I'm building the "Better Homes & Garden's" storybook playhouse for the
gchildren.

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/store/product...did=prod500272

The plan calls for bevelled siding to be used for roofing material, but is
not too specific about how to leakproof the ridge, instructing only that a
ridge cap be fashioned from pieces of 1x4. There is roofing felt (and
plywood of course) under the siding.

If the ridge cap is to be leakproof, how exactly do I make it, and how do I
attach it to the roof?

The small figurines on the top of the roof (see link above) are cut from
plywood and set between two 2x2s, which are in turn "attached" to the ridge
cap. Again, how best to do this without producing leaks.

Thanks.

George

"George" wrote in message
...
I'm building the "Better Homes & Garden's" storybook playhouse for the
gchildren.

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/store/product...did=prod500272

The plan calls for bevelled siding to be used for roofing material, but is
not too specific about how to leakproof the ridge, instructing only that a
ridge cap be fashioned from pieces of 1x4. There is roofing felt (and
plywood of course) under the siding.

If the ridge cap is to be leakproof, how exactly do I make it, and how do
I attach it to the roof?

Typically two boards a simply butted together and nailed, laid over the
ridge, and attached with nails with the seam facing away from the prevailing
winds. Alternatively, a dado can be cut in one board, the other board
inserted into the dado and nailed--the board with the dado is generally a
little wider than the other so that they look the same width when assembled.
It wouldn't hurt to run a bead of construction adhesive along the joint
prior to nailing.

I cannot tell from the picture for sure but if you have a 12/12 pitch the
boards can probably just be nailed together. If the pitch is significantly
different from 90 degrees a bevel should be cut, or the dado beveled, so
that the boards lay on the roofing instead of sticking up with a space at
the ridge.

John

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in message
ink.net...

Typically two boards a simply butted together and nailed, laid over the
ridge, and attached with nails with the seam facing away from the
prevailing winds. Alternatively, a dado can be cut in one board, the other
board inserted into the dado and nailed--the board with the dado is
generally a little wider than the other so that they look the same width
when assembled. It wouldn't hurt to run a bead of construction adhesive
along the joint prior to nailing.

I cannot tell from the picture for sure but if you have a 12/12 pitch the
boards can probably just be nailed together. If the pitch is significantly
different from 90 degrees a bevel should be cut, or the dado beveled, so
that the boards lay on the roofing instead of sticking up with a space at
the ridge.

John

Thanks John.

Yes, it is 12x12 pitch, which would make it really easy to butt together the
1x4s at 90 degrees.
Wouldn't nails through the ridge cap provide a channel for water entry?
Maybe I'm overworrying.

George

"George" wrote in
:


"John Grossbohlin" wrote in
message ink.net...

Typically two boards a simply butted together and nailed, laid over
the ridge, and attached with nails with the seam facing away from the
prevailing winds. Alternatively, a dado can be cut in one board, the
other board inserted into the dado and nailed--the board with the
dado is generally a little wider than the other so that they look the
same width when assembled. It wouldn't hurt to run a bead of
construction adhesive along the joint prior to nailing.

I cannot tell from the picture for sure but if you have a 12/12 pitch
the boards can probably just be nailed together. If the pitch is
significantly different from 90 degrees a bevel should be cut, or the
dado beveled, so that the boards lay on the roofing instead of
sticking up with a space at the ridge.

John

Thanks John.

Yes, it is 12x12 pitch, which would make it really easy to butt
together the 1x4s at 90 degrees.
Wouldn't nails through the ridge cap provide a channel for water
entry? Maybe I'm overworrying.

George


You could use a little adhesive roofing caulk under the ridge cap, where
you expect the nails to penetrate.

All roofs leak, at least at the shingle level. Shingles, and their
brothers, are really there to protect the roofing felt (tar paper or
similar), whose job it is to shed water downward.

Now this stuff about dealing with ice dams is something you're going to
have to deal with a Northerner about. To a Californian, it's pretty
much theoretical stuff. It snowed here once, about 5 years ago. We had
some hail this spring for 15 minutes.

