Steep-Slope Eyebrow Dormers
It goes against the grain to assemble something on an angle that’s supposed to be plumb, but it really makes life easier on a job like this.
James Docker’s article on building eyebrow dormers (Raising an Eyebrow) included a number of useful tips that I was glad to learn — especially the advice to do most of the work at ground level on a roof mock-up. I was eager to try that idea, but the eyebrow-dormer project I had didn’t include enough space to set up a mock roof, and the slope of the roof (10-in-12) was too steep for comfortable working conditions. So I was forced to take a simpler (and probably easier) route.
Rather than stand up the eyebrow ribs vertically on a sloped roof, I put the roof plywood flat on the floor and built the eyebrow on the slope. As shown in the drawing below, I used a plywood angle brace to make sure the ribs were attached at the correct angle. I might add that it goes against the grain to assemble something on an angle that’s supposed to be plumb, but it really makes life easier on a job like this.
—David Kane, Davis, CA
Edited and illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #84
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It's not really different from boat building, and I like to read about that subject to learn their tricks and techniques.