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Q. I am boxing in the eave and gable overhangs of my bungalow-style house.
The overhangs are 16 inches, and the carpenter wants to use quarter-inch lauan
to cover it, braced every four feet. Is that adequate? J.M., Haverhill A. No, it is not. That thin plywood supported every four feet could begin to buckle and undulate in months. Use three-eighths-inch plywood as a minimum; half-inch is better. And space the supports a maximum of two feet. But stop and think about doing anything; those open eaves and gables, with the rafters and lookout joists showing, are a part of the design of the house, and if you box them in you might be taking away from the original, good design.
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