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Using copper for 1/2 wall cap

connie363's picture

Using copper for 1/2 wall cap (post #176382)

connie363 on Thu, 01/19/2006 - 23:33
in

Our new house has a 30" high dividing half wall between breakfast area and hallway that needs a 14" wide cap on the top. Am looking for something unique instead of the clear oak cap and wondering how easy it would be to make or have made a copper cap that would fit over this cap. One problem is that there is a post centered at one end of this wall so whatever material used would have to be fit around the post. Any ideas or other material/ finishes for a unique look?

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by wyatt in reply to connie363 [original] on Fri, 01/20/2006 - 00:49

Stone if you can find one you like that goes with your house.


wyatt

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by WayneL5 in reply to connie363 [original] on Fri, 01/20/2006 - 03:32

What is the style of the house?  What are the other materials in the room?  What do you like?

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by connie363 in reply to Anonymous [original] on Fri, 01/20/2006 - 03:48

WE have a copper range hood about 15' away and an absolute black granite top 5' away. Style of house is Tuscany, with textured walls and stone/stucco exterior and stone interior fireplaces. I like the idea of copper; just not sure how it would look with a seam where I'd have to piece it around the fixed post. Wondering how the copper holds up over time with fingers touching it, people resting against it, etc.

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by WayneL5 in reply to Anonymous [original] on Fri, 01/20/2006 - 23:38

I think a sandstone would look nice in the environment you describe.  Your home sounds beautiful.


As for copper, I think it would be a mistake to try to keep it polished.  Let it go natural, which you could speed up by leaving it in the weather, especially after wetting with a very dilute acid solution.  It would dent and scratch over time, which is a look that is probably better with your natural style.  You could have it hammered, too, which would tend to hide the seam.


I don't think a seam would look bad, in fact, to my eye as an engineer I think things look better when you can "see how it's done".  A technique for making the seam look less prominent is to have multiple seams, say, every two feet.  Then the copper would look like long coping tiles. 

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by connie363 in reply to Anonymous [original] on Sat, 01/21/2006 - 00:45

I like your idea of multiple seams on the copper run- don't think I mentioned it is 11' long. Thanks for the idea- how does one make a "very dilute acid solution" like you suggest for speeding up the weathering process?

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by WayneL5 in reply to Anonymous [original] on Sat, 01/21/2006 - 03:17

Well I was thinking vinegar, but sometime acids can clean metals instead.  I'm not sure now what type would be good.

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by Danno in reply to Anonymous [original] on Sat, 01/21/2006 - 16:24

I think acid would take the oxidation off and make the copper shiny. When we did "copper tooling" in art class, we used something called "liver of sulfur" to make it black, then polished the high spots with steel wool to make contrast between the relief which was nearly black and the highpoints which were shiny copper. Maybe a hobby/craft store would have liver of sulfur or know where to get it. Once you treat and shine, I would clear coat with lacquer to prevent further oxidation.

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by aimless in reply to Anonymous [original] on Wed, 01/25/2006 - 20:25

There are commercially available solutions for patinating copper, or you can mix up your own. If you google on copper patina you find a lot of hits, including this one:


http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/ww_chairs_stools_benches/article/0,2049,DIY_14439_2276538,00.html


which, ironically enough, references Fine Woodworking by Taunton Press.

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by ponytl in reply to Anonymous [original] on Tue, 01/31/2006 - 03:56

my FIL was a copper/sheet metal smith   and they use to pee on the copper to get the look people liked...  just what i was told...


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