I first got these 40 pieces of wood cut for the framework to build this. They were angle cut on my table saw and miter saw and sanded. The darker brown wood is reclaimed redwood from a deck I had rebuilt with a hardwood called ipe.  I quickly assembled them with expanding Gorilla Glue and stapled them together before adding the deck screws. This way the boards are much less likely to shift or move as I add the screws for added strength.

I added the arch pieces, so I could attach the eve ring. Then I got the roof joist for this cupola made and attached over the center hub I had made with another 16 2X4 boards. This is very sturdy. Easily twice as strong as house construction. I think of this more as unrefined cabinet work.

With the plywood covering this it adds up to 72 pieces of wood in all with hundreds of screws for this construction.

Now that this wood work is done before the copper can go on I needed to cover this with a special high temp Water & Ice Shield underlayment called Blueskin by Henry's. This underlayment is even more expensive than typical roof shingles. It is to make sure the condensation that may occur under the copper will not mildew the wood structure underneath. Most Fabricators would consider what I do as way overkill and unnecessary.

Above right shows the wood attachment ring I made that will get screwed down to their gazebo roof before this gets put in place. I decided to add this aluminum soffit inside, so this has a clean look when viewed from below. This way you are not looking up into the bones of the structure. Another detail that in not done with most construction work.

The sides were formed in a single sheet that wrapped all the way around for a single seam to be position in the back where it's not going to be seen. Then one by one I had to cut open the windows and form the metal inside the frame adding the upper and lower pieces separately with a drip edge along the bottom.

Once the side window framing was completed and the eve shields were in I was ready for the 8 copper roof skins that attach under the eaves and the tops bent down into the center hole.

I discussed what to do with the window openings: louvers, stainless steel screen, tinted plastic, or stained glass windows. They want to have the opening screened, so I added the 6X6 stainless steel screen inside and added these 3/4" copper pipes in the corners to help hold them in place.

This screen has a little wider holes than standard window screen, so they do not become clogged with dust, yet small enough to keep out most flying insects. I suppose small nats could squeeze in.