Rustic Carpentry :: CHAPTER VI. ROSERY WALK.

CHAPTER VI. ROSERY WALK.

The rustic construction here illustrated is intended primarily as a trellis over which to train roses, and to form a shady and fragrant walk, and generally to contribute to the adornment of the flower garden. It can readily be adapted so as to form a roofed-in track from a door to the public roadway; and the means of so adapting it will be explained later.

The materials will be entirely rough wood in its natural bark. For the posts fir poles of some kind should be chosen, and larch is especially to be preferred both as regards durability and appearance. All the smaller pieces which show as straight stuff may well be of the same kind of wood as the posts, though hazel is best for the finer rods. It will be seen that in the mere filling-in much crooked stuff is used, and for this apple branches, or indeed almost anything that comes to hand, will answer.

The rosery walk (Fig. 91) is 4 ft. wide, and the rustic erection is carried on two rows of pillars or collar-posts ranged at intervals of 3 ft. These posts should be let into the ground 2 ft., and well rammed in. They should have an average diameter of 3 in. or 3½ in., except in the case of each third one, as that which in Fig. 91 is seen standing in the middle of the portion with the lower roof; such pillars may be smaller as having little weight to bear, and will look better than they would do if equal in size to the others. Resting on the line of posts lies the wall-plate (A A, Fig. 92), the top of which is 5 ft. 6 in. from the ground line.

Fig. 91.—Elevation of Rosery Walk. Fig. 91.—Elevation of Rosery Walk.

Fig. 92.—Plan of Roof of Rosery Walk. Fig. 92.—Plan of Roof of Rosery Walk.

From each group of four large collar-posts rise four rafters (B, B, Fig. 92), meeting at top pyramid-wise. They rise to a height from the ground of 7 ft. 6 in., and have, therefore, to be 3 ft. 4 in. long. Half-way up them—that is, 6 ft. 6 in. from the ground line—the purlins (C, C, Fig. 92) are nailed upon them. Figs. 91 and 92 alike show how the space between wall-plate and purlin is filled in, and Fig. 92 shows how the space, 7 ft. 3 in. long, stretching from one pyramidal portion to the next, is covered with a flat roof of open rustic work lying upon the purlins. This space, it will be observed, is chiefly filled in with crooked stuff.

Fig. 93 shows how the upper part of the rosery would appear at one of its ends, and explains how the roof would be in section—the shaded parts give the form of the roof in its lower portions; whilst if the cross-piece, D (which is on a level with the purlins), is supposed to be removed, there is presented with the dotted lines, B, B, a section through the middle of one of the higher pyramidal portions.

Fig. 93.—Entrance to Rosery Walk. Fig. 93.—Entrance to Rosery Walk.

Over the middle of the entrance is a rough knot or a piece of root.

The filling-in of the sides of the rosery is plainly shown in the elevation, Fig. 91. For its better preservation from damp, this work is kept 4 in. from the ground.

Supposing that, as was suggested above, the design is to be utilised for a dry path with a covering of metal or other light material, it will be well to keep the whole roof to the level of the pyramidal portions—a ridge-piece will have to be used—and the rafters, instead of following the present arrangement, will meet in pairs opposite to the pillars. Instead of round stuff, also, use halved stuff for the rafters and purlins, the sawn side being uppermost. The space between ridge-piece and purlin can then be filled in the same manner as that between purlin and wall-plate.

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