The existing skylights on my house are 25 years old and are no longer made. The laminated glass is cloudy. I assume it is no longer providing protection against heat /cooling loss. The lights do not leak water. I would like to replace them with Velux lights but Velux does not havethe exact size as the old ones
The current lights are installed in catherdral ceiling and are “tunneled” ( drywll is flared from the light to the bottom of opening). I want to replace the lights but I don’t want to have to rework the drywall openings. Replacing just the glass presents its own set of problems, ( removing them, protecting the opening from the weather, not bending any flashing during removal, etc).
Any suggestions on how to install new lights and still be able to use exisiting openings.? Thank you
Replies
local glass shop
Take one pc of glass out, measure it exactly and temporarily reintall it. If you're careful, you shouldn't have a problem w/ bending the cover flashing. Have all of the glass panes you need replaced made up by a local glass company in advance and then replace them all at the same time. Most glass companies will give some sort of warrenty (3-5 yrs usually) on the replacement glass. It probably won't be as good as Velux, but if you're intent on avoiding installing new Velux units, then this is your next best option. If you're lucky you might get another 10-20 years out of the new panes.
The glass must be tempered, not ordinary window glass. I would get the UV filter material installed inside the lite, along with argon gas, and possibly triple pane construction.
Seems to me you either replace it from above, replace it from below, or don't replace it.
But there are a dozen different schemes for mounting a skylight, so, absent a more detailed description of what you have, it's hard to say what would work best in your case.
Hey there, I am currently replacing 10 old Roto units with new Velux skylights. Like you found though the sizes among different manufacturers don't often coincide. Velux had a slightly smaller unit so we simply adjusted the opening without removing any blueboard and added painted wood trim to tuck into the frame's channel. It looks like an extension jamb on the unit. You would assume it was part of the frame. Maybe that strategy will work for you.