Now fires & earthquakes, I can design for...

Patriarch

George wrote: If the ridge cap is to be leakproof, how exactly do I
make it, and how do I
attach it to the roof?

The small figurines on the top of the roof (see link above) are cut
from
plywood and set between two 2x2s, which are in turn "attached" to the
ridge
cap. Again, how best to do this without producing leaks.


Aww, that's cute. We always laid a strip of 30 lb. felt along the ridge
under the caps. Then, just like your main roof, some "starter" caps are
nailed in place starting at the lee side of the house(3/4 length, and
wide enough to hide the felt). Alternating the ridge lap of the caps,
nail them about an inch behind the desired exposure, so the next cap
covers the nails. These ridge nails are long enough to penetrate the
substrate. Final caps get a dab of caulking on the nailheads. This area
of the roof normally doesn't see much water, as it drains away quickly,
so I wouldn't worry too much about your 2x attachment. Nail right
through the ridgecaps, I say. Try not to split 'em! Tom

An ex-northern roofer.

Patriarch wrote:
....
All roofs leak, at least at the shingle level. Shingles, and their
brothers, are really there to protect the roofing felt (tar paper or
similar), whose job it is to shed water downward.
....

Old, traditional, wood shingle roofs were laid on open decking w/ no
felt/paper. They will keep a building water tight just fine...our house
has been that way for 90 years+ now. It gets a little wind-blown fine
snow in the winter, but never enough to be serious...

George wrote:

....
Wouldn't nails through the ridge cap provide a channel for water entry?
Maybe I'm overworrying.

You're overworrying... W/ a ridge cap of either wood shingles or
metal, they're face nailed, anyway. Just use a galvanized (or SS if you
really don't want any staining) 4d and nail away...

Duane Bozarth wrote in news:42C15ADF.15CB6C12
@swko.dot.net:

Patriarch wrote:
...
All roofs leak, at least at the shingle level. Shingles, and their
brothers, are really there to protect the roofing felt (tar paper or
similar), whose job it is to shed water downward.
...

Old, traditional, wood shingle roofs were laid on open decking w/ no
felt/paper. They will keep a building water tight just fine...our house
has been that way for 90 years+ now. It gets a little wind-blown fine
snow in the winter, but never enough to be serious...

And there's a reason for that: They need to dry from underneath as well,
or they rot.

I am continually amazed at the creativity of our forebearers, what they
were able to do in the days before hardware stores and home centers, with
local materials.

And I'm waiting for Andy to write one of his essays on the use of natural
materials in pre-Industrial Britain, and enlighten us on the various kinds
of bitumen used, and why.

;-)

Patriarch

Patriarch wrote:

Duane Bozarth wrote in news:42C15ADF.15CB6C12
@swko.dot.net:

Patriarch wrote:
...
All roofs leak, at least at the shingle level. Shingles, and their
brothers, are really there to protect the roofing felt (tar paper or
similar), whose job it is to shed water downward.
...

Old, traditional, wood shingle roofs were laid on open decking w/ no
felt/paper. They will keep a building water tight just fine...our house
has been that way for 90 years+ now. It gets a little wind-blown fine
snow in the winter, but never enough to be serious...

And there's a reason for that: They need to dry from underneath as well,
or they rot.

....

Which is why, if I had done what OP is, I'd have laid the roofing
directly w/o the plywood...I'm surprised the plans called for solid
decking in this application.

"Patriarch" wrote in message
. 97.136...
All roofs leak, at least at the shingle level. Shingles, and their
brothers, are really there to protect the roofing felt (tar paper or
similar), whose job it is to shed water downward.

Um... you sure about that? For the most part shingles don't leak even
without roofing felt. It has been done that way for hundreds of years.

-j

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 09:45:21 -0700, the opaque "J"
spake:

"Patriarch" wrote in message
.97.136...
All roofs leak, at least at the shingle level. Shingles, and their
brothers, are really there to protect the roofing felt (tar paper or
similar), whose job it is to shed water downward.

