Cupola Design

[Ty Pilarczyk]

Hi everyone!

After several attempts and setbacks through the years, my family and I are finally making a go of making liquid gold!

The pics attached are of the sugarhouse so far. We are a family of savers and have scrounged up enough materials over the years to make a basic shack. It isn't the prettiest, or even the best build. But it should serve its purpose well.

With rafters beginning to go up on Labor Day, my attentions turn to the cupola. I have some basic guidelines and ideas but need some more insight. Might I ask to see your cupola pics and/or designs? Especially of the insides...frames, cables/ropes, etc.?

Much appreciated and will keep you posted on our humble sugaring abode!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180902/0b647e6dcc54d1cd78b84f56f1e04b68.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180902/b5bbc3c29c07032f0d462058749ed8c9.jpg

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[VTnewguy]

1878518786 This is how we did ours two years ago. Simple door hinges allow it to open and close.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Will you be making any sort of hood or are you going with the let the steam find its way out idea.

[minehart gap]

Something that I learned the hard way: make sure that your cupola doors open out. Condensation rains on the evaporator if they open in. The downside to opening out is that you will need a bracket for the cable system to open and close the door.

[Ty Pilarczyk]

Haynes no hood, just natural draft.

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[NhShaun]

Here's a not so good photo of my cupola. But the design worked well for me as I was building the entire sugar house alone. If you don't plan on using a hood I would recommend going overkill on the cupola size incase you decide to upgrade and expand your evaporator someday. Saves you from cutting your roof apart to extend it if the steam gets to be too much down the road.
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[canaanmaple]

Does anyone know if having the doors open down (hinge on bottom) or open up (top hinged) effects the venting one way or another? thanks!

[maple flats]

Mine are hinged on the bottom, I never tried hinges on top. The only issue is that you want them to open to slightly beyond level so they drip outside if it's snowing or raining and then you need a pulley up high to pull them closed . I have ropes to close mine, but both are then joined and go down as 1. On that one I have a knot to show how far to open them. I use a boat type cleat to tie it off, and the knot always gets placed at the same spot on the cleat. If I go too far and let them rest on the roof I'm barely heavy enough to lift them, and I'm not a light weight by any means.

[minehart gap]

Dave, with your hinges being mounted on the bottom of the cupola doors, when it is snowing and time to close the doors have you had a problem with snow on the doors dumping into the sugar shack?

[johnallin]

My doors open out from the bottom. "Hinged" on a 1" pipe placed 1/3 down from the top which extends into pillow blocks mounted on cupola. They always want to close and keep any rain or snow out.

[DMF]

Mine are on the bottom. This season will be the first time we use the sugar house so we'll see... 18844

[johnallin]

A picture of my doors from inside with the pipe "hinge" 1/3 down from the top, and one from outside under boil. These open from the bottom - no snow or rain comes in at all.

If you look closely at the interior shot you can see the pipe extends past the door into a pillow block on the frame of the cupola. I pull on a line (rope) attached to the top of the door which leads down through a turning block and cleat it off when the door is angled properly.

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I can't take credit for the design - it was Scott Carlson from Sweet Grass Joinery who gave me the idea. Scott also did all of the timber frame work - I did the hemlock siding and made the doors, windows. Scott is an artist for sure.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I have 4X8 door on mine and they hinge from the bottom. I can open mine with ropes letting gravity do its thing I have hooks to allow them to open fully or 1/2 way. Snow has never been a problem because at 1/2 open the hat water vapor billowing out melts the flakes as they pass by. I also open mine independently from each other so I can use the wind to my advantage I will keep the Leeward side open all the way and keep the other one 1/2 closed. When the wind gets heavy it can cause to much swirling around the doors pushing the water vapor back in.

[maineboiler]

Great looking sugar shack!

[billschi]

How does one calculate the sizeof the doors on the cupola?
I have a 2x4 and 2x6 pans that may run at the same time.

