View source for Lean-to

{{Short description|Shelter with a roof leaning against other structures}}
{{about|a type of structure|the roof form|mono-pitched roof}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2012}}
{{multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = horizontal
| image1    = Appentis.cathedrale.Meaux.png
| width1    = 250
| caption1  = Lean-to, {{langx|fr|Appentis}}, built against the walls of [[Meaux Cathedral]]
| image2    = Adirondack Lean-to.jpg
| width2    = 210
| caption2  = A typical free-standing [[Adirondack lean-to|Adirondack-style]] lean-to shelter
}}

A '''lean-to''' is a type of simple structure originally added to an existing building with the rafters "leaning" against another wall. Free-standing structures open on one or more sides (colloquially referred to as lean-tos in spite of being unattached to anything) are generally used as shelters.

A lean-to addition is an appendix to an existing structure constructed to fulfill a new need. Sometimes, it covers an external staircase, as in a 15th century addition against one of the walls of the large chapter room of the cathedral of Meaux. Other uses include protecting entrances, or establishing covered markets outside existing buildings.<ref>[[:fr:s:Dictionnaire raisonné de l'architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle - Tome 1, Appentis|''Dictionary of French Architecture from 11th to 16th Century'' (1856)]]{{Dead link|date=May 2018}}</ref>

==Examples==
[[File:Car and Tent.jpg|thumb|Lean-to made with car and tent]]

A lean-to is originally defined as a structure in which the [[rafter]]s lean against another building or wall, also referred to in prior times as a penthouse.<ref>"Lean-to" def. A. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0), Oxford University Press 2009</ref> These structures characteristically have [[shed roof]]s, also referred to as "skillions", or "outshots" and "catslides" when the shed's roof is a direct extension of a larger structure's.

A lean-to [[shelter (building)|shelter]] is a simplified free-standing version of a [[wilderness hut]] with three solid walls and a single- or, in the case of an [[Adirondack lean-to]], offset-pitched gable roof. The open side is commonly oriented away from the prevailing weather. Often it is made of rough logs or unfinished wood and used for [[camping]].

[[Image:Roninmaan laavu-1024.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A {{lang|fi|laavu}} in the Pukala recreational forest]]

This style of lean-to is popular in Finland and Scandinavia, and known as a {{lang|fi|laavu}} in Finnish, {{lang|sv|gapskjul}} or {{lang|sv|slogbod}} in Swedish, and {{lang|no|gapahuk}} in Norwegian.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{Commons category-inline|Lean-to|lcfirst=yes}}
{{Huts}}

[[Category:Huts]]
[[Category:Camping]]
[[Category:Log buildings and structures]]