Be sure they can take it. Tree branches are the most likely cause of impact damage, although other airborne debris from a heavy wind-storm can also cause damage.
Know how your skylight will react to impact damage. They simply remain stationary and let light in. If you want your skylight to function more like a window and allow both light and air to come in, choose a venting or operable style of the skylight. These skylights can either be opened manually, with a remote or — on very high-end models — automatically, based on built-in rain and moisture sensors.
Does it matter which skylight glazing you choose? Plastic is the original glazing option and one that has been used for a long time. It has a few pros, but many cons and it is becoming a less common choice.
The preferred glazing for skylights is glass and there are several variations of glass to choose from. They share some similar pros and cons along with having their own unique traits. What exactly is tempered glass? Check this out: when a piece of glass has been tempered, this means that it was super-heated and then cooled rapidly.
This process results in a piece of glass that is times stronger than the original. If a sheet of tempered glass breaks, it shatters into a lot of small, more rounded pieces instead of sharp shards. Do you remember playing with a laminating machine and sandwiching a piece of paper between two sheets of the laminate material? You understand laminated glass. To make laminated glass, one sheet of clear vinyl is encased between two sheets of glass.
They are bonded together, creating a super-strong, impact-resistant glass. If the glass somehow does break, the sheets all hold together with minimal loose glass falling inside your house. Now you may be wondering if you should use tempered or laminated glass for your skylights and how to choose. These skylights are quite compact, but they will still be able to provide an ample amount of additional lighting to whatever room you decide to install them in. Essentially, this is a tube that will start all the way on top of your roof and go down to the room where you are having it installed.
The tube will be able to redirect natural sunlight down its shaft using optical techniques. This allows you to plan for your tubular skylight to wrap around certain design features in your attic. You will be able to place this skylight in the perfect spot to suit your needs. For the most part, these tubular skylights are very simple to install, too. It has a lot of advantages and it works well to provide light to areas in your home that need it.
People really love putting these tubular skylights into pantries, closets, foyers , and even hallways. This is a practical skylight that is meant for getting natural light into particular spots of your home. The tilt window skylight is a variation of a ventilated skylight. This differs from the normal ventilation skylights by opening in a different way.
This type of skylight window has an upper hinge that allows the window to open. Some people think that this way of opening the skylight window up is more convenient, but it really comes down to personal preference. These tilt window skylights are going to be able to give you an ample amount of natural sunlight in any room that you put them in. They will also be quite beautiful to look at.
Opening the window on a clear spring or summer night can be a quite invigorating experience. For this reason, many people choose to install this type of skylight in their bedroom. Installing a skylight in your bedroom can help you to create a very romantic setting. If you and your spouse would enjoy being able to gaze up at the stars, then installing a tilt window skylight is going to be the perfect way to make it happen.
You just need to be careful to get this skylight installed properly. This type of skylight should be installed with a flashing kit to keep your home safe. Flashing kits are used to make sure that the skylight window you are installing is waterproof. This is essential for preventing any problems with leaks, flooding , and even mold.
These kits may be sold separately, so you will want to ensure that you buy the right one if you are choosing to install your skylight yourself. It is also possible to hire a professional to do this for you and they will be able to bring all of the proper equipment. Source: Lowes. Before you decide whether you will want to purchase a curb-mounted skylight, you should understand what the term actually means.
The curb mount is referring to a frame that has been built to house the skylights. This frame is raised and the skylights attach right to it. These curb-mounted skylights have proven to be one of the most popular styles of skylights on the market. You will find that skylights that are curb mounted are easy to install overall, so most of the time spent will be building the curb itself. You will need to buy a flashing kit to ensure that everything is completely waterproof, though.
You will be able to find any type of skylight that you could desire being sold in the curb-mounted style too. Deck-mounted skylights are more recent than their curb-mounted cousins.
