A Cupola For Your Wood Shed

What a difference a century or so makes!

What a difference the evolution from an agrarian society to an industrial society has made upon the common knowledge base of the citizenry of our country.

Upon a time, it was the rare school boy or school girl who was not familiar with the pragmatic functionality of a barn cupola.  Today, of course, when farmers make up barely 2% of the population and farmable land in the U.S. accounts for only about 40% of all land in this country, the origins and practicalities of the cupola are pretty much forgotten.

So…

The cupolas that adorned 18^th and 19^th century barns in America were nothing more than simple air convection systems.  Cool air was pulled into the barn through a hole in the roof that was covered by the cupola and warm air was pulled out of the barn via the same hole.  The resulting ambient temperature of the barn became far more suitable for drying hay and nurturing livestock.

These early cupolas offered a very simple, yet effective, system for barn maintenance.

In today’s world, of course, when neither hay nor livestock make their home in a backyard storage shed or garden shed, the functionalities of a cupola are no longer essential.   As for architectural nostalgia and memories of things long past, however, the cupola remains a stolid surrogate for an era when men and women still worked the land.

For those interested in assembling a wood shed that has an optional cupola, we would like to share a few of our favorite options:

-     The Suncast 10 x 20 Studio Garden Shed has 7 foot walls and a 6 x 6 double full-size door opening.  The optional Suncast Cupola has a copper roof, UV protection to prevent fading and sizing that will accommodate roof pitch up to 10/12.

-     The EZup Cambridge 10 x 12 Storage Shed has 6’4” of head room and unique pocket doors that slide back into the wall of the wood shed itself.  The optional EZup cupola has assembly directions that allow the cupola to be used for ventilation.  In addition, the EZup cupola has a weathervane that comes in either an eagle, horse or rooster design.

-     The Little Cottage Company Workshop Garden Shed has barn style doors, locking door handle latches and aluminum gable vents.  The optional Little Cottage Company cupola is 18” x 18" x 24".

Each of Suncast, EZup and The Little Cottage Company have numerous wood shed styles and sizes that accommodate a cupola.

It is quite likely that your yard was once farmland.  This is especially true for those of you that live east of the Rockies.  Consider a cupola for your wood shed as a testament to those that walked your land before you those many decades ago.