now, while the floor is clear of rubbish.
Lay out and mark on the floor, with a carpenter’s soft pencil, a straight line, four feet long (A B, Fig. 70). At right angles to this draw another line, three feet six inches long (A D, Fig. 70). Connect these points (B D, Fig. 70), with a straight line, then complete the figure A B C D (Fig. 70). Now allow two inches at the top for the ridge-plank at B, and two by four for the end of the side plate at D. You then have a pattern for each rafter with a “plumb-edge” at B and a “bird’s-mouth” at D. The plumb-edge must be parallel with B C, and the two jaws of the bird’s-mouth (Fig. 71) parallel with D C and A D, respectively. Make six rafters of two-by-four-inch wood, one ridge-plank of two-by-six or seven-inch wood.
can be made and fitted after the roof is raised. Set your roof-timber carefully to one side, and clear the floor for the studs, ribs, and plates. First prepare the end-posts, and make them of two-by-four. Each post is of two pieces (see Fig. 69). There will be four outside pieces which rest on the end-beams. These will be each five feet eight inches in length, and four inside pieces, each six feet in length; this allows two inches at the top for the ends of the end-plates to rest upon.
in Fig. 69, and you will see that the outside two-by-four rests partly upon the top of the end beam, and the side-plate rests directly upon it. You will also observe that the inside two-by-four rests directly upon the sill, which would make the former four inches longer than the outside piece, if it extended to the side-plate; but you will also notice that there is a notch in the end-plate for the outside corner-piece to fit in, and that the end of the end-plate fits on top the inside piece of the corner-posts, taking off two inches, which makes the inside piece just six feet long. This is a very simple arrangement, as may be seen by examining the diagram. Besides the corner-posts, each of which, as we have seen, is made of two pieces of two-by-four, there are four studs for the front side, each six feet two inches long, and one stud for the rear wall, six feet two inches long. The short studs shown in the diagram (Fig. 69), on the rear side, are unnecessary, and are only shown so that they may be put in as convenient attachments for shelves and tool-racks.