These are our Frequently Asked Questions and Policies.
If you have a question that is not already listed here, please don't hesitate
to email Al or Beth.
Or, you can write to us at: Denninger Weathervanes & Finials, HC 3 Box
3335, Theodosia, MO 65761.
Or ask your question in person at (870) 436-3974.
Who are you guys? Why would I buy a weather vane from you? - Our company consists entirely of two partners - Al and Beth Denninger - and we are, of course, assisted by our dog Radar. We have no other employees or apprentices, and we never will. We sign and date every piece we do. We want to help you with your purchase, and make sure it is just what you want -- you are going to be looking up at our artwork for years and years to come! Take your time deciding what you really want; we will take our time with you. And, of, course, you will never find any of the cheapy imports here. Only absolutely the finest quality materials, designs and workmanship can be found at Denningers.
How do I order from Denningers? - We have not enabled any online methods of ordering deliberately. We do not want to be an unfriendly "click our cash register" experience for you. We are not in a hurry to just sell you something, we want to talk to you first to help you select/design your vane or finial and make sure you will be able to install it and enjoy it when you get it. We want to work out the mounting details with you. When you do know what you want, go to our Order Form page, print it out and call us, or fax it or mail it to us.
How do I mount a copper weather vane on my roof? - Each roof is different! The best thing to do is plan ahead. Look at our suggested Mounting Diagrams. Print out the pages and give them to your builder or the person who will be installing the vane, before the framing stage of construction. If you need further help call us at (845) 343-2229.
Do you have any mounting brackets for the copper weathervanes? - We are not big fans of external mounting brackets. The commercially available ones tend to break and are difficult to fit to your roof. We do make our Scroll Bracket© (diagram #2 on our Mounting Diagrams page.) It is very strong and easy to mount on any pitch roof. It is made of quality steel, so it will need to be repainted every several years. We do not offer the Scroll Bracket alone - we only offer it with the purchase of a weather vane.
How do I tell the wind direction from a weathervane?A properly designed and balanced weathervane will traditionally point into the wind, thereby showing the direction that the wind is coming from. Unless of course, it is designed otherwise as in our Dragon design that was designed to face his back to the wind. But then a Dragon can do whatever he wants, can't he?
Can I design my own copper weather vane? - Sure you can! Check out our What is a Weather Vane page for the basic rules and things to think about when designing a weather vane. Then go to our Custom Weathervane pages and our Custom Silhouette pages for more ideas.
I have an idea for a weather vane, but I don't see it already on your website and I'm not an artist. What can I do? - Talk to us! We have designed many weathervanes from photographs, magazine clippings and simple doodles or sketches provided by our customers.
How do I figure out what size weather vane or finial will suit my building? - It ain't easy! There is no reliable "rule of thumb" that will work for all applications. If you send us a photo or scale drawing along with a description of the setting and all dimensions of the subject building, we will use our years of experience to help you with the proper sizing. Hint: it's easy to be fooled into thinking too small...
I need the weather vane fast because the roof needs finishing. You have a lengthy production schedule. What can I do? - We must agree on what the finished product will be first and take a small deposit for your order. Then we will be happy to make and send you the mounting rod for the weather vane ahead of time (usually within 2 weeks.) This should enable you or your contractor to finish up and waterproof the roof. We will ship the weather vane later when it is finished. Assembling the weather vane is a very simple task once the rod is properly installed.
What if an order arrives damaged? - If the carton looks damaged on the outside, make sure the delivery driver makes a note of it. Please notify both us and the shipping company as soon as possible. We will do our best to resolve it as quickly as possible.
What if I have a problem with a Denninger weather vane? - If you have a problem with one of our weather vanes - please contact us immediately. We will do our best to solve any problems resulting from our materials or workmanship (not "acts of God" or incorrect installation). How can you beat that!
What is your return policy? - If you are dissatisfied with your purchase of a "Hand Hammered" copper weather vane, you may return it for a replacement or refund within 30 days, providing it is returned safely in the original packaging and is unused in any way (it needs to arrive here in a condition that is resaleable). For our Denninger Copper Weather Vanes, Finials and custom work, we normally take a small deposit to place your order on our work schedule. The deposit is refundable and the order cancellable only if work has not begun on the project. If we have done extensive design work on a custom project, then the deposit is not refundable.
What is your privacy policy? - Any information you give us about yourself stays with us in our office. Period! It will never be sold or shared in any way with anyone else. In fact, if you ask for information, a catalog or a brochure, we will send you what you want once and only once. You will never receive pestering repetitive email or snailmail from us. We figure if you want something you will ask for it.
Can I come and visit you? - Yes, of course you can. We have had guests drive or fly in from all over the world. We ask that you make an appointment with us first. Because our copperwork is made one-at-a-time for each customer, there is rarely much in stock. You may browse through the hundreds of photos of jobs we have done. Sit with us and we will design your weather vane or finial together. We do not offer tours of the shop.
Cupolas - Do you still make them? - We talk about cupolas on our website, but we haven't built them since 1996, in favor of our copperwork (we were just trying to do too much!) We can't really refer you to a cupola builder, but we would recommend contacting a cabinet shop or local woodworker. Then, if you want a copper roof on the cupola, you should contact a roofer who has experience with bow or bay windows - the standing seam techniques are the same. Be sure to give a copy of our Mounting Diagram #4 to them, for installing one of our copper weather vanes.
What about lightning? - Here are my thoughts on lightning protection: The most important thing to know about lightning is that it is looking for ground. A lone piece of metal sitting on your roof is not grounded, so it obviously will not "tend" to attract lightning, and therefore there is no worry. The vast majority of weather vanes, finials, metal roofs, church steeples, barns, etc. are not lightning protected, and it has not mattered whether they were or were not. That said, lightning protection, in my opinion, is an ALL or NOTHING proposition. In other words DO IT RIGHT, or DON'T DO IT AT ALL. If you choose to lightning protect your house, remember that you are now attracting lightning and grounding it. You must do it PROPERLY and according to your local and state building code. (In our area lightning protection must be installed by a licensed lightning protection installer.) You must tie in all of your household systems to the protection system, i.e.: plumbing, electrical and basically anything that will conduct electricity. Done well it works. I do not recommend running a single cable from the weather vane or finial to ground alone without following code. One must remember that lightning is an "act of God" and it is not always predictable. And of course, the final decision is up to the property owner.