Chris' Cupola

In “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” a few things are a certainty: The family will always yell, “Move that bus.” Many tears will be shed. And Ty always has a project.

In building the house of Payne, there have been a few projects that Chris has decided to take on. The first one was the cupola. A few months ago, I had no idea what a cupola was. Or, more accurately, I had no idea that the thing on top of houses and garages in New England was called a cupola. (As an aside, that’s often how things work with this project. I describe something like, “you know, the square post things at the end of the stairs” and someone says “newel post.” I say “the pointy peak that I want centered above my porch,” and someone says “reverse gable.”)

So back to the cupola. Chris knew what it was and knew that he wanted to refinish it. And that he did – several layers of paint (on some very hot days in my parents’ driveway) later, he hoisted this heavy thing up on the garage on Thursday night.
Because we like add drama to all situations, Chris chose to walk on the roof in the rain as it was approaching darkness. He added the weathervane a couple days later since, well, it started thundering and lightning. Metal, lightning, top of roof – not a great combo.

But the cupola looks super! Here’s some “process photos” capturing Chris’ DIY project.

Next up? You'll have to ask Chris. While I'm obsessing about flush-mount ceiling lights, cabinet hardware and how we're going to afford the electrician and plumber, Chris is highly focused on the backyard, a privacy fence, and using pavers to create a pathway from the driveway to the breezeway door. (We’ve got to stop calling it a breezeway.)