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Beautiful Louver Cupolas from Valley Forge Cupolas and Weathervanes

7/29/2016

Valley Forge Cupolas and Weathervanes is a family business that has been designing custom cupolas for 15 years. We can revolutionize your roof with a cupola that is styled specifically for your building. Louvered cupolas are an excellent choice to add ventilation and airflow to your home, or to simply be ornamental.

Louver Cupolas are Available in Versatile Designs

Our louver cupolas come with a wide variety of options:

They are made from either cedar or maintenance free Azek vinyl
The roofs are available in straight, concave, hexagon, and bell shapes
Choose a traditional four-sided cupola or go for a hexagon cupola to make an eye-catching statement
Hexagon cupolas also have colored roof options
The louvers come in a variety of widths and as single or doubles
You can also add accents with trim, arches, custom molding, or extended drip rails

Our estate/select series include even more options:

The Dalton style is four-sided with single arches and a concave roof.
The Kingston and Pinnacle cupolas are both hexagons with single arches, and one sports a concave roof while the latter has a lovely bell-shaped roof.
If you wish to combine windows with your louvers, you can choose from the Norwood or Waterford styles.

Our Signature series louver cupolas have beautiful accents, including:

Arched custom molding
Center Keystone accents
Custom dental molding and trim

We even carry louver cupolas for your gazebo or shed, and colored metal cupolas.

Our Louver Cupolas Are Easy to Assemble

Your new louver cupola comes in three easy-to-assemble pieces: the base, the louvers, and the roof. Unpack one piece at a time, starting with the base. Place the base on an even surface, then slide the louvers directly into the base. (The trim on the louvers goes toward the base.) The roof then slides easily onto the louvers. It’s that simple!

If you learn better by seeing, you can view our video on "How to Assemble a Cupola."

Get Quality, Hand-Crafted Cupolas from Valley Forge Cupolas and Weathervanes

If you are considering purchasing a cupola for your home, our Cupola Specialist Beverly can provide you with a FREE custom digital quote. Simply email a picture of your building to MagicCupolas@ValleyForgeCupolas.com and we will show you how beautiful your roofline looks with one of our louver cupolas.

Now is the best time to buy! Through July 31st we are offering 72% OFF our beautiful cupolas and weathervanes. Call us today at 866-400-1776 and let us help you choose the cupola of your dreams.

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A Brief History of Weathervanes in America

7/22/2016

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Weathervanes have been a fixture of American homes since the first European settlers arrived in the area that would become the first colonies. These early settlers used weathervanes to predict the challenging weather of their new home in order to improve their farming. Weathervanes initially had to be imported from Europe, but colonists soon began crafting their own, and with their own unique flair.

The Founding Fathers helped expand the weathervane’s popularity by including them on their homes. George Washington commissioned the “peace dove” weathervane for his Mount Vernon home to commemorate the end of the Revolutionary War. Our third president Thomas Jefferson’s cleverly designed weathervane at Monticello was attached to a pointer that went through the ceiling into the room below, allowing him to tell the direction of the wind while inside his home.

As towns grew, weathervanes quickly became fixtures on churches and town halls, since they were generally the tallest buildings and could serve as a communal weather center. In rural areas, where homes and farms were often isolated from local towns, weathervanes remained popular home staples.

As the popularity of weathervanes grew - along with their prosperity - Americans began to create unique and whimsical designs to complement their locations, hobbies, or jobs. People along the coast chose weathervanes in the shape of ships and sea creatures, while farmers would choose roosters or horses to denote a prize stock. Patriotic weathervanes – such as the Goddess of Liberty and the Federal Eagle – were popular in the early 1800s.

During the mid-19th century, baseball and football were yet to become American pastimes. Instead, race horses were the sports heroes, reflected in the explosion of weathervanes depicting horses that ran with the wind. In the 1900’s, simpler styles of architecture came en vogue, leading to the trend of homeowners adding accents to their homes with weathervanes that depicted sporting or humorous scenes or figures, such as the Colonel Sanders weathervanes that graced the roofs of KFC restaurants.

Weathervanes from Valley Forge Cupolas and Weathervanes Add Personality to Your Home

Weathervanes remain popular adornments that add character to any roofline, from a simple farmhouse pointer to the elaborate metalwork of the Victorian gable peak. They are a timeless folk art tradition, and an American tradition since before the birth of our nation. From finials and arrows to birds or novelty weathervanes, Valley Forge Cupolas has over 150 weathervanes to choose from.

