Building the Cupola

Oh Deer!
This last week was shortened by one day due to the Labor Day Weekend. I arrived on Tuesday to a much cooler weather regime. It’s amazing how summer just abruptly ended and now fall like weather has taken hold. With the days rapidly becoming shorter, I now quite often drive down the rural roads in the dark. I thought I was being cautious about the deer, but sometimes there is not much you can do. Driving back to the cabin on Tuesday, I met up with a deer on the road. I tried to stop but such was not the case. Now there is one less deer in this world and one more dented bumper. I was quite fortunate that it was only the bumper. Now I’m debating whether to fix the bumper or wait until the rut season is over. Lately I am seeing more deer. Let’s hope no more meet up with me on the road.

The majority of my time was spent designing and building the cupola for the center of the roof. The cupola will be eight sided and actually serve a couple of purposes as well as being decorative. The first purpose is to adequately vent the attic area of the house to eliminate any moisture buildup under the roof sheathing. The second purpose is to vent out hot air from the house during the summer. If you have ever experienced a whole house fan, you can certainly appreciate them on a windless, muggy night. My plans are to install a whole house fan in the ceiling of the second floor center area. With the cupola above, the whole house fan should do an excellent job. During the winter months, I will seal off the area around the whole house fan and provide insulation to prevent excessive heat loss.

I went to the library to research cupola designs and I happened to find plans for an eight sided cupola. The plans called for cutting louvers for the vents. I cheated by purchasing attic side vents instead. I built the cupola in sections so that I can disassemble the monster before I attempt to raise it on the roof. Each side is 21″ x 30″ and the panels are removable. The diameter is about four and a half feet with a height of about six feet. My goal for next week is to finish cutting the roof panels and fit all the pieces together. Then disassemble and reassemble it up on the roof. If all goes well, there should be a cupola up on top of the roof by the end of next week.

The Metal Roof Debate
I have been debating over which type of metal roof to put up for a while now. A metal roof provides much greater longevity, it is fire resistant, snow slides off of it,   and if you want to collect good rain water it is a necessity. I could install a metal shingle roof myself or install a standing seam roof by others. I have been reluctant to install a standing seam roof due to the complexity and cost involved.

The metal shingle roof offers the advantage of lower cost. I could do the installation myself and the materials are less expensive than a standing seam. The disadvantage to a metal shingle at least with aluminum is the strength of the material. Although it is hail resistant, I doubt it could withstand a large hail storm without a bunch of dents. (In a metal shingle roof there is quite a bit of dead space between the shingle and the roof sheathing, whereas a standing seam roof sits firmly on top of the sheathing. There would be less denting of the metal.)

I have finally decided to go with a standing seam roof. Hopefully, it will be the only roof we will ever need to buy. Unfortunately the few roofers who can do the work are backed up big time. It looks like it will be a couple of months before the roof is finished. Hopefully before the snow flies.