Cupola rebuild and garage loft room.

[Rmarsh]

It's been atop my garage since I installed it back in '86......functional not decorative. Only got painted maybe once since then and has deteriorated badly and I suspect leaks a little. House was built in '77 and garage added later. Going to keep the upper part with the louvers.....repair and repaint and build a new base with pvc.
Im at the point where I need to do some needed repairs.... dont want to turn the house over to my sons in shabby condition. Wife is concerned about me going up on the roof nowdays......says Im too old......but I've been doing it for fifty years now and still very confident in my abilities......besides who else is going to do it....not my boys....grown men but not roofers. Finishing a loft apartment/room up there over the garage.... my oldest might be coming back home to live with us. Ill put up a few pictures as we make progress.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-no?authuser=1

[Rmarsh]

Cupola is back in place....new pvc base and the original upper louvered part repaired and repainted....good for another 35 years i figure?
I carried up there solo...two separate pieces...then gave my son the job of placing the weathervane on top.

Cut a hole in the garage ceiling in preparation for a full width stairway....will remove the window later on because the stairs will pass by it.

[nightfighter]

Nice work. I have rebuilt one that was much larger and heavier on the ground than it appeared up on the garage roof when I took on the job... Bob, did you make it strictly decorative now that you are finishing the apartment?
While you have the chicken hook out, might as well spray that roof with some Wet N Forget.

[piemma]

Nice Job

[spence]

Years ago at my old house my (now x) wife brought home a vintage whale weathervane and wanted me to install it. Now this was a two story home cut into a hill with a pretty steep roof pitch. I always hate asking neighbors for help if it’s their livelihood but I went to my neighbor, an old school commando carpenter and asked him how I get this thing up there. I’m good with carpentry but do not like heights. He just shook his head and said give it to me. Scampers up the ladder with the screw gun tucked into his jeans and climbs up the gable end with his free hand gripping the edge. Mounts the ridge and zip zip zip done. Must have taken him all of 10 minutes.

[Rmarsh]

Originally Posted by nightfighter

Nice work. I have rebuilt one that was much larger and heavier on the ground than it appeared up on the garage roof when I took on the job... Bob, did you make it strictly decorative now that you are finishing the apartment?
While you have the chicken hook out, might as well spray that roof with some Wet N Forget.

Thanks Ross......I thought about patching the hole in the roof where the cupola sits and then reinstalling it just as a decoration ....but it serves an important function....I have no gable end vents or ridge vent and have seen what can happen to unvented areas like this. I think the leak was really just wind blown snow coming through the louvers and then melting.

Good suggestion about the wet and forget....never tried it....I have gone up and scrubbed off moss and scaling once in a while but will have to try that stuff next time.


Son and I are spending our saturdays working on this room that is intended for him to occupy sometime in the future.......he just turned forty and has lived alone and on his own for the last twenty years. Im thinking that as my wife and I are getting older it will be a good thing to have him here with us....but in his own separate living space.
The more time i spend up there the more i like it.... for the peace and quiet it provides. I already have my cot up there for napping

[Rmarsh]

Originally Posted by spence

Years ago at my old house my (now x) wife brought home a vintage whale weathervane and wanted me to install it. Now this was a two story home cut into a hill with a pretty steep roof pitch. I always hate asking neighbors for help if it’s their livelihood but I went to my neighbor, an old school commando carpenter and asked him how I get this thing up there. I’m good with carpentry but do not like heights. He just shook his head and said give it to me. Scampers up the ladder with the screw gun tucked into his jeans and climbs up the gable end with his free hand gripping the edge. Mounts the ridge and zip zip zip done. Must have taken him all of 10 minutes.

Thanks for chiming in Spence......Having spent most of my life framing and roofing houses.... Im right at home and am totally comfortable on any roof. Guys on the jobsite dubbed me spiderman long ago and it still fits.
I love being up here!

[Rmarsh]

Originally Posted by piemma

Nice Job

Thanks Paul.....we have a very small budget for this project and are doing it piecemeal.... $100 worth of materials a week doesnt get us too far!

[Rmarsh]

Hanging and taping the drywall ourselves....going to be a half bath only...and a kitchenette.... with a small sink, countertop, and under counter mini fridge.

[Rmarsh]

view looking towards my workshop from the garage loft widow.