Reverse Gables for Dummies

reverse gable dormer roof

As the Antisocial Network research staffers wander the internet looking at the stupid things freelancers say for money, they come upon many an instance in which it's hard to tell whether these writers botch information because they're ignorant or because they're lousy writers. In the case of Tyler Lacoma, the guy claims to be a professional writer, so his misinformation in eHow.com's "What Is a Reverse Gable Roof?" (since moved to Hunker.com)¹ must be a result of his ignorance. Right?

Lacoma, who's here for the second time, blows his answer by the eleventh word in his introduction (75 to 100 words, mandated by eHow's style guide):

"Reverse gable roofs are roof sections that extend in the opposite [emphasis ours] direction from the normal gable construction. These are usually miniature additions..."

...ummm: Tyler, you dumbass, if there's a gable on one end of a building, chances are reasonably good that there's another gable facing "the opposite direction." What you wanted to say was what your (uncited) primary reference said, right down to the word "miniature" :

"These are usually miniature additions that allow homeowners to include windows and peaks in an otherwise flat roof slope..."

...which, when you come right down to it, is just another way of saying "dormer." You can tell Lacoma cribbed from the people at Danley, because he immediately attempts to explain what a reverse gable means in terms of garage doors. He also opines, incorrectly we believe, that "You can add reverse gables to your home, but it is more common for them to be included in the original structure." That comment flies in the face of the common attic remodel technique of adding dormers or a shed-roof bumpout to expand usable space. Lacoma continues with his obvious misunderstanding of the concept by telling us that

"Modern reverse gables are rarely seen [bullshit!]. Reverse gables can also refer to constructions made on an alternate side of a gabled structure, often seen with garages that are positioned along the side of a structure instead of directly underneath the peak of the roof. When installed on a side-wall in this manner, they are known as reverse gable garages."

Tyler is, of course, confused: his resource is talking about the garage door, not the garage itself... something he ultimately gets around to saying several hundred words later after contradicting himself on several points and padding the answer with a discussion of – get this – "materials," in which he claims that "[reverse gables] are usually only constructed with wood beams" because they're so "precise." Clearly, this moron doesn't know how houses are framed...
For his inability to reword a simple definition, for his obvious unfamiliarity with the topic, for the internal inconsistencies of his text and for just being an obnoxious twit, we hereby name Tyler Lacoma our Dumbass of the Day for today.

¹ The original has been sent to the cleanup team (unsuccessfully) by Leaf Group, but it can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ehow.com/about_5079113_reverse-gable-roof.html

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