongued and grooved edges, as with the drop-shutter.

Now hang the door and drop-shutter with two strap-hinges each. Place the door and shutter exactly in position (shut), and tack them temporarily in place with a few nails, or wedge them. Then carefully placing each hinge so that the pin on which it turns is just in line with the crack between the door and the door-frame, mark points for the screws. Bore holes for the screws and fasten the hinges in place (see Screws).

Put a latch, a catch, or a hasp and padlock on the door, and a hasp or screw-eye and hook on the inside for the shutter. Also fix a brace to hold the shutter when lifted, or you can arrange a rope to pass up from the outside of the shutter and around a pulley to the inside of the house, where it can hang down and be used to hold the shutter up by fastening it round a cleat or a couple of nails.