Practical hints to builders and those contemplating building / Facts worth considering relating to foundation, cellar, kitchen, chimney, cistern, brick-work, mortar, heating, ventilation, the roof, and many items of interest to builders.

by National Sheet Metal Roofing Co.

THE ROOF.

(For Finials, [see page 74].)

A roof for your house is indispensable, and because it is so, let it be a good one. No part of your house is subject to the same amount of exposure, and there is no part independent of its protection. If you have built for the personal comfort of yourself and family, do not slight the roof because cheap, plain material is the most convenient. There is really no economy in doing so. It is outside, to be sure, but, like the chimney, it is a necessity. As we cannot ignore it, we must try to make it, as a part of the house, attractive. No money spent on the house will add more to its selling value than that expended in taste and material for the roof.

The difference expended in favor of good material adds to every part of the structure. The roof is about the first thing the prospective purchaser sees. He cannot help it; it is right before his eyes. His first impressions are the hardest to overcome.

A good roof must be, first, rain-proof; second, fire-proof; third, light in weight; fourth, durable; fifth, ornamental; sixth, not liable to get out of order. You can have your house covered with such a roof, and not pass the limited boundaries of economy.

Read carefully the pages of this little book devoted to roofing materials and sundries.