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Add Beauty and Function to Barns with a Cupola

7/15/2016

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When people imagine a barn, they generally picture a rectangular red building with large doors and maybe a hayloft. While barns actually come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, two features they almost all have in common are a cupola and weathervane. These features may seem merely ornamental, but they offer unique, beneficial functions as well.

Why Choose a Cupola for Your Barn?

Cupolas add a stunning architectural flair to any building, but they offer increased ventilation as well. This ventilation is crucial in a barn, reducing moisture to help keep hay dry, preventing rot or mold. The improved air quality a cupola provides is also ideal for farm animals during the long winter months. If you include windows in your barn cupola, you get the added benefit of natural light.
Aside from the practical, cupolas add character to a barn and improve its overall look. Whether you choose a simple design or one that is ornate, our custom cupolas are aesthetically pleasing. They are easy to add to existing structures, and most barn owners feel that adding a cupola is a worthwhile investment.

Why Choose a Weathervane?

Weathervanes have a straightforward purpose: to show which direction the wind is blowing. While modern technology has put weather information at our fingertips, the traditional weathervane is still a reliable tool and provides information just as instantly with a single glance.
Weathervanes also add a beautiful flourish and rustic accent to any barn roof. And with so many weathervane designs, it is easy to find one that matches your style and interests.

Make Your Barn Beautiful with Valley Forge Cupolas and Weathervanes

Add beauty and function to your barn or rustic building with a cupola, weathervane, or both. These additions will give you the best-looking – and most functional! – barn in town.
Valley Forge Cupolas and Weathervanes are your custom cupola experts! With over 15 years’ experience designing custom cupolas, we can offer our customers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. We will work with you through every step of the design process to create the cupola of your dreams.

Visit our website to see how our cupolas look on other customer's buildings. You can also view our video that shows how quick and easy it is to assemble your cupola and weathervane.
Call us at 866-400-1776 and find out just how easy it is to add a beautiful, functional cupola to your barn!

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The Rich History of American Cupolas

7/7/2016

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If American architecture could be summed up in one feature, it would be the cupola. Cupolas are such an integral part of early American architecture that nearly every capital and historic building boasts one. Their influence is still reflected in modern buildings, and many homeowners and business owners choose to incorporate custom cupolas to add beauty to their rooflines.

Seminary Ridge, Gettysburg

Every year, people flock to Gettysburg to tour the site of the bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil. One of the most popular spots to visit is Schmucker Hall at Lutheran Theological Seminary. From the strategic vantage point of its famous cupola, Union General John Buford witnessed the beginning of the three day long battle. It was also from this cupola that Buford hailed the timely arrival of Major General John Reynolds and his troops. Thousands of Civil War enthusiasts climb to the cupola every year to imagine themselves in Buford’s place.

Mount Vernon, Virginia

George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate houses one of the most well-known mansions in America, with a million visitors flocking to see it every year. Washington oversaw each renovation of the mansion personally, even during the Revolutionary War. What began as a one-and-a half-story farmhouse grew into a refined 21-room home, reflecting Washington’s rising status from Virginia gentleman farmer to first president of a new nation.

The beautiful window cupola was added in 1774. While Washington was presiding over the Constitutional Convention in 1787 he commissioned architect Joseph Rakestraw to build a weathervane for the new cupola: a dove of peace, shown flying with an olive branch in its beak. The original weathervane was put on display in a museum in 1993 and a replica now stands in its place.

U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.

Perhaps the most famous building in the United States is the U.S. Capitol Building. The crowning glory of this impressive structure is its cast iron dome and cupola. Rather than a weathervane, this cupola is capped with the Statue of Freedom. What you see today is actually the second dome: the first was made of wood, and was deemed to be both a fire hazard and too small for the building. It was removed in 1856 and the second dome’s construction was completed in 1866.

Valley Forge Cupolas Offers Quality, American-made Custom Cupolas

Valley Forge Weathervanes and Cupolas continues the glorious tradition of American cupolas by bringing affordable custom cupolas to homes, businesses, and garages around the country. We are the cupola specialists, with over 15 years in the business. We work one-on-one with customers to design the cupola of their dreams, with 100% satisfaction guaranteed.

If you would like to add classic American beauty and elegance to your roofline, call us today at 866-400-1776 and see how easy it is to add a cupola to your home.

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Beautiful Louver Cupolas from Valley Forge Cupolas and Weathervanes

A Brief History of Weathervanes in America

Add Beauty and Function to Barns with a Cupola

The Rich History of American Cupolas

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