May 04 2010
Materials Used For Cupolas – Wood Or Vinyl?
If you’re looking to add a bit of old-fashioned architecture to your home, a cupola is the piece to add. While this can be ornamented with a weathervane or finial, a cupola itself is reminiscent of pre-20th century architecture in the Northeastern United States and eastern Canada. Homes and other buildings at this time were built with cupolas either as lookout points – common for many coastal cities and towns with fishing or whaling industries – or as vents to allow air to circulate in the home. Eventually, though, cupolas became more ornamental in nature and, for this particular purpose, many will add one to the roof of their home or building.
If you plan on adding such a structure, decide which material would blend in best with your building, as well as which one would be practical. Modern cupolas are usually no more than four feet tall, unless they’re functional, and are made from wood or vinyl. Wood often blends in better with the building below, especially as the wood can be stained. Vinyl, however, stands out more from the shingles with a bright white color, but this material is easier to clean and, as a result, becomes more convenient for the home owner.
While vinyl and wood are common for modern cupolas, this wasn’t always the case. In fact, if you examine many historical American or Canadian buildings with these structures added, the cupola is nearly always wooden and painted to blend in with the exterior of the home. You can do the same with a cupola you add to your outdoor décor, and this will help it blend in with the exterior better. A cupola attached to a home painted blue and yellow, for example, would appear out of place.
But, if you examine cupolas throughout history, wood is the most common material used. Older structures, such as those seen on castles in Europe, might have been made of stone on occasion, but wood cupolas are the most regularly seen on many historical buildings.