tinwhistler wrote:

This finding at Google-Books may be a starter for the necessary
research:

Roof Framing - Page 239
by Marshall Gross - Reference - 1984
In Chapter 12 we'll cover the irregular California roof. It's like this
roof
except that the pitch on the addition is different from the pitch of
the main ...

http://books.google.com/books?q=%22C...e=UTF-8&tab=gp

A peek at the Table of Contents of the Gross work (link above) shows
that Ch 7, beginning at p. 233, has an extended discussion of the
"California Roof." I think it probably refers to a low-pitched roof,
suitable for a climate not having a great deal of rainfall but enough
to warrant a pitch in the roof. Living in San Diego in a townhouse
having a pitched roof, I'm grateful for that pitch even though we only
get 10" of rain per year. Flat roofs here are known to have leakage
problems frequently.

Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego