I’m just drawing up plans for the last portion of my house, the question involves the roof of the lakeside portion. It’s a gable end that will be shaped in a cone shape with a compound curve..
No big deal really. It’s a timberframe but I’ll be building it more like a boat than any roof has been except because of all the complexity I’ll be lofting lines in place rather than the more normal approach. Each rafter will have a differant length, angle and bevel (well, the left side will be the mirror image of the right side so I won’t have to actaully figure out all of them.. Like I said, no big deal. I’ve already done something very similar when I put my tower upand down on a portion of the 17/12 pitch roof and up and down on the adjacent dormer.
The real crazy part is with a millon dollar view of the lake I want to put an eyebrow dormer in. Eyebrow dormers are rather straight forward. Curved eyebrow dormers add some complexity, but a curved eyebrow dormer on a cone shaped roof? Is it time for the funny farm for me?
Has anybody ever done anything like this? Any tips or ideas you can share? Any thing to worry about? I think I can envision it fairly well, I’ll use doubled and glued luan as gussets in order to strengthen the corners so structurally it should be very strong. The span is well inside load charts, and I’ll take a great deal of care with regard load paths etc.. (especially upload paths in the event of a tornado, no sense in having a roof capable of handling tornados except from the east.)
Replies
<a curved eyebrow dormer on a cone shaped roof>
Look in a mirror - You've got curved eyebrows on a, well, maybe not cone-shaped, but at least a round head.
Forrest - glad to help
Again my response is you can do what you want. Personally I think it would look impressive. Not hard to do, mimic the cone in a shop, make your templates. The larger the harder. Custom glass can be made. Time and money.
Rencald,
The glass part shouldn't be difficult as long as I don't opt for operating windows. Basically make plywood templates and have the glass cutter cut according to the pattern.. On flat glass it's fairly inexpensive..
Yes good idea
Frenchy
I read the thread title and had to see who it was that could be asking that question.
Well needless to say, you should get quit a few responses.
Oh, I have no idea how to do what your doing!
Doug
yep yer crazy...
Wars of nations are fought to change maps.
But wars of poverty are fought to map change.
" but a curved eyebrow dormer on a cone shaped roof? Is it time for the funny farm for me? "
Too much. One detracts from the other. Have both, (if you must), but not together.
And yes,it's time for you...
Jer,
I agree, but the cone is really called for.. I need to cover a portico and that is a nice elegant solution. Anything else will detract rather than add.
In addition there is this multi million dollar view..
If you can think of another solution to the dilema I'm all ears..
another solution...
Look at fitting, say 3 round-roofed dormers that stick out from the main cone plane, their front wall laid to a circle that is concentric to your cone.
Each dormer's sides are vertical in the normal way, so they meet the main conical roof with straightforward flashing detailing.
The key visual is that each dormer's roof is a half-circle arch whose topmost 'ridge' intersects the main cone. The arch meets the cone in curved valleys on either side. Roof in copper if you want.
The half-circle arch might work better visually for you. Easier to build - you could do it on the ground and crane in place - yet still rounded to go with the rest of the house. Make as wide and tall as the Golden Rule allows, and you'll get fine views.
I'm thinking what Jer said...too much?? Depends on how you design it though I reckon....still though...you rock dude!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFexyK8J1Iw
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
The best thing might be to begin with the different views and develop the intersections. The example in the link shows an intersection of an elliptical curve with a plane but the process will work for two curves as well.
Joe Bartok
Edited 3/10/2007 12:25 pm ET by JoeBartok
Joe,
I'm sorry there was no link connected..
Besides It's actually easier for me to lay it out and then step back and eyeball it than attempt to draw it..
might seem funny since that will require scaffolding up to 30 feet in the air and a lot of temp nailing stuff together, but I built my tower that way and it went together remarkably well. at worst it added two days to the time it took to build.
Kind of wierd to draw some circles on boards cut them out on a bandsaw, nail them together in the air and drop a plumb line to figure out the next step, but when I was finished with my 12 foot circle 18 feet in the air it was within a 1/4 of an inch of perfect.. It took my thumb and forefinger to squeeze everything together to perfection.
frenchy-
Here's the pics in Joe's link just for your thinking.
96 Diameter Dormer intercepts 10/12 Main Roof
View ImageView Image
View Image
View Image
View Image
Development of Elliptic Dormer 100 × 200 Dormer intercepts 10/12 Main Roof
View Image
every court needs a jester
Edited 3/12/2007 4:57 pm ET by rez
Thanks Rez,
however where you have a straight line at the bottom of the dome I have to work with a curved one.. since it's set into the cone.
Hopefully I can verbalize this well enough for you. I'm building a roof over a bow so from the side it winds up looking like an upside down cone.
The bottom of the cone (the roof edge) is rolled downward as are all the edges of the roof and dormers..
Meaning the eyebrow will be sitting flush to the cone peak roof and continuing on into the interior of the cylinder as in an eyesocket in a skull, forgiving that that comparison sounds rather horrifically medieval but just the lack of better symbology at the moment? :o)
Edited 3/12/2007 5:32 pm ET by rez
Sort of rez,
The face of the dormer is curved to the face of the cone untill it reaches back to the place where it disappears. the side walls would be vertical going back up the roof like a regular dormer the roof of the dormer would be at the same pitch as the rest of the roof is but it would have it's own cone at the front of the dormer. just like a smaller version of the original cone would have been if there hadn't been a dormer there..
Oh ok, so it will still be out past the cone roof as a real dormer and not a set-in half round window with a slanted sill for runoff.
ok, I'm seeing the pic,
I believe.
So if you'll forgive my drawings what you are thinking is along the lines of the first two instead of the last?
every court needs a jester
Here's a picture of the arched-top dormer I suggested.
A bit more baroque than would work - just simplify the dormer sides and facade - but I believe the arched roofs would blend into your conical roof.
The pic is of a French 2nd Empire mansard-roofed bldg., sited in Ohio. Check out the two dormers on either side of the central tower.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mount-gilead-ohio-jail.jpg
Edited 3/13/2007 2:07 am ET by Pierre1
Pierre1
Wow! Those are impressive aren't they? Can you imagine the work a stone cutter needed to do to make those? Tap tap tap!!
rez,
Yes, the exception would be that the peak of the dormer needs to be at the peak of the main roof, And the front of the dormer follows the shape of the cone it's on.. But in general that's a very good concept rendition. I wish I had the skill to figure out how to do that. I can barely, sort of, post pictures.
Frenchy, really the only way to know how it's going to look is to sketch it out. If you post a picture of the area you're talking about I could try to do a 3-d drawing for you.
"This is a process, not an event."--Sphere
woodguy99
Ah drawings,, well some of us don't do things that way. I do drawings only reluctantly. I suspect that 7 year olds laugh at my feeble attempts.
It's massively easier for me to bang a bunch of sticks together and stand back to visulize the look than to do a respectable drawing.. One that conveys the ideas I'm attempting to show.
Actaully you'd be amazed at the design process of this house.. darn few drawings and I make stuff by laying timbers in my driveway and taking measurements..
Sounds stupid, I know! It's just that I find it easier to move hundreds of pounds of timbers than a pencil on a piece of paper..
I got this past the building inspector by making an exact scale (1 inch+1 foot) model and setting it on his desk. I probably had nearly 1000 hours into the model but it past and I got the permit.. Maybe I should take a picture and post it of the model, it's a bit banged up have been shoved around, rained on, covered with stuff and trash during construction, but will show the extremes I go to avoid drawing things out..
I'd love to see the model.
Pierre1
Ok hopefully here it comes Kinda big, guess I'll try to shrink it some.. the grandfather clock in the background is what started me to build this timberframe..
