With attention being paid to the Mariner, the cupola project has been delayed but not forgotten. On Wednesday, I talked with a representative of United Rentals, a company that rents all sorts of lift equipment. I've decided, on the suggestion of my friend Fowler, that it might pay to pay for a machine to lift the whole, 440-pound structure and place it on the roof rather than assembling it up there myself on a ladder.
To determine the weight, I disassembled the bottom of the cupola -- the part with the windows in it -- stood on the bathroom scale and held one side and then one roof panel. Each side weighs about 75 pounds. Each roof panel weighs about 33 pounds, or 108 pounds total per side. Multiply this by four and round up to the nearest ten and you get the total weight.
Yesterday, I was about to go to a builder's supply store and buy some coil -- the coated aluminum that will become the red roof of the cupola. But a phone call delayed me. So the purchase has been postponed until today.
The next step is the fabrication of the metal roof. That will be a slow process because the fit has to be just right.
Once I get a quote from United, I'll schedule a day to rent. Then, just before that day, I'll take the whole structure outside, piece-by-piece, and reassemble it at a spot where the lift equipment can reach it.
I was surprised to find that United doesn't care that I've never operated a lift before. They will rent just about any piece of equipment that I ask for. That's a little scary.