Um... you sure about that? For the most part shingles don't leak even
without roofing felt. It has been done that way for hundreds of years.

And with thatching/reeds/palm fronds (sans felt paper) for thousands
of years before that.

--
A lot of folks can't understand how we came
to have an oil shortage here in America.

Well, there's a very simple answer...nobody
bothered to check the oil; We just didn't
know we were getting low.

The reason for that is purely geographical
- our OIL is located in Alaska, California,
Oklahoma and Texas.

Our DIPSTICKS are located in Washington, DC.

Larry Jaques wrote in
:

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 09:45:21 -0700, the opaque "J"
spake:

"Patriarch" wrote in message
6.97.136...
All roofs leak, at least at the shingle level. Shingles, and their
brothers, are really there to protect the roofing felt (tar paper or
similar), whose job it is to shed water downward.

Um... you sure about that? For the most part shingles don't leak even
without roofing felt. It has been done that way for hundreds of years.

And with thatching/reeds/palm fronds (sans felt paper) for thousands
of years before that.


If you use sufficient layers, yes. Roofing felt in lieu of heavier, more
expensive, or thicker materials.

Or so I've been led to believe.

So Larry, how do you feel about roofing with kindling?

Patriarch

"George" wrote in message
.. .

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in message
ink.net...

Typically two boards a simply butted together and nailed, laid over the
ridge, and attached with nails with the seam facing away from the
prevailing winds. Alternatively, a dado can be cut in one board, the
other board inserted into the dado and nailed--the board with the dado is
generally a little wider than the other so that they look the same width
when assembled. It wouldn't hurt to run a bead of construction adhesive
along the joint prior to nailing.

I cannot tell from the picture for sure but if you have a 12/12 pitch the
boards can probably just be nailed together. If the pitch is
significantly different from 90 degrees a bevel should be cut, or the
dado beveled, so that the boards lay on the roofing instead of sticking
up with a space at the ridge.

John

Thanks John.

Yes, it is 12x12 pitch, which would make it really easy to butt together
the 1x4s at 90 degrees.
Wouldn't nails through the ridge cap provide a channel for water entry?
Maybe I'm overworrying.

Shouldn't be a problem but you could use neoprene-washer metal-roofing nails
if you are concerned.

John

"tom" wrote in message
ups.com...

Aww, that's cute. We always laid a strip of 30 lb. felt along the ridge
under the caps. Then, just like your main roof, some "starter" caps are
nailed in place starting at the lee side of the house(3/4 length,
3/4 length?

and
wide enough to hide the felt). Alternating the ridge lap of the caps,
nail them about an inch behind the desired exposure, so the next cap
covers the nails.
Damn clever!

These ridge nails are long enough to penetrate the
substrate. Final caps get a dab of caulking on the nailheads. This area
of the roof normally doesn't see much water, as it drains away quickly,
so I wouldn't worry too much about your 2x attachment. Nail right
through the ridgecaps, I say. Try not to split 'em! Tom

Sounds like this would survive -30 degrees for 3 months.
Thanks
George

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...

Which is why, if I had done what OP is, I'd have laid the roofing
directly w/o the plywood...I'm surprised the plans called for solid
decking in this application.

The original footprint of the plan is 6'x4' so this might well have worked,
but I thought the kids would outgrow it too quickly and changed it to 8'x6'.
I also increased the ceiling height from 57' to 72' on the advice of the
illustrious members of this NG a few seasons ago while I was still in the
planning stages.

I just put up the plywood on the roof last weekend. It's looking good!

George

(tom)some "starter" caps are
nailed in place starting at the lee side of the house(3/4 length,

(George)3/4
length?
(tom)Yes, cut the butt end.

Alternating the ridge lap of the caps,
nail them about an inch behind the desired exposure, so the next cap
covers the nails.


(George) Damn clever!

(tom) Oh yes, but the instructions are on most bundles
of cedar shingles, so I can't take any credit! Tom

George wrote:

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...

