A room in the roof is full of space that's hard to use: the low wall under the eaves, the slope above it, and the awkward wedge where the two meet. Fitted units that follow the slope turn that wedge into wardrobes, drawers and shelving, and it's some of the most satisfying fitted work there is.
The slope changes everything about the unit: its sides, its top, how deep each shelf can be, and how long each drawer's runners are. This is how to measure it and design for it.
What to measure
A sloping ceiling comes down to a wall, usually a short knee wall under the eaves. Three numbers describe it:
- The knee height: where the slope meets the wall, measured from the floor
- The pitch: how steeply it rises, in degrees
- Where it meets the flat ceiling: how far out from the knee wall the slope stops and the ceiling runs level (in a lean-to, it may never)
To find the pitch without an angle finder, measure the height of the slope at two points a known distance apart, square out from the knee wall. The rise divided by the distance is the slope's tangent: 500 mm of rise over 600 mm out is about 40°. Measure at each end of the run too, because roofs aren't always square to the room.
Measure the ceiling's line where the units will actually stand. A slope that looks even often isn't, and a few millimetres over the depth of a unit is the difference between a tidy scribe and a top that won't go in.
Two ways a unit can follow the slope
Against the knee wall, the ceiling falls towards the back of the unit, so the unit's top falls to the back: the sides are cut to the slope, the top is a board laid on the slope, and the back is only as tall as the back of the unit. In Scotland and the north this is a skeiling (or skeeling), the old word for that sloping part of an attic ceiling.
On a wall across the slope's end (a gable wall), the ceiling falls along the wall instead, so the unit's top slopes from one side to the other. Its sides stay square and its top and doors are cut to the angle.
Either way, the slope is cut on every part that meets it, and each angle needs to be on the cutting list so nothing is guessed in the workshop.
Shelves and drawers as the slope comes down
Inside a skeiling, the higher you go the shallower it gets. A shelf runs from where the slope comes down to it to the front, so its back edge is cut to the slope. A shelf level with the top of the knee wall is a natural place to split the unit: square below, the slope's wedge above.
Drawers are where it gets interesting. A drawer box is as long as its runners, and runners come in fixed lengths, so each drawer takes the longest runner that fits under the slope at the top of its box. Going up the unit, the drawers get shallower: three drawers in a 600 mm deep skeiling might take 550, 550 and 300 mm runners. See how deep a drawer can be for how to work it out.
Where the eaves are very low, a unit can also open at its end rather than its front: the drawers pull out sideways along the knee wall, and the closed front faces the room.
Floor to ceiling, where the slope meets the flat
A unit that stands well out from the knee wall can go right up to the ceiling: its top slopes up from the back until it meets the flat ceiling, then runs level to the front. The top is then two boards, the sloped part and the level part, and the sides are cut to both. Measure where the slope meets the flat ceiling over the unit, not at the wall, and allow a scribe at the top as you would for any unit that goes to the ceiling.
Dormers change the picture again: over the dormer the ceiling is raised and flat, so a unit can be taller there than either side of it. Keep a unit inside the dormer's width, or let it step down to follow the slope beside it.
Designing it in JoinerKit
In JoinerKit you give the wall a sloping ceiling (where it meets the wall and its angle, plus any dormers), and it's drawn in every view, with the walls across its ends cut to it. Add a Skeiling from the Add list, stand it where it goes, and press Fit under the ceiling: its top is set to follow the slope, flat part and all, and any unit that goes up through the ceiling gets a warning. Each drawer's depth is worked out from the runners in your settings, and the cutting list carries every angle.
Questions
What is a skeiling?
Skeiling (or skeeling) is a Scottish and northern word for the sloping part of an attic ceiling, under the roof. A skeiling unit is a cupboard or chest of drawers shaped to fit under it, with its top falling towards the back.
How do I measure the angle of a sloping ceiling?
Use an angle finder, or measure the height of the slope at two points a known distance apart, square out from the wall. The rise divided by that distance is the tangent of the angle: 500 mm up over 600 mm out is about 40 degrees.
Why are the drawers in an eaves unit different depths?
Each drawer box is as long as its runners, and the slope leaves less depth the higher you go. Each drawer takes the longest runner that fits under the slope at the top of its box, so higher drawers are shallower.