[CHAPTER XII.]
TOOL HOUSES, GARDEN SHELTERS, ETC.
Fig. 137.—End Elevation of Rustic Tool House.
Fig. 138.—Side Elevation of Rustic Tool House.
For the small rustic tool house shown by [Figs. 137] and [138] the materials used are what are known as "slabs" or "rough planks." These are cheap, and have, when judiciously handled, a good picturesque effect. These slabs are the outside slices cut from logs of rough timber. These slabs generally retain their bark (except in the case of oak), and in most districts they will commonly be of elm. Their thickness and outlines are necessarily irregular: one end will frequently be narrower than the other; and this will account for the arrangement seen in the walls and door of the tool house. They are to be bought at saw-mills, and often sold at a fire-wood price. Where their cost is not sensibly increased by carriage, no other material comes so cheaply for building rough sheds. The ordinary country way of using them is as in the horizontal section, [Fig. 139]. This plan, however, is not suitable for the present , purpose. In so small a structure, rough planks on the inner side would take up too much space It is, therefore, proposed to straighten the edges, either by sawing or by chopping with the axe, according to circumstances, and lining their inner sides with thin board. If the cost be not objected to, ½ in. match-boarding will be neatest for this purpose; if economy is an object, the boards of packing-boxes, bought from the grocer, might suffice. There are, it will be seen, three sides only to be lined.