The skillion is a single plane, flat roof tipped at an angle. They are often made of corrugated iron and are a favourite on many early beach shacks along the coast because they are simple to build and generally do the job.
This is an aesthetic or design theme which has continued into many contemporary beach dwellings, with some estates even incorporating skillions into their building covenants. It is so easy to get the skillion to work well but unfortunately it is also so easy to get it wrong.
The simple skillion generally works by pitching the high edge towards the ocean, assuming this to be SE to NE, which scoops those cooling sea breezes and cool morning light into the dwelling.
The roof is generally just a single flat plane of rafter thickness, so this high edge creates some volume to the interior, and this high wall opens out to the world.
This also drops the rear of the roof to block the heat and sun in the afternoon and helps to put our back to those cold westerly winds.
Wide eaves are easily achieved by extending the rafters and battens and help to shade the openings and walls, and keep the rain out, while catching rain for a tank needs only one gutter.
In all the skillion is cheap, simple, and effective.
Now we see skillions that just don’t work. They face up to the west, they are built with trusses (losing the opportunity of extra volume in the room), they have no openings in the top of the high wall, they have no eaves, or they are so large that building materials can not make the spans without extra supports.
Maybe in these situations a different design resolution was required or, maybe those responsible for creating these pseudo-skillions are simply ignorant of stuffing up something so simple.
