Per last entry, we need…

Per last entry, we need to think about roof caps, finials, weathervanes for the turret. It needs a roof cap. We have two options:

a) Have Dobek build a basic roof cap, which would be built of dark grey flashing, and essentially invisible from the ground. This will cost something, but not a ton. I think. Should check.

b) Buy a decorative roof cap, with or without finial and/or weathervane.

For the material, Pam had suggested copper, which initially seemed shiny to me, but she pointed out that very quickly it would patina to a color that would blend in (she thinks) with our dark grey roof, and our downpour blue & blackberry wine house. I am very not sure about that -- I'm worried that even a green-ish copper will still look more earth tone and will clash with all the cool blue/purple/grey tones. Thoughts??

And then there's the shape of the thing.

Now, it'd be nice to add a little bit of height to the turret -- but at the same time, we don't want it to be too much height, and get out of scale. Pam thinks we could totally do a weathervane, and is pushing for a dragon one, which I admit, I am sorely tempted by.

Here's an example of a dragon weathervane, both with and without patina (click on photo at bottom of that page to see patina version). Adorable, no? $180. I also quite like their pegasus -- it has more graceful lines than their dragon. It's also twice the price, sigh, $370. And since these don't come with roof caps, you'd need to add the price of the roof cap in as well. (I'm sorry I can't figure out how to cut and paste the images onto this page directly -- damned IBM computer at work.)

(Oops -- that dragon is apparently the cottage version, half-size the regular version -- regular is $449, sigh. Still can't figure out exactly what the finished dimensions are.)

These are all charming -- but I'm worried that anything like that would be too fussy on our turret, which is simple and square. Here's the rooftop again, to remind you (the turret is on the left, of course):

It's fine, I think, if the finial is a bit higher than the rest of the house -- that's appropriate for a turret. But not too high!

Similarly whimsical (but not quite as overtly fantasy-esque), is this totally charming banneret. I love the openwork of it -- very reminiscent of Eastlake geometries, which you can find in the hardware on our house. 23" high, 36" long. I love it, but think it may be too fussy? (Also the most expensive option, at $495. Sigh.)

Simpler is a basic roof cap with finial, like the Morgana ($415, including cap) -- I like the aesthetics of this, but worry that it's too tall (49" high)and pointy, and also that the pitch on the roof cap part is too steep. Dobek said something about a 10-12 pitch, and I have no idea what he means by that. I should probably ask him. Maybe we'd be better off with The Cheshire ($185 with cap), which is only 16" high. Or something in between. Argh. So complicated!

Advice?

7 thoughts on “Per last entry, we need…”

  1. I think copper would work fine. It weathers from red to brown to greenish, I think, depending on the weather. We have a copper chimney cover, and 8 years on, it’s a very muted dark brown. The shine goes off very quickly unless it’s coated.

    (I’m biased. I have a huge weakness for copper.)

    I have to say while I loved the dragon, and it would be more fanciful, I think the Pegasus works better for the style of your house. Considering that whatever you do will be there for 10-15 years if not more, I think the price difference should not be a huge factor.

  2. 10/12 pitch means the roof rises 10″ for every 12″ horizontal “run.” In other words, it’s a little less than 45 degrees.

    And I think your builder (I’m guessing Dobek is your builder) means that the pitch of the roof cap has to match the pitch of the roof.

    The supplier you pointed to has some information on roof pitches (see the Ordering page), but it apparently only applies to cupolas.

    You might want to give them a call.

  3. My only thought on this is that in my experience it is best not to have anything that penetrates your roof unnecessarily, as it becomes a magnet for leaks. They will tell you they can seal it up and so on and so forth, but not having a hole is always better. I think I would leave it plain, but you should do whatever makes you happy.

  4. You’re regret not getting the dragon (or pegasus if you prefer it). Go with whimsy. Also ask Dobek what a bog-standard roof cap costs. It may be that a standard one is not expensive and I think that could be fine. If you have a pretty weathervane, that’s really all anyone will notice.

  5. I’m not going to help because I like a different one from everyone else – I thnk the banneret is lovely, whimsicle and very you. Looks like a mideavil (I can never spell that properly) flag on the turret of a castle. Well at least you know there is nothing wrong with you because you can’t decide – your readers can’t agree either.

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