Replies

1. 
   Piffin | Feb 05, 2004 01:23am | #1

   First things first.

   Condensation in skylights is as common as green on grass.

   Now that we've gotthat out of the way, you need to provide a little more info to solvethis particular problem.

   The 'hole' you refer to, is there a skylight installed in it, or is this new construction and plastic covering the hole?

   What kind of skylight is it? New with insulated glass, homemade, cheap plastic or vinyl buble?

   Is this 7' high the height off the floor othe height of the light well above the ceiling?

   Is the condensation on the well walls or on the frame or on the glass?

   .

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2. 
   MojoMan | Feb 05, 2004 01:29am | #2

   I have this problem. In the attic, I have fiberglass batts between the framing members of the skylight shaft, but I have no doubt that air leaks around them. My good intention is to get up there and put plywood sheathing and air infiltration barrier on that to tighten things up as if it were an exterior wall, which it is basically, miunus the precipitation. If the shaft is not cold, less water will condense on it.

   Al Mollitor, Sharon MA

3. 
   bill_1010 | Feb 05, 2004 02:07am | #3

   id consider getting a return air or a normal vent in the sky light tube.  basically since heat rises and is meeting a cold spot your air will lose its moisture.  No matter what the humidity level is cold air cannot hold the same water hot air does.  

   by putting the a return or a positive vent in the tube youll keep air circulating lessening the chance of the stale air condensing on the cold spot.  

   air leakage is another possibliity. Basically the air leakage just speeds up the condensing.

   if you cant get a return or a positive vent up there, consider installing a bathroom exhust fan and vent it back into a the room or if your attic is climate controlled with the rest of the house, you can vent it there.   Dont vent it into a non-climate controlled attic or you could possibly get some mold issues up there.

4. 
   fortdh | Feb 05, 2004 05:19am | #4

   Blues, Years ago, I made some paper panels with grid work that fit on a thin ridge around the inside of the skylight chases. The grided panels were for a Jananese sun room, so real fiber paper was used. Translucent or clear plastic will also work. The end result was very soft light, a dead air space between the paper panel and cold glass, and no condensation. Since the chases were 2' deep, a lot of heated air was not lost in the chase. The panels could be taken down, or in my case, they slide on the support tracks back into the attic, but I leave them in place all year around to block some summer heat. No condensation in the 14 years since building them. Hope this is understandable. Paul

   Energy Consultant and author of Practical Energy Cost Reduction for the Home