[maple flats]

If boiling without a hood,on either you want the same sq footage as the pans. Thus 2x4 + 2x6= 8+12=20 sq. foot. If you use hoods the size it really just for looks, however it does still remove a little steam. With hoods about 1/3-1/2 should be good.
Dave

[HondoLane]

A picture of my doors from inside with the pipe "hinge" 1/3 down from the top, and one from outside under boil. These open from the bottom - no snow or rain comes in at all.

If you look closely at the interior shot you can see the pipe extends past the door into a pillow block on the frame of the cupola. I pull on a line (rope) attached to the top of the door which leads down through a turning block and cleat it off when the door is angled properly.




18847 18848

I can't take credit for the design - it was Scott Carlson from Sweet Grass Joinery who gave me the idea. Scott also did all of the timber frame work - I did the hemlock siding and made the doors, windows. Scott is an artist for sure.




I really like the design of your sugar shack. I like how the cupola was done. I am 1/3 into my build and I’d like to build doors like you have. Can you send me some more photos of the cupola?

Also, I plan on exiting through the center of the peak with my stack. Can you send me photos of the roof jack too.

Do you get a lot of “rain” inside with the wood on the underside of the metal?

My email is knock10090@gmail.com if it is easier to send photos!

Thanks!

[johnallin]

Here's a better picture of the cupola and door hinge setup.
I used 2x8's over the timber rafters for sheathing, then installed the metal roofing over that...we don't get any condensation at all.
Cupola was framed up, like a dog house(?) with no floor and the bottom plate angled to match the roof pitch, then hoisted to the roof top.
It rests on the rafters, with the bottom wall plate lag bolted down into the rafters. I installed the hemlock siding after all was in place.

I was notified that you had tried to send a PM - but my in-box was full. It has been cleared out.


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[HondoLane]

Here's a better picture of the cupola and door hinge setup.
I used 2x8's over the timber rafters for sheathing, then installed the metal roofing over that...we don't get any condensation at all.
Cupola was framed up, like a dog house(?) with no floor and the bottom plate angled to match the roof pitch, then hoisted to the roof top.
It rests on the rafters, with the bottom wall plate lag bolted down into the rafters. I installed the hemlock siding after all was in place.

I was notified that you had tried to send a PM - but my in-box was full. It has been cleared out.


18970

Thanks for the reply. I like how the doors are hinged. Do you have any photos of the stack and roof jack. I’m thinking I want to go out through the peak and want to see how it is on the inside and up on the roof.

[maple flats]

Dave, with your hinges being mounted on the bottom of the cupola doors, when it is snowing and time to close the doors have you had a problem with snow on the doors dumping into the sugar shack?
Sorry, I missed this question before now. I have never had so much snow on the doors during a boil that it caused any problem. I think iyt is because soo much steam (or moisture laden warm air) is flowing over the open doors that I get no build up on them. I think I did have freezing rain stick on them once but it remained there when I closed the doors.

[johnallin]

Thanks for the reply. I like how the doors are hinged. Do you have any photos of the stack and roof jack. I’m thinking I want to go out through the peak and want to see how it is on the inside and up on the roof.

Due to the fact that we do not have a ridge beam - rafters are connected at the top with wood pegged mortise and tenons - installing the stack was pretty straight forward.
I just cut out the 2X8 roof decking between rafters and ran it up through the opening and into the roof jack.
The roof jack was from Leader and matched the 12/12 pitch of the roof.

First picture shows the stack going up through the roof and into the roof jack.
Second shows the ceramic blanket with a metal cover to protect the roof area.
Third is a picture of what our roof jack looks like from Leader's site.

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Hope this is helpful. John

[maple flats]

Are my eyes playing a trick on me, or do you have an offset just before entering the roof jack?

[phil-t]

:) He had to get between the beams.

[johnallin]

Are my eyes playing a trick on me, or do you have an offset just before entering the roof jack?

Yes I do Dave. I had Leader fab the last pc of stack so I could clear the rafters. Nice catch

[maple flats]

I would of needed an offset too, but when I was building my sugarhouse I planned where the smoke stack would be and moved 1 truss over 6" so the stack goes straight up thru.
Then I later got new pans and it came with a SS hood. One of the steam stacks was "in the wrong place" so I had them make a SS offset for that steam stack.