The construction of the standing seam roof is shown in the drawings to consist of long strips of tin, made of standard sheets fastened together with the flat and soldered seam, but the edges of the strips fastened to the next strip with the so-called standing seam, which must run parallel to the pitch of the roof. Cleats, spaced a foot apart, are used to fasten the tin to the sheathing-boards. One edge of the next strip is turned up 1½ inches, and then over the top of the edge of the other strip. The cleat is locked in between the two. The upstanding seam is then turned down again upon itself, tightly locking the strips together. _Copper and Zinc Roofs_ For a while, during the high prices created by the war, the thought of building a copper roof or a zinc roof on the small house would have been received with a doubtful shake of the head. This is no longer the case, however, for the prices of these materials have come down to within reason, and there is no doubt as to their durability. No one has questioned the weathering qualities of copper or zinc. The copper roofs which have shown such practical durability on large buildings have usually been laid about the same as that described for standing seam tin roofs. Cold-rolled or soft copper sheets, usually 20 inches wide, are used for this roof covering, weighing not less than 16 ounces to the square foot. This type of roof is rather expensive for the small house, even with the reduced cost of copper, and for this reason a lighter grade has been made, and offered for use in the form of pressed-metal shingles of very flat design. These copper shingles have been treated so that other colors than the copper shades can be secured. The zinc manufacturers have also placed on the market zinc shingles of special interlocking flat design for use on small houses. It has always been a debated question as to whether pressed-metal shingles were architecturally permissible. Certainly there are some forms which imitate the clay tile shingle that are decidedly inartistic, but the more natural flat patterns are less subject to this criticism. XV PAINTING AND VARNISHING THE HOUSE Actually the process of varnishing or painting the woodwork and metalwork on the house is the spreading of a thin protective coat, one thousandth part of an inch thick or less, over the surface, in order to protect it from the wear and tear of use and weather and decay. And a marvel it is that any material could be found which spread in so thin a film could withstand the chemical action of the sun’s rays, the expansion and contraction of the surface over which it is laid, the abrasive action of blown sand, hail, and rain, the natural wear of walking feet and rubbing clothes and bumping furniture, and a dozen other accidents which conspire to mar the surface of woodwork in the home.