Edited 3/13/2007 8:24 pm ET by frenchy
Thanks. It opened up nicely on ADSL. Looks like olde English-style timberframe bents. Must be nice to have one's own crane. Have you spent much time in the UK or Europe?
No sign of the conical-roofed tower...it evolved out of the whole I guess.
You're building something that may well outlast you by many centuries - a gift really. Glad you have it in you.
pierre1
That's just the 1st half of the house, The entry way and my great room. Once I built that and the inspector saw my work all he really wanted was sketches for the next bits.
There should be some pictures of the actual house in the archieves.
View Image
every court needs a jester
This only-have-dial-up person praises you to the gods<g>. Much thanks.73F!!! We broke the record! Happy spring dance...cha, chacha. Happy spring dance...cha, chacha.
Ya, my shoulders got a touch of tan today.
Frenchy did a nice model, aye?
be a happy camper
every court needs a jester
Edited 3/13/2007 10:06 pm ET by rez
Edited 3/13/2007 10:15 pm ET by rez
Thanks Rez,
I tried to E-mail it to myself to reduce it Like Staurt taught me but my computer has this nasty temper and I apparently offended her, maybe it was hooking up broad band to her or knowing that tomorrow I'll be pullin' down her skirt and putting a wireless card in her.
Where on that model pic is the turret going to go?
What dia and how high will the cone tip be?
every court needs a jester
Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to thank you for the picture shrinking, and to let you all know how much those of us without your skills enjoy the process of complicated problem solving. Most of my jobs are miniscule in comparison, and I just barely recognize some of the terms used, but am awestruck by the creativity and problem solving skills. Congratulations to some truly Fine Home builders.
Dan
Rez,
I really won't know exactly until I'm up there taking measurements. I'm guessing it's going to be somewhat less than the radius of the portico it's covering. That portico is based on an 8 1/2 foot radius. I visualize the dormer to be back about five feet or so from that. I expect the windows. to be about 2 feet high or so and follow the radius of the reduced size of the cone where it intersects the roof line.
Now briefly the "cone" is going to cover the whole east end of the house with a 18" overhang on both ends and the front So from the gable end we're about 10 feet and the total width is about 33 feet. The peak is about 14 feet above the top plate.
The roof of the dormer I expect will continue straight forward to cover the windows with the pitch of the roof reflecting the main roof itself (about a 10/12 pitch I'd guess) the cone at the front of the dormer roof should mirror the cone below it..
Edited 3/14/2007 11:28 am ET by frenchy
rez,
Oops the model is only the street side 1/2 of the house. The lake side is 30 feet wide. The model is 36 feet wide. The six feet is offset from that entryway and in that space is a six 1/2 foot radius tower 18 feet to the top plate. It off sets the six foot offset by 2 feet but doesn't start untill the second floor The lake side of the house is 30 feet from the great room shown on the model and 30 feet wide.
(I suppose that's as clear as mud)
Hello Rez,
Since I can't draw worth squat I made a concept model. Please remember this took maybe 10 minutes and it's just to convey the idea. it's done to 1/4 inch scale.
What you are looking at is the gable end of my house it's about 15 feet wide by 14 feet high it goes out over the portico underneath it that projects 8 1/2 feet from the house. so the radius isn't true it's more eliptical than a radius. The windows in the dormer are 2 feet by six feet.
What's not shown is the tails of all the rafters are curved or rolled.
Frenchy, that model helps a lot!
Like Plantlust said, I would bring the top of the dormer way down--try making the dormer roof half the pitch of the main roof--something like 9/12 or maybe even less, 5/12?
"This is a process, not an event."--Sphere
And I'm a legitimate certifiable Tool Whore.--Dieselpig
woodguy99
I'm not sure I follow what you are suggesting. The windows are where they are to allow a person to look out without straining, they start at 4 feet above the attic floor and stop at 6 feet above the floor. I think if I brought them lower you'd either have to croach to see out or maybe get on your hands and knees.
