Roof Returns

Complex roof lines, a quaint, traditional notion abandoned by the supposed vanguard, are at their zany best when features are asymmetrical (see Fraternal Twin Dormers? 12/11/2008 ), or even discontinuous.  

In rare cases, the bargeboard is truncated, interrupted by another element (like the chimney, above; or, turret, left).  

Rarer still are examples like below, from a work by the Heineman Brothers.

A shed roof bargeboard that originates not at the junction of a wall, but rather just below a knee brace, masking a slight, second-floor projection.   The partial return, attended to by the ubiquitous pigeon busting owl (see Owl Decoys 10/29/2008), is demented.