The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Buildings & planning => Topic started by: firemansam on December 23, 2012, 05:53:35 pm
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I am about to build a 8x8 field shelter for my goats and sheep.
It will be 8x8 as thats the length of the 6x1inch planks I have scrouged! With a corrugated roof.
I was thinking of what fall I should have on the roof? the roof will over hang the front of the shelter by 2ft, therefore it will be 10ft or so.
Would a fall of 6inch be enough front to back or do I need as much as 1ft????????????
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If the roof sheets are in 10' lengths then a 1 in 20 gradient would be OK i guess, though leaf litter and the like may tend to accumulate on the roof over time, adding weight and causing sag, and accelerating corrosion if it's a tin roof. if you have shorter sheets and are overlapping them, then you may have problems with the wind pushing water through the overlap, if the wind blows that way.
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Try and make it as steep as poss - think of snow loading, but also think of your eye/head level when you are dealing with animals - you don't want to keep hitting your head off it or to have the animals nibbling the corners. Also think when the water/snow runs off it will make a wet line on the ground below if you don't intend to put a gutter on it. Make it run away from the entrance area where the animals are walking or it will get muddy quickly. Putting a plastic gutter on and running it to a water butt is easy and provides a useful water supply at hand.
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Agree as much fall as possible. Snow needs to slide off aided by the heat of the animals. 6" snow on the roof may bring it down, 12" will.