We are building a new home soon (though not soon enough) and we are taking advantage of some upstairs space by adding a small office area and bonus room. The office area is a 10×10 space but we couldn’t get a window in it without adding a dormer and the dormer didn’t look right with the rest of the house and roof line. My husband seems dead set against using a skylight saying “they leak” et cetera…but it seems a sky light would allow some natural light without complicating the roof and dormer problem? What is your experience with skylights? And what brands? I have seen photos of some that have a remote control that lets you open some blinds or something that is inside the glass. I’d appreciate any advice on this topic.
Thanks.
Meri
Replies
Roto & Velux are both excellent... the auto controls are a little bit faddy..
and think 2x about wether they have to open.... most times skylights get opened the first year and then never again..
as to leaks.. either of those, properly installed are both pretty foolproof
i've installed more than 50 over the years & only one leaked.. that was a mfr.ing defect , easily solved...
i have repaired several leaks in skylights installed by others who didn't follow instructions..
but hey, whadda i no ?
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I've never heard of a Velux leaking when installed right.
Many times, a skylight will attract condensation though, which plenty of folks mis-interpret as leaking.
I have three in my house, two fixed and one ventilating. The vent one gets openned when it started to heat up and we close it in the fall of the year.
Most people who have a high lite that is venting forget where the pole for closing and openning it is, it gets such infrequent useage. I know one guy who does operate his quite often. It is a bank of six in an atrium where it can get quite warm. His are motorized and on a switch.
Condensation can be minimized by good trim work and spray foam.
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
We live in NE Florida and probably wouldn't open it much because it's usually hot and muggy outside. Is the non venting kind better? And do they have ways to soften the sunlight if needed? The noon day sun is pretty intense here in the summer. Thanks. I will see if Velux has a web site too.
Meri
>And do they have ways to soften the sunlight if needed?
Put it in a North-facing roof, though you don't likely have control of that with your room.
Velux does have integrated blinds. They're nice. They also have options for black-out shades and storm covers. In NE Fla, you have to consider hurricanes, and the storm covers or their hurricane glass might be something to look at.
Meri
I've installed over a hunderd Velux skylights. I had 12 in one of my own houses that I lived in for about fifteen years and none ever leaked. They aint cheap but.....did I say none ever leaked? You must use step flashing. Thats the biggest key. Lotta other skylight companies just use a sort of long flashing system around the entire lite....
Be well
Namaste
AndyIt's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
I suppose our climate here in the Pacific Northwest is about polar opposite from yours in Florida, but it's rare to see a new house here without a few skylights. I've installed I don't know how many over the years and I think they're great. Like others have said, whether they leak or not depends on the installation, not the brand. Any professional roofer should be able to do a good job with flashing.
Velux dies have some great features, like remote openers and blinds, but I'm not particularly impressed with their skylights themselves. You should be able to order "LowE glass", a reflective barrier to block heat, or one shaded pane...ask around a a local glass shop.
Asking for climate specific advice here at Breaktime is chancy, since you'll get opinions from all over the world. We all speak the same language, and share a government, but Florida and Rouge's Island, and Indiana, and New Mexico and Western Washington could just as easilly be different countries. Ask someone local.
Brinkmann for president in '04
I did live in Florida for three or four years so I know what you mean. If you run AC for climate control, then you needn't spend extra for the vented. Just go with the fixed lite units.
The hubby probably haas his prejudice against skylights and considers them leak prone because for many years in Florida, a skylight was just a cheap plastic bubble with a 2.5" flange to caulk in under the shingles. After the sun cooked the plastic for a couple of years, it would shrink back, cup, curl, and crack. They were an automatic gauranteed leak but one of those ammenities that sold houses in the tracts and burbs. I remember commenting to my boss the first time I saw one. I was raw and inexperienced but I blurted out, "You're kidding, right?" I knew they were designed to leak. A lot of guys were kept busy replacing thousands of them with curbed, flashed units.
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Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius