Cupolas are making a comeback---not only for barns, but for homes, garages, commercial buildings, and gazebos. Although they are ornamental, cupolas are also very functional by circulating air and providing an inexpensive light source. Cupolas bring back a bit of country to your estate by providing warmth and charm, with traditional early American architecture. Installed on rooftops, they create an asymmetrical appeal that allows the outside buildings to look there absolute best.
A cupola is defined as a dome-shaped ornamental structure that sits on top of a larger building. Cupolas are called belvedere when it can be reached by an inside stairway. Lanterns, when they have windows that illuminate the areas below. Like a skylight.
Cupolas meet aesthetic and functional needs. Most owners today use them as decorative, an easy add on. One just bolts them in on the rooftop. Some cupolas are weathervane ready to give your cupola a personalized and finished look.
The shapes of cupolas can be round, square or octagonal, and come in a variety of styles from windows, louvered or custom made. Cupola bases are designed to accommodate different roof pitches of the structures they sit upon. Common materials include wood, vinyl, stone and metal.
Wood is the preferred material, as it looks natural and is weather resistant; furthermore, it can be painted to match your décor. Wood does not retain heat, but it requires upkeep of being painted every 6 to 7years, smog and humidity affect how long the paint will last.
Vinyl cupolas are weather resistant. It is heavier than wood—so there may be extra cost to reconstruct the rooftop the cupola will sit on. Vinyl does not offer as many color options, and the color fades with consistent exposure to the elements. Vinyl can distort and warp because the heat on the roof is from 30-35 degrees warmer than the ground temperature; also it is not environmentally friendly.
Proportion is important, in terms of look and function. Larger buildings require larger cupolas. Size is the big issue----what they look like on the ground versus what they look like on the roof. The ratio of 1 inch cupola per one foot unbroken roofline and height a ratio of 1 ½ inch (tall) per foot of roofline.
When choosing a cupola one needs to stay true to the style of the building it will be placed on, cupolas should compliment architectural style. Bell style rooflines are most appropriate for buildings with gambrel roof and Colonial style homes, while pagoda style for raised center barns and French Country homes.
The biggest mistake is getting a cupola that is too small, which then has the appearance of a bird house. It's all about a tower pointing to the sky. When properly proportioned, cupolas articulate the skyline, getting your outside buildings to look their absolute best.
Cupolas are an architectural accent. They are a great way to add class, sophistication, or a little country charm to add beauty to the roofline of buildings. From residential barns to grand cathedrals, the cupola is a timeless masterpiece, a nostalgic remembrance of early American architecture.
Copyright (c) 2008 Elda Titus
When it comes to basements, particularly unfinished basements, a lot of us wish that we could have a little more headroom. Unfortunately, raising the roof is just not an option most of the time, because of the support the basement walls lend to your upper floors and because of all the hassle involved in rearranging the upstairs of your building.
There is another option when it comes to raising the ceiling height in your basement so that you can add another effective living area in your house, and that is lowering the floor of the basement. This is no less labour intensive than raising the ceiling, but you will have far fewer risks to the super structure of your home.
Of course, that does not mean that you don't run any risks to your home when you choose to lower the basement. You could, for example, risk fundamentally damaging the foundation or the footer of your house if you don't proceed with extreme caution. You might also find that the area underneath your house is criss-crossed with pipes, conductors, and so on; underground distribution networks are becoming increasingly more complex.
One way that you can alleviate a lot of the labour and risk to foundations and underground systems alike is to use the services provided by a hydrovac vehicle. Here are a couple of way in which such a service can help you out a lot when it comes to your basement renovations:
Precision excavation: Hydrovac, as the name implies, uses water to break up the ground and at the same time removes the earth with a vacuum system. No need to worry about damaging your pipes as you pound away or dig at the ground in the basement; the water does this for you with no damage to the underground systems.
Far less labour: You will still have to remove the concrete yourself, but the use of a hydrovac will take a lot of back breaking and painstaking work out of the earth removal process, which is going to be the larger task.
Lowering your basement level is a tough undertaking and will take a while to complete so it is important that you take advantage of anything that can make it easier. Hydrovac systems have a great record of getting the job done quickly, and with no interruption of services!
Both Elda Titus & Rob Parker are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Elda Titus has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Management, Family and Lingerie. bring a bit of country to your estate by providing exterior. Elda Titus's top article generates over 2400 views. to your Favourites.
Rob Parker has sinced written about articles on various topics from Real Estate, Network Marketing and Real Estate. For more information on this article or on services, visit SuperSucker.ca. Rob Parker's top article generates over 301000 views. to your Favourites.