If the main roof is a 10/12 pitch. The cone on top of the portico varies a lot in pitch in order to comply with a whole lot of silly issues the city council has about building rules.
In a perfect world I would be able to extend the portico out another six and a half feet to provide the same pitch as the sides of the house. That's not allowed. So I have to be creative and adjust the pitch as it comes across the front of the house. My best guess is I finish up with a 14.5 /12 pitch.
It's not hard for me to calculate in the field.. all I do is lay a template across and use my Bosch angle finder to figure out what angle I'll need, I then use a sliding bevel to figure out what bevel it hits at and measure for length. Each rafter will be at a differant length, bevel, and angle but I already did that for my tower and like I said it adds at most two days of work to the project, so it's no big deal..
The Skill part is going to be the site fabricated glue lam. I'll need to fabricate that in place. Once I have a shape I think looks pleasing from up on the scaffolding I climb down and eyeball it from the ground and underneath as well as going out on the lake to ensure that it doesn't look lumpy or flat in any place.. There is no way I can do this scientifically or technically. (besides I'm just not that smart)
Adding to the difficulty is the fact that instead of nice flat facial I deleted the facia and rolled the roof down.. It adds a soft look to the roof like thatch weave but it requires me to build up the roof deck from thin pieces of flexible wood. It's going to be hard, since it's a compound curve it both curves down and around at the same time. From underneath it's got to be black walnut to be the same as the rest of the soffit and I can't steam black walnut or I'll lose a great deal of the color and wind up with the bland look that you often see on black walnut.. I know I'm really sick worring about the color of wood that is over 20 feet away, but if it was easy anybody could do it.. <G>
This picture might help explain what I'm thinking: http://tinyurl.com/2clunw
The pitch of the dormer roof is much less than the pitch of the roof it's sitting on. In fact it wouldn't even reach the peak of your turret roof.
I'm not saying you should move your windows--it sounds like they're at the right height. But I think you should eliminate the short ridge at the top of your dormer.
The rest of your details sound very nice!
"This is a process, not an event."--Sphere
And I'm a legitimate certifiable Tool Whore.--Dieselpig
rez,
oops! forgot to attach the photo's. Let's try again.
This is getting interesting. Might be a help to build a 2-3 foot diameter table top model of the turret's roof since you'll be doing a freeform sculpturing of sorts in building the dormer.
When you open a file in My Documents do a single right click on the pic that which will give you a menu of the list that says Open edit Print Review etc and keep scrolling on down to where it says 'open with' and move the cursor over on the 'Open with'.
That will open a small pick a choice window menu and click on ' paint' which will open the pic to a window with a bunch of icons of dotted lines, a paint can, eraser and stuff.
Play around with that and it'll get yer feet wet.
every court needs a jester
Rez
I sent this a while ago but it failed to send..
It registered alright in the previous post.
So there'll be a pair of 2ftwide doublehungs?
Somehow I like the idea of removing the bump out where it extends out from the tip of the roof.
It seems the idea of a dormer might appear less intrusive and blend better with the conical roof if the valley formed by the dormer to the cone could be eliminated.
How to do that would be a challenge. snort
View Image
every court needs a jester
Not quite but close. The roof echo part blends well but underneath the roof echo is not quite what I pictured.The bottom part of the dormer should also be curved where it meets the real roof and I pictured the dormer part under the roof echo closer to the edge of the roof echo, instead of sunken like your model. I wonder if that means curved glass? Drat probably LOTS of money, sorry.Edited to add: I'm never bothering to "draw" with symbols again. They look ok & then spaces disappear as soon as I hit submit. sheesh
Edited 3/18/2007 12:58 pm by plantlust
PLantlust
Actaully you can't quite see it from the photo but the windows will form a bow.. I'm not sure yet if I'll do leaded glass or plain glass but it will follow the shape of the cone.
