Beginner guide to roof rafters, gables and hips.

Of the Many Shapes of the Roof the gable will be Found Most Suitable for the Beginner. Marking off the Wood for Cutting is Simplified by the Use of a Steel Square as Explained by the quality Building Tradesman on the French Riviera

THERE are various shapes of roof such as lean-to, gable, hip, hip and valley, gable and valley and Mansard.

For the average do-it-yourself man just starting on rafter cutting perhaps the gable roof is the most suitable.

First, one should be familiar with the names of the different parts of a roof. Span is the overall width of building taken from outer edge of wall plates.

Run is the horizontal distance from wall plate to a point directly under ridge. This as a rule is one half of span.

Rise is the height of roof at centre of ridge (see Fig. 1).

The steepness of a roof is known as its pitch and pitches most commonly used are one-half, one-third, one-quarter and one-sixth. A roof with half pitch is half as high as the building is wide. If it is third pitch it is one-third as high as it is wide and so on.

Fig. 1.

For the rest of this article, please click the following link - Azur Restorations - Advice Page

Azur Restorations English builder on the french Riviera Content Update

http://www.azurrestorations.com which is a website advertising an English building renovation contractors based on the French Riviera who have updated their content and structure. As such, the layout should be more straight forward to follow with a new navigation layout, as well as being clearer with regards to what services are on offer.

Please feel free to view, and make any comments or suggestions which you think would improve your visit.

The following links are new:

http://azurrestorations.com/BuildingServicesGallery.php
http://azurrestorations.com/AdvicePage.php
http://azurrestorations.com/FrenchBuildingForum.php

I would also like to invite everyone to use the Forum page. It is open for use, it is a developing forum, to be used as a customer facing tool so you can reference any building question which you may need answering. The questions or topics could be anything from getting a second opinion, to, finding out your local building codes.

I look forward to your comments.

Azur Restorations

Azur Restorations first publication in the “Central Brittany Journal” in the building services section.

This month Azur Restoration has had its first published article within the building services section of the magazine. The magazine is aimed for an Anglophone audience in France, and I have made it my aim is to try and change the consensus that using French building products are inferior to British.

As with all things in life, there are differences, be it language, society or religion. But what make these aberrations are the alliances we make during the journey of life. In turn this effects how we grow and develop.


As an English builder, I am always looking at the materials and methods we use today, comparing them to the past as well as what’s used elsewhere. Each month I will be writing about a building subject and looking at the effects in history and if it contributed to deviations in similar product produced in different countries.


In October’s issue (88) of the Central Brittany Journal, I have explored the problems with French Paint and asked if it is the paint or the brushes which are the problem?

If you would like to read the article but you’re not able to purchase a copy, please go on the CBJ website and look at the PDF. Alternatively, go on http://www.azurrestorations.com and select advice & information.