These have become increasingly more popular in recent years. Some people have referred to this process as flush mounting, as the skylight will be flush with the roof. In some ways, these deck-mounted skylights can be a bit more difficult to install. You need to make sure that you are doing everything just right in order to have the best results. When everything is done properly, these styles of skylights are going to be much more energy efficient than the curb-mounted variety.
People who install these deck-mounted skylights also think that they are much more visually appealing than other types of skylights. It definitely does look more natural when you install a skylight in this fashion. If you do not have much experience with modifying structures, then it might be beneficial to call in some help for this project. Regardless, you will need to make sure that a flashing kit is used to keep your home safe from leaks.
The skylight needs to be sealed very tightly in order to prevent rainwater from seeping in and to keep moisture from causing any mildewing issues. Roof skylights can also contribute to architectural and stylistic statements.
Yet, skylights can also cause a homeowner some grief. Lower-quality skylights can cause ultraviolet UV damage on furniture and flooring, or can create glare. All roof skylights will allow for some heat loss, as they penetrate the roof deck. In fact, skylights will release more conditioned air than even a window of the same size would. And even a properly installed skylight may sometimes lead to condensation or a leak. But there are many ways to avoid these problems, including choosing the skylight that is right for your home and making sure it is properly installed.
The first thing you need to choose is your type of skylight. Fixed and vented skylights are relatively similar, but tubular skylights offer a whole different skylight experience. These are typical skylight windows that do not open.
They provide light and can provide a beautiful view of the sky or other scenery. Vented skylights look the same as fixed skylights, but they can be opened by hand or by electronic control. Therefore, vented skylights are a good choice where condensation or excess humidity is a concern. For example, they can provide moisture control in key rooms, like bathrooms and kitchens.
They may also double as emergency exits if they are easy to access and made to building codes. But vented skylights tend to be more expensive than fixed skylights. Tubular skylights, also called solar skylights, are not traditional skylight windows.
Instead, they are long tubes meant to catch and reflect light into the home. Therefore, they are good for small spaces, like bathrooms, hallways and closets. Solar skylights may have dimmers to control how much light they provide. They may have exhaust fans to help with moisture control, too. And they can have a filter to keep UV light out. Tube skylights are a good choice where privacy is a top priority.
While these two skylight installation methods might sound bland, they make a big impact on your finished skylight. Essentially, the difference between a curb-mounted and deck-mounted skylight is that a deck-mounted skylight sits flush with the roof, while a curb-mounted skylight is held up higher than the roof face by a curb. Skylight frames are made of extruded aluminum or galvanized steel, which must be connected to the rest of the roof by a roofing professional.
It takes skill and knowledge to ensure that a deck-mounted skylight works with a roof instead of against it, so always be sure to consult with a roofing professional. Curb-mounted skylights are a superior choice to prevent leaks. They allow for more flexibility in size and can offer more glass area than a deck-mounted skylight placed in the same hole.
Thus, they can be brighter, but are also more expensive. Curbs can be built on-site or can be provided by the skylight manufacturer. In either case, a curb should be double-walled and insulated to help retain heat in the home. The National Roofing Contractors Association recommends using curbs that are tall enough to allow for a minimum of 4 inches of vertical flashing on all sides. If the skylight is installed on a low-slope roof, the curb should be even taller, to allow for 8 inches of flashing.
A straight shaft will keep the light focused in one area and can be used to highlight a specific feature of the home. For example, the skylight above is meant to highlight the bathtub. A flared shaft is used to help disperse natural light throughout the space. An angled shaft, which can be used to capture light at a specific time of day, allows the skylight to be at a different pitch than the roof. For example, it could be angled down, on the west side of the home, to capture more light in the evening.
There are basic and vaulted styles. Basic styles are flat-roof skylights that do not project above the roof face unless curb-mounted. This can help you keep the look of the exterior of your home consistent. They also offer more light than vaulted styles. In contrast, vaulted styles always project above the roof face and are typically more expensive, as they require more glass. