Condensation dripping off of skylight
Tark
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
Hi Everyone,
I have a skylight in my the bathroom (single pane glass). I have been noticing this winter that in the morning there is considerable condensation forming on the glass which eventually drips onto the floor. It is season-related. It only started happening in the last few weeks, so I suspect its because its winter now, as this was not a problem in the Spring, Summer, or Fall.
Keeping the bath fan on does not seem to lessen it either. Heating is from a wall heater, which of course throws off a ton of moisture. . .
Is there any coatings or other ideas to curtail this condensation, at least to get me through to Spring?
Any ideas would be welcome
Tark
Replies
Find a small fan and mount it so that it is close to the skylight, and constantly blowing upward on the skylight.
You'll also get the benefit of the air in the room being recirculated, and kept at a more constant temp.
A man, convinced against his will... Is of his own opinion, still. ~Anne McCaffrey
that's as good as any so far
:)
bucket
empty as needed
jusk kidding - hope someone has a better idea than mine
It's a bathroom, it's supposed to get wet.
"I'd rather be a hammer than a nail"
Get an interior storm panel or make one
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Is that an unvented wall heater? If so, you are correct that they put a LOT of moisture in the air and , in my opinion, have no business any where but an uninsulated storage building. If it is vented, it should not add any moisture to the air. As Piffin suggested, an interior storm panel is a good idea but it would have to be sealed around the edge pretty well. A temporary alternative would be one of the plastic window films intended just for that purpose (but they ARE ugly)
The heater is vented, so perhaps I've misspoken. I thought in general all natural gas heaters throw off a lot of moisture.A storm window sounds interesting, (and I've heard of them), yet here in CA, I don't think I've ever seen one. I'm assuming a piece of glass in a frame that fits securely on all four sides of the skylight opening. Since this is a skylight in a bathroom, would tempered or laminated glass be the better way to go. I know windows in bathrooms should be tempered, but not sure for a skylight.
I wouldn't think tempered glass would be necessary on a skylight--who's going to stumble or slip and fall against it? (When I slip and fall, I almost always fall down.) (Not like the guy who threw himself on the ground and missed....)
If you are worried, you could use Lexan or some other transparent plastic. It may be light enough (in weight) that you could fasten it with Velcro or magnetic strips then.
All residential codes require that skylights be made of safety (tempered or laminated) glass - or plastic.
I understand why the skylights themselves have to be tempered glass or plastic--stuff may fall on them from outside, but don't see why an inside mounted "storm window" would need to be. I guess it might be good just in case you were to drop it while installing, or if it were to fall out of the mounting while you were taking a shower or something. Anyway, I'd use plastic, as it is lighter.
Safety considerations. If the glass happens to break while someone is under it then both laminated and tempered will be much less likely to result in serious injury.
I would never consider ever having annealed glass in an overhead application...the risk is simply too great.
I would also agree with you that in this situation plastic - either polycarbonate or acrylic would be the easiest and probably best material to use.
a branch or a roofer could fall out of the sky down through it, or somebody cleaning or whatever could jar it loose and have it fall around their ears, so if glass it should be tempered. Maybe a magnet like a refrigerator door seal, but velcro misses the point of keeping moisture off that cold glass above this storm
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Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
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Edited 1/14/2008 11:16 am ET by Piffin
don't know where you live, but in the midwest hail is a real concern. 2 years ago hail the size of softballs lit a town south of here, some went thru the roof. golfball size is common.
Most glass and window shops make and sell interior storms with a rubber gasket seal and clips for easy on/off.Glass or plexiglas
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I'm going to try plexiglass on this skylight. Much appreciated.Tark
I had the same issue on a couple of kitchen skylights in a recessed "window well" in a cathedral ceiling. I made an interior storm window and have had no condensation since. I attached a picture I took right after I first put them in. They are trimmed out a little nicer now, but you get the idea. These are active skylights, so I remove the interior storms in the spring. Around the inside perimeter of the "well" I mitered a frame out of brick molding which I had plenty of in the shop. That brick mold frame stays in place all year so you may want something a little fancier. The storm window frame is screwed to this brick molding frame. Others may have a better idea on how to do that. I made the frame out of Azek, routed a groove for the plexiglass, half lap joints on the corners. Had the local hardware store cut a couple pieces of plexiglass to fit. Hope this helps you with some ideas.
Edited 1/14/2008 12:25 pm ET by bp21901
Edited 1/14/2008 12:28 pm ET by bp21901
See my post velux skylight rot. similar issue mine came very noticable this winter. Mine is double pane.
wallyo
Replace the skylight with a dubble paned version. You could also put a pane of glass lower down in the room. You have to somehow stop the moisture from hitting the cold glass. My bathroom skylight doesn't have this problem due to it being double paned (and it gets down to -40 where I live).