Which is why, if I had done what OP is, I'd have laid the roofing
directly w/o the plywood...I'm surprised the plans called for solid
decking in this application.

The original footprint of the plan is 6'x4' so this might well have worked,
but I thought the kids would outgrow it too quickly and changed it to 8'x6'.
I also increased the ceiling height from 57' to 72' on the advice of the
illustrious members of this NG a few seasons ago while I was still in the
planning stages.

I just put up the plywood on the roof last weekend. It's looking good!

It's not dimensions that concern me, it's the two layers of wood--the
decking over solid ply that I think is asking for a moisture
problem...for the purpose, I'd just lay the decking as the roofing,
similar to a "classic" wood shingle roof so it has air movement on both
sides of the siding.

What is the siding material?

George wrote:

The plan calls for bevelled siding to be used for roofing material, but is
not too specific about how to leakproof the ridge,

When I built my daughter's swingset, I used PT pine 1"x4" stock and
formed tongue &grove joints. At the ridgeline, I gut the groove on the
flat side of the stock instead of the edge. It works well (as well as
PT pine can work, anyway).

YMMV. Your roof looks considerably more compicated than mine.

-j

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...

What is the siding material?

Do you mean the bevelled siding that will be on the roof?
10" bevelled siding. If I can get it in cedar I probably will.

George

George wrote:

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...

What is the siding material?

Do you mean the bevelled siding that will be on the roof?
10" bevelled siding. If I can get it in cedar I probably will.

Yes, and most likely can...

I'm still concerned that it won't last nearly as long if you lay it over
the solid decking as it would if you just nailed to to the rafters so it
will have air access both sides...

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...


I'm still concerned that it won't last nearly as long if you lay it over
the solid decking as it would if you just nailed to to the rafters so it
will have air access both sides...

You could be right. The decking went up last weekend though, and I don't
think it will be coming down again!
This weekend is the siding/shingles.

Thanks & best regards,
George

"George" wrote in news:9BEwe.9825$mK5.636114
@news20.bellglobal.com:


"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...


I'm still concerned that it won't last nearly as long if you lay it over
the solid decking as it would if you just nailed to to the rafters so it
will have air access both sides...

You could be right. The decking went up last weekend though, and I don't
think it will be coming down again!
This weekend is the siding/shingles.

Thanks & best regards,
George


Then consider using asphalt 3 tab shingles from the home center. You'll
get 20+ years from them, I'd guess. They can be laid over the plywood deck
easily, over $15 worth of roofing felt.

Patriarch

"George" wrote in message
.. .

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...


I'm still concerned that it won't last nearly as long if you lay it over
the solid decking as it would if you just nailed to to the rafters so it
will have air access both sides...

You could be right. The decking went up last weekend though, and I don't
think it will be coming down again!
This weekend is the siding/shingles.

A fiber ventilation mat is available for this purpose. It looks sort of like
Cobra Vent only much wider and thinner. The idea is to allow air flow
between the solid decking/felt paper and the wooden shingles.

John

John Grossbohlin wrote:

"George" wrote in message
.. .

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...


I'm still concerned that it won't last nearly as long if you lay it over
the solid decking as it would if you just nailed to to the rafters so it
will have air access both sides...

You could be right. The decking went up last weekend though, and I don't
think it will be coming down again!
This weekend is the siding/shingles.

A fiber ventilation mat is available for this purpose. It looks sort of like
Cobra Vent only much wider and thinner. The idea is to allow air flow
between the solid decking/felt paper and the wooden shingles.

John

That would undoubtedly be a good addition...

On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 15:10:35 -0500, Duane Bozarth
wrote:

George wrote:

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...

What is the siding material?

Do you mean the bevelled siding that will be on the roof?
10" bevelled siding. If I can get it in cedar I probably will.

Yes, and most likely can...

I'm still concerned that it won't last nearly as long if you lay it over
the solid decking as it would if you just nailed to to the rafters so it
will have air access both sides...
Strap the plywood and put the bevelled siding above the plywood. Strap
1/2". Put the roofing felt UNDER the strapping.
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **