Cupola Project

[Geof Fowler]

Hi all!

New member here and can already see there is a whole bunch of knowledge and skill here! Though this isn't the kind of finish work I see here, I thought I'd post some pics of a cupola project I did a few years ago. Unfortunately I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked to.

The cupola I built in 3 sections (for ease of installation): the base, the shuttered middle section, and the curved roof. This pic shows the rough base and middle section:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/base-04.jpg
This pic shows the rough roof and middle section:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/roof-03.jpg
When finished, I applied 2 coats of high-quality primer, and then 2 coats of paint:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola-4.jpg
At this point I made up this pic to get bids on the standing seam copper roof:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola-9.jpg
When the low bid came back over $3K I decided to do it myself. I didn't take any pics of this, but I laid out the 4 pieces to conform to the curves and scribed some lines, adding 1" to the "female" side and 1/2" to the "male". I then clamped a section at a time in place and used a combination of a ball-peen hammer, vice grips, linesman pliers, and probably a few other odd tools to shape the top panels.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola03.jpg
When this was finished, I did the same with the base, although by that time you can see the copper was already tarnishing:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola06.jpg
In the above pic you can also see the weathervane attached. This has a sort of interesting story behind it. About 15 or 20 years ago I had a foundry operation, and a patternmaker came to me and asked to have a weathervane cast in aluminum (he did all the patternwork). I agreed, and on a whim, asked my guys to cast me one in bronze:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/arrow01.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/eagle01.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/NESW.jpg
About five years ago, I decided to do the cupola and still had the bronze pieces in my basement. I found a good TIG welder and had the pieces welded together; machined the spindles etc and went looking for some glass balls, finding a very interesting shop in Rhode Island (Crosswinds Gallery) where I not only found the antique balls, but learned that the weathervane was a copy of a very valuable Whitehall model. I'll bet I have the only one in bronze! Anyway, here is a pic of it on my roof:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola005.jpg
Cheers

Geof Fowler

[Mike Vermeil]

Very nice - totally pro. Welcome to SMC!

[John Miliunas]

Man, talk about "mixed media"!:D Great job throughout, Geof!!! I wouldn't even dream of doing copper work like that! Too expensive to screw up and whenever I try stuff like that, "Mr. Murphy" is by my side dictating his "laws"! :rolleyes: Beautiful work!:) :cool:

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great job Geof. Beautiful work.

[Gregg Mason]

What a great project. You really had your hands full with that one. Thanks for sharing it.

[Steve Ash]

Very nice Geof, did you know at the time you were building it that it was a copy of the whitehall model, or was it coincidence?

[Geof Fowler]

Steve,

The cupola was a cross between one I saw on "This Old House" and some of the antique ones I admire here in New England (mainly the curved roof). The weathervane is the antique "Whitehall" and I had no idea of what it was until I walked into Crosswinds Gallery and mouth's dropped. If I were to do it over, I would substitute a good quality 6/6 or 8/8 window for the louvers. I think it would look better and be less maintainance (it sure is a lot of surface area to keep mildew off of and keep touching up each year) -- heck, the window could even be vinyl-clad.

Cheers and thanks for the complements.

Geof Fowler

[Karl Laustrup]

That is really great looking Geof. Glad I mentioned "we like pix of other stuff" also. This is the kind of thing that inspires me, for one, to challenge myself.

Of course then I come back to reality and realize something like that is a weeeeeeeeeee bit beyond my skill level. Especially working with metal, cause that involves sharp edges.

Karl

[Jim Becker]

Welcome to SMC, Geof! That cupola is wonderful and looks great installed.

[Frank Pellow]

Welcome to Saw Mill Creek Geof. Karl was right on when he said that your project inspired him. It certainly inspires me and makes me think that, some day, I could tackle a project that includes copper -I really like copper and it goes well with cedar -my favourite wood for outdoor projects.

[Geof Fowler]

Karl, Jim & Frank,

Thanks for the kind words. I see among you, you have amassed some 13,000 posts. WOW! I can't wait to learn from your projects and experience! As for the copper, it is really a lot easier to work with then you might think. I bought (2) 3' x 6' sheets for this project, and with the scraps have made about a dozen copper roofed bird houses and a few other things.

Cheers

Geof Fowler

[Byron Trantham]

Geof,
Spectacular! I built a small coin meter enclosure fashioned after the club house where it was to be installed. The original used plywood for the roof and rotted - badly! I also used plywood but caped it with copper. This was the first time I tried anything like this. I took me a week just to find a source. Once they realized what I was trying to do they were all over me with help. For one thing they didn't make me buy a whole role of copper. They rummaged around their shop and found a piece of scrap that did the job. They offered to create the drip edges with their brake but I wanted to try it myself. I used a 2x4 and a rubber mallet!:confused: By golly it came out fine! Here is a pic.

[Geof Fowler]

Byron,

Very nice, and you even used copper nails. BTW, so did I, but I learned the hard way that HD copper nails have a whole bunch of iron in them and the will rust, although is wasn't a big deal, since the majority of the roof is a standing seam and doesn't need exposed nails. Where there were exposed ones, I ended up replacing them with a good grade of copper from a real hardware store. The rub was, and is, that the price was less than HD's -- go figure.

Cheers

JDFANATIC
JD2210