Remember that the steeper the roof is the longer the shingles will last,
because the water will run off readily and quickly on a steep surface and
the shingles have an opportunity to dry quickly; besides which the snow
slides off a steep roof and the driving rains do not beat under the
shingles. If you are using milled lumber for the roof, erect the rafters
at the gable end first, with the ridge board as shown in Fig. 263 and in
greater detail in Fig. 49. Put the other rafters two or three feet apart.
Let your roof overhang the walls by at least seven or eight inches so as
to keep the drip from the rain free of the wall. It is much easier for the
architect to draw a log house than it is for a builder to erect one, for
the simple reason that the draughtsman can make his logs as straight as he
chooses, also that he can put the uneven places where they fit best; but
except in well-forested countries the tree trunks do not grow as straight
as the logs in my pictures and you must pick out the logs which will fit
together. Run them alternately butt and head; that is, if you put the
thick end of the log at the right-hand end of your house, with the small
end at the left, put the next log with the small end at the right and
thick end at the left; otherwise, if all the thick ends are put at one
side and the small ends at the other, your house will be taller at one end
than at the other as is the case with some of our previous shacks and
camps (Figs. 190, 191, and 192) which are purposely built that way.
If it is planned to have glass window lights, make your window openings of
the proper size to fit the window-frames which come with the sashes from
the factory. In any case, if the cabin is to be left unoccupied you should
have heavy shutters to fit in the window opening so as to keep out
trespassers.