# Lean-to

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{{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}}
thumb|upright=1.2|Lean-to tent shelter utilizing a car to support the roof

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, generally used as [shelter](/source/shelter)s, are colloquially referred to as {{nowrap|lean-tos}} in spite of being unattached to anything.

==Purposes==
{{multiple image
| direction = horizontal
| image1    = Appentis.cathedrale.Meaux.png
| width1    = 303
| caption1  = Lean-to ({{langx|fr|Appentis}}) against the walls of [Meaux Cathedral](/source/Meaux_Cathedral)
| image2    = Adirondack Lean-to.jpg
| width2    = 254
| caption2  = A typical free-standing [Adirondack-style](/source/Adirondack_lean-to) lean-to
}}

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 [Meaux Cathedral](/source/Meaux_Cathedral). Other uses include protecting entrances, or establishing covered markets outside existing buildings.<ref>[''Dictionary of French Architecture from 11th to 16th Century'' (1856)](/source/%3Afr%3As%3ADictionnaire_raisonn%C3%A9_de_l'architecture_fran%C3%A7aise_du_XIe_au_XVIe_si%C3%A8cle_-_Tome_1%2C_Appentis){{Dead link|date=May 2018}}</ref>

==Examples==
thumb|upright|A {{lang|fi|laavu}} in the Pukala recreational forest

A lean-to is originally defined as a structure in which the [rafter](/source/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](/source/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](/source/shelter_(building)) is a simplified free-standing version of a [wilderness hut](/source/wilderness_hut) with three solid walls and a single- or, in the case of an [Adirondack lean-to](/source/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](/source/camping).

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}}
{{Huts}}

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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lean-to](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean-to) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean-to?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.