Mais oui, it is necessary to put in diamond shaped leaded panes. Preferably old glass, so when you look at it driving by each pane sparkles differently<g>.Up, up, UP!! The temperature is supposed to be RISING! Where is global warming when I need it?
Hey Frenchy,
I'm trying to find your house thread. The one you told me to look for w/a tiny bathroom. Which thread is it? Is it in the Photo Gallery folder?I LOVE the smell of primer in the evening.
plantlust,
I have a hard time finding that sort of thing myself.. I've got it on a disc so I'll try to post it again for you. late this evening though, I need help.
Hey Frenchy, after seeing the mockup you posted I think the dormer would look better with steep gable roof coming straight out of the cone roof. having a window that has a pointed top section would look good too and increase the light and view from the space. Not sure i can sketch what I'm talking about though.
The eyebrow window seems like too many curves in the area to really blend well.
TomW
Interesting concept.. refute the curves for straight gable end.. replace bowed flat window with a flat gothic arch type window. Darn sure a whole lot easier to frame. Just basically copy any of the other 11 dormers. (see, I had to put a dormer in the front of the house so I would wind up with an even dozen dormers, I mean it would be tacky to only have 11,... right?) ;-)
I've already got gothic arch windows in the tower and there is a big gothic arch window in the south gable end that you can see from either the exterior shot or interior shot looking up at the bridge..
Frenchy,
I know a timber framer who is really really good at those eyebrow roofs. He sent me pics, if you want, email me and I'll give you his address.
Timuhler,
Thank you, but I've done all my own timberframing up'til now and I really want to be able to say I did it my way! Chances are he'd like dimensions and stuff before he could bid and by the time I get those I'd be nearly finished..
Is there anyone out there who could draw this up on a sketch program?
be keep on rockin' in the free world
every court needs a jester
Edited 3/19/2007 7:43 pm ET by rez
I believe this was Frency's main photo thread:http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=85891.1
plantlust,
someone provided a connection to the site. Just a minute I'll find out where and who to thank.. Thank You DanG, it's at 85891.18 or just move up a post a click on it..
Edited 3/21/2007 10:26 am ET by frenchy
plantlust,
Driving by? What sort of car do you own? Hopefully it's one that floats <G> .. (this is the lake side) See the effort I go to so Yacht owners have a pleasant view? ;-)
If I use diamond shaped panes it will be extremely difficult to fabricate since I want to form a bow with the windows and rumor has it glass just doesn't like to bend very much..
Leaded glass will be backed by double pane insulated glass so I don't lose any efficency.. I've already done that to all the other stained/leaded glass I've used in the house, so It's not any sort of challenge.
But, but, but it would look soooo cool & glittery <g>.
I've seen oriel windows with that kindof glass. (sly grin) I'll betcha MARVIN would make a window like that for you.I LOVE the smell of primer in the evening.
Andy,
I really do agree, kinda like gilding a lily..
But as I said to Jer,
the cone is a real elegant solution to the portico underneath it and the compound curve is a continuation of the rest of the roof.
Then there is this multi million dollar view. Kind of hard to forego that as well..
See my problem? If you've got another solution I'm all ears.. It would be wonderful if someone said oh, do this!
There's a fine line between "gilding the lily" and trying to pack 10 lbs of manure in a 5 lb bag.
The awful thing is that beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and the devil are fighting there, and the battlefield is the heart of man.
- Fyodor Dostoyevski
What about a peaked dormer on the cone shaped roof?The peaked dormer would echo the cone shaped roof so it wouldn't look too busy.It's not broken. A strain or sprain of the tendon/ligaments AROUND the Achilles tendon. Time for physical therapy. Bloodwork, colonoscopy, mammogram & dental stuff is next. Good insurance is a wonderful thing!
plantlust,
I'm not sure what you mean, Are you saying peaked as in a regular dormer is peaked?
Or are you saying a round dormer with like a steep peak on top? Maybe you're suggesting a regular dormer with a bowed front and it's own cone shaped roof? Hmmm,... that I like!
Edited 3/10/2007 5:16 pm ET by frenchy
Errrrr, yes!<G>Basically, I was thinking that you want the dormer to echo the actual roof not be another type of pattern. Too busy. Like the interior of a true high Victorian house. They had 15 different kinds of patterns in one room. Made your head hurt.It's not broken. A strain or sprain of the tendon/ligaments AROUND the Achilles tendon. Time for physical therapy. Bloodwork, colonoscopy, mammogram & dental stuff is next. Good insurance is a wonderful thing!
plantlust
Here's my interpitation of your suggestion
FNbenthayer.
I know, but given the problem I cannot see another solution that works..
I could put a tradional gable end in and maybe leave a flat roof over the portico but frankly that solution would look worse. (easy to build but look terrible)
I could have just the cone shaped roof and that certainly would look elegant and proper but then I'd be giving up a multimillion dollar view.
I could I supppose make some custom made roof windows (skylights) but the potential for leaking is tremendous. too great for me.. Plus it wouldn't look right, roof windows (skylites) are too contemporary for the rest of the house which is very English Tudor styled..
"Is it time for the funny farm for me?"
Frenchy, you passed the funny farm a LONG time ago.
I know. Cause I was the one driving the buggy.
;o)
..and a sammich
<a curved eyebrow dormer on a cone shaped roof>
Look in a mirror - You've got curved eyebrows on a, well, maybe not cone-shaped, but at least a round head.
Forrest - glad to help
-----------------------------------------------------------
I have this picture in my mind of a giant replica of Frenchy's face nailed to the front of his house...boy oh boy. :-)
If it were me, I'd get some cardboard and that model you built of your house, and I'd start cutting up the cardboard to make some mockups to see how this is all going to look in three dimensions.
Right but curved eyebrow on dome<g> head is still, um...soft, curvey. A cone shaped roof is more...harsh, straight. That's why an eyebrow dormer looks better on a rounded roof as opposed to a pointy roof.50F & sunny. The whole weekend is to be GLORIOUS! Happy spring dance...cha, chacha. Happy spring dance...cha, chacha.
Frenchy, I think it sounds like a great solution, as long as the scale works--the dormers would have to be small in comparison to the roof.
Another solution could be to "eyebrow" the rafter tails, so the top plate curves up and down as it goes around. Again, it would depend on scale to see which one looks better.
woodguy,
I think that could be a really elegant and interesting touch. The reverse compound curve. What's more I suspect I can figure out how to do it with timbers so it looks great from inside.
That's part of my problem. I want the framing to be worthy of the rest of my house. In stick built homes all too often they simply goober it together so it will take plywood smoothly on the outside and sheet rock on the inside. If they have to scab some boards on the inside to make a solid connection, no big deal, it will be hidden.. In my roof the dormers are all timberframed and made with either white oak or black walnut timbers so the joinery has to look nice or I'd come off as a major hack.
Now before you think I'm some kind of design genius capable of calculating angles and bevels on paper.
Let me assure you that when I add two and two together the resulting number is always a variable. What I do is nail some stuff to gether, get down and squint at it to see if I like it and go back and adjust it untill I'm satisfied. Once satisfied I have a Bosch angle finder that tells me what the angles and bevels are, then I measure out for length and make the beam according to that size..
That approach results in some interesting combinations, for example the Ideal roof peak for the Billard room wound up being 27/12 and for the great room it's 17/12
Sure would have been nice working with a 12/12 pitch roof as I made dormers. There are 7 in those two areas for a total of 11 plus this eyebrow for an even dozen..
but a curved eyebrow dormer on a cone shaped roof? Is it time for the funny farm for me?
Long past time, on your house <g>
Didn't you mention, in a different post, that you're up against some "closed in" deadlines?
Which really makes the question "are you crazy to focus on one small area with so much else to get finished?' doesn't it?
That one, only you can answer, I'm thinking.
CapnMac.
The deadlines really have little to do with how I build this. I'll have things well clear of the two deadlines no matter which way I build it.. the only thing is, do I build it this way, that way, the other way, or a fourth way.. I think I could hack together prototypes fast enough to evaluate them all in one weekend. (the wonderful part about stick framing and nail guns). Then it's about a week of timberframing to build it. Only limit is do I have enough black walnut to do it in black walnut or will I have to switch to white oak for the timberframes..
I just thought I'd get some input from others. So far there have been two suggestions that interest me and I've kinda developed a third out of spitballed ideas.
Hoepfully some of the creative minds will add their two cents in and the really brillant solution might be just out there..
will add their two cents in
Have you "cast" any lines to see how the intersections are likely to work yet?
Frankly, my first thought for a dormer on a conical roof was to use a curved rafter, the better to have the roof "hit" the changing geometry.
I've not lofted anything that would resemble that, though.
Hmm, how about a half-ogive roof (convex rather than concave) for the dormer? If the ogive were "broad" enough, you'd keep the "eyebrow" effect, while having some "wiggle" room for having both roofs intersect in the same spaces.
But, that's just WAGging on my part.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
CapnMac.
I think we are thinking along similar lines. except The convex, concave part..
I've "lofted" the lines in my head and have a fairly decent picture of how they would come out..
When I actaully do it I'll just take some 2x4's and bang 'em together to give me a visual referance and once I settle on something use those same measurements to figure angles lengths and bevels..
The reason I'm thinking of a convex one where you are suggesting concave is because of some of the gilding the lily issue.
A cone shaped roof will certainly be an elegant solution to the portico I'm building because if set back issues etc..
However if I use a concave one the arch it follows will conflict (visually) the shape of the cone.. it will just look to busy (I think) with a convex one it's more in contrast and I think I might be able to "get away with it"
If it wasn't for that view I'd say to heck with it.. but oh that view!
You can see American Bald Eagles fighting it oUt with Loons and diving for fish..
You can see these great piliated woodpeckers hunt for food or fish jumping in the lake..
Families water sking or the fireworks on the fourth of July.. Classic sail boats sailing by or vintage steam boats.. Float planes taking off or WW2 planes doing acrobatics.
Too much to lose..
The spell checker strikes:
I'm just drawing up plans for the last portion of my house, the question involves the roof of the lakeside portion. It's a gable end that will be shaped in a cone shape with a compound curve..
No big deal really. It's a timber frame but I'll be building it more like a boat than any roof has been except because of all the complexity I'll be lofting lines in place rather than the more normal approach. Each rafter will have a different length, angle and bevel (well, the left side will be the mirror image of the right side so I won't have to actually figure out all of them.. Like I said, no big deal. I've already done something very similar when I put my tower up and down on a portion of the 17/12 pitch roof and up and down on the adjacent dormer.
The real crazy part is with a million dollar view of the lake I want to put an eyebrow dormer in. Eyebrow dormers are rather straight forward. Curved eyebrow dormers add some complexity, but a curved eyebrow dormer on a cone shaped roof? Is it time for the funny farm for me?
Has anybody ever done anything like this? Any tips or ideas you can share? Any thing to worry about? I think I can envision it fairly well, I'll use doubled and glued luan as gussets in order to strengthen the corners so structurally it should be very strong. The span is well inside load charts, and I'll take a great deal of care with regard load paths etc.. (especially upload paths in the event of a tornado, no sense in having a roof capable of handling tornadoes except from the east.)
built the frames for many a warped wing wall that adjoins the abutment for a bridge, it can be laid out with all straight lines as a model or in CAD, and i think it will look great, so yes you are crazy!