Do we have to
buy these from you along with a roof cap order?
No, you are not required to get your
weathervane through CBD with a roof cap order, but
you will not find a sturdy long lasting roof mount elsewhere, which
is our specialty. A lot
of wind torsion can be subjected to the side of these weathervanes and
a simple hole drilled into your roof would be a rather soft mount,
which will not last. It would be prone to leak, hard to make sure it is perfectly level,
and not remain level over time, which will impede the rotation of the
weathervane. Any sideways
angle will not permit the weathervane to rotate properly, which will
cause you a good deal of grief down the road.
Good
Directions does sell a sturdy steel roof mount, but
again very tricky to level just right and also prone to cause leaks
over time due to the lag screws working loose. But the worst issue is
how these mounts will cause unsightly rust streaks down the roofing
long before they fail all together.
If I have the weathervane
here in my shop I can customize most any weathervanes to make sure
they will fit best with our custom copper roof caps, so they will go
together without any hang-ups, and make sure the solid 3/4" mast rod
is the right length and all hardware is rust proof.
There are dozens of web sites
and garden shops selling these same products. Although, we do offer a 15% discount when purchased with
our custom roof cap orders, and of course we cannot assure you that
they will go together without a problem if you get them through another
source. If you do find another source, you could have it shipped over
to us, in order to customize it and make sure they will join together
just right. We have pretty much had to make some modifications on each
one we have dealt with.
If the weathervane you already have uses a steel
mast then a solid brass rod can be purchased through us to replace your
steel shaft. A simple magnet test can be done to see if it is just plain
steel, which will rust. Only steel will attract a magnet. Another indication
is paint over the shaft. There would be no need to paint stainless steel,
copper, or brass.
Unlike most all the other web sites selling these
products, we prefer not to play that price game with our clients to
make them think we are less expensive than it really will cost. There
are no hidden charges including shipping within the continental USA.
We list several of our competitors on our Site Map web page that you
find a link to at the bottom of each of our web pages to compare prices.
Even without the 15% discount our prices should be less.
How much do
these cheaper ones cost? They range from $180 to $850.
We have a selection of over 100 different weathervane and ornate finials
shown in our photo pages with the price listed including shipping within
the continental USA and any modification needed for use in our roof
caps. A detail you are not likely to find else where.
What
about custom weathervanes that are stronger?
It is true
that these weathervanes shown below are not made by us at Copper-By-Design.
They are made with a thinner copper with some cast brass and stainless steel
parts. They are less expensive and easier to form with mass production
press equipment. It is true they
could dent fairly easily, but being up high on a roof they are not too
likely to suffer impacts. They are soldered together with minimal overlapped
seams. A stronger custom USA made weathervane would range in cost
from $1,500 to $3,500, depending on how large and ornate they are. The wait time would be
also be a lot longer as well. There are a couple shop in the US who specialize
in this sort of artistic work. We list one on our Site Map page.
Such as Westcoast
Weathervanes.
We
could make stronger custom weathervane like we do for the roof caps,
but we would have to charge about 4 times as much, just like any other
custom shop. With these inexpensive alternatives, we have yet to find
many clients willing to pay over $2k for a custom weathervane. We are
a retailer for Good Directions,
who is a wholesaler of lots of inexpensive weathervanes and other copper
decorations made in foreign lands by slave labor.
Do we
need a stronger
custom made weathervane? A stronger custom finial or weathervane
can still get damaged in a storm. If later on one of these were to get
damaged, they would not be as much a loss as a custom made unit. Another
consideration is if you find a different finial or weathervane that
you like better, you can decide to change it out for this first one.
We feel that about the only reason to pay so much $ for a custom finial
or weathervane is if there is a very specific design you want not
already made in such quantity.
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