On 22/05/2017 09:50, Tim Watts wrote:
Very hypothetical...

http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Gambrel-Roof

How strong is that? There must be some not insignificant spreading
forces going through those gusset plates.



I am wondering - as I am musing plans for my workshop, long term project
as the house is nearly done (yea!).

Going for 15m2 to use permitted development (near 2 boundary fences,
wooden, so limited to 15m2 and 2.5m roof height).

In the wikihow, the top of the roof was way above the top of the walls.
So, how will that work if you are going to be limited to 2.5m total
height? Will you have dwarf walls, with almost the whole structure being
roof? The height of the roof part is a function of the width of the
building and the angles used, but it looks about half to two-thirds of
the width being spanned.

So, if your workshop is 5x3m, your roof height is around 1.5-2m, leaving
you not much vertical wall at all, and much of the interior with reduced
headroom.


I have always thought a gambrel roof would look pretty

Won't it look a bit like a Nissen Hut?