Imahilus, you pushed me over the edge on the slate conical mold... There was already some discussion on adding a roof to the stair tower and now I think you've convinced me to add a 3/4 roof to the corner balcony. Now I've got pre-orders in for both the flat and conical slate roofs.

Just to verify, you did get a look at the 'real' wip photo of the balcony - correct? It does look extra wacky in the Sketchup drawing without the pillars. There is one photo on the first page with the balconies 'finished' (both the pillars and the smooth triangular caps added) that gives a little better feel for how it looks.

Now the plan is to remove at least a couple of the decorative caps and replace it with either big support timbers or with the same pillars I used between the two balconies.

I'm not sure what to do (if anything) with the rectangle balcony on the other side which you reference. Adding a roof to it would obscure the view from the balcony above it. I am thinking about adding dormer-like appendages to the roof above to divert the rain so that may help. I'll post an updated drawing to see what the thoughts are on that idea.

I'll try to get the conical roofs in the Sketchup drawing as well, but I imagine that the conical roofs capping off both the stair tower and the opposite corner balconies should nicely balance each other.

Thanks for the suggestions!