It is the question we are asked most often at the workshop: “What height should my weathervane be?” Too small, and a weathervane disappears on a large roof; too big, and it overwhelms a single-storey house. Here are our guidelines, drawn from fifteen years of installing them on roofs in the Béarn and beyond.
What exactly are we talking about?
The height shown on our product pages is the total height of the assembly: the motif (the rooster, the horse, the stag…), its arrow, the cardinal points and the rotating spindle. It does not include the roof finial on which the weathervane is mounted, which adds 30 to 150 cm depending on the model chosen.
The simple rule: viewing distance
A weathervane is looked at from the street or the garden, that is to say from 15 to 30 metres away, and often against the light. At that distance the motif must remain legible: you should recognise the rooster without hesitation.
- Single-storey house or garden shed (ridge at 4–6 m): 90 cm. This is the height of our cut-out weathervanes and of several embossed models.
- Two-storey house (ridge at 7–9 m): 115 cm. Our best-selling size, well proportioned on most detached houses.
- Large house, barn, farmhouse, farm buildings (ridge at 10 m and above): 135 or 155 cm. On a large roof slope, a 90 cm model looks tiny.
- Bell tower, château, public building: beyond 155 cm, we make to measure.
Embossed or cut-out: it changes how it reads
At the same height, a 3D embossed weathervane reads better from a distance than a flat one: the volume catches the light and the motif stands out against the sky even when you are not exactly in line with it. If you are hesitating between two sizes for an embossed weathervane, the smaller one is often enough; for a cut-out weathervane, take the larger one.
The style of the house matters too
A weathervane is an accent, not a billboard. On a contemporary house with clean lines, a simple model (arrow, modern rooster) in 90 cm stays discreet and elegant. On an old building or a manor house, the large formats and ornate motifs (Gallic rooster, chimera, rearing horse) are right at home.
And the finial underneath?
The weathervane mounts on a roof finial that serves as its base. A finial roughly half the height of the weathervane gives good proportions: a 115 cm weathervane on a 50 to 70 cm finial, a 155 cm weathervane on an 80 to 100 cm finial. For a large roof, the Ref 1200 finial with bells and acanthus leaves makes a majestic base. The whole assembly is fixed to the timber frame with a Ø 12 mm threaded rod.
If in doubt: send a photo
Send us a photo of your roof taken from the street via the contact page, with the approximate height of the ridge: we will advise you on the size and model within a few hours. And if you want a motif that does not exist yet (your dog, your trade, the family coat of arms), we design it and make it to measure.
All our weathervanes are handcrafted in zinc or copper in our workshop in Verdets, at the foot of the Pyrenees, dispatched within 7 working days and guaranteed 10 years against corrosion.