It’s the age-old question when it comes to heritage homes in rural Newfoundland… is it a saltbox or a biscuit box?

Heritage Week is winding down and events have been taking place throughout the province marking some of the wonderful things that make Newfoundland and Labrador unique.

Tyler Stapleton, the President of the NL Heritage Trust which catalogues and recognizes the province’s built heritage, says weather was a significant factor in the way in which houses here were built. Not only did weather play a role in construction, but in a house’s orientation as well. Stapleton says many houses used to face south to make the most of daylight exposure with large windows facing the evening sun.

Executive Director of Heritage NL, Jerry Dick says technology also dictated construction design. The earliest designs were very simple and the traditional saltbox form, with a steep pitch roof was very popular.

Most homes prior to the 1880s were a saltbox form, where a steep pitch to the roof was necessary to allow water to shed off the wooden shingles. When tar paper became available, a steep roof was no longer necessary, and the biscuit box with its flatter roof was born.