Fig. 133.—Front Elevation of Verandah.
The lower cross-rail is placed at a convenient height for leaning upon. At a height of 5 ft. 6 in. caps are formed by simply nailing four pieces of quartered stuff round each post. The diagonal braces which start from above the capitals pass in front of the upper cross-bars, to which and to the lintel they are nailed. [Fig. 133] sufficiently shows how the panels between the pairs of posts and the frieze between the upper cross-bar and lintel are filled with open-work of small crooked branches, which contrasts in a pleasing manner with the straight pieces of the framework. This open-work may be made available for, and will be found useful as, a support for climbing plants.
In so narrow a structure the rafters alone will suffice to keep all in place, without anything of the nature of a tie-beam being called for. These rafters will be of half-stuff, and for the given width a length of 5 ft. will be enough; this will allow of such a projection beyond the lintel as will give the eaves a width of 6 in.; the pitch will be rather less than a true pitch, but amply steep for the purpose. A piece of half-stuff nailed to the wall will support the upper ends of the rafters.
In forming the roof it is proposed to board over the whole space upon the rafters, and to nail the tiles or other covering upon the boards. The inside may be lined beneath the boarding with rush matting. This is an inexpensive material; its brownish-green hue is pleasing to the eye, and it is so inartificial in appearance as to harmonise well with the natural wood. After fixing the rafters, the matting is to be stretched tightly across them before the boards are nailed down. It is probable that the rafters will be arranged with intervals of about a foot between them, and to hold the matting more closely to the boards a strip of split rod may be nailed up the middle of each space, or strips may be nailed so as to form a simple ornamental pattern; an intricate one will not be desirable, as fixing it will be overhead work.
Fig. 134.—Front Elevation of Glazed Verandah for Grape Culture.
A neat, but less characteristic, ceiling may be formed by painting the boards a suitable colour and slightly ornamenting them with split strips of rod. In this case the boards should be planed. None will be better for this purpose than ¾ in. flooring boards, and these are commonly sold planed on one side. Other ways of lining the roofs of rustic buildings are discussed in Chapter XIII. For summer-houses thatch makes a good-looking roof, but a thatched verandah would scarcely be desirable unless attached to a thatched cottage. Practically the choice lies between shingles, metal, and tile or slate. A metal roof is, undoubtedly, that most easily fixed by the beginner; black sheet iron looks better than galvanised, and must be kept painted. As a matter of taste, metal looks thin and poor, but it becomes less objectionable when painted; a deep, dull red would be the colour to be preferred. Perhaps, of all available coverings, nothing will look better than tiles, as drawn. Red or buff tiles will in themselves look best, but the choice must, to an extent, be influenced by the general covering of the house. It may be, if that is of slate, that small slates will come in most appropriately; but whichever of these coverings is used, the best finish against the wall will be with a "flashing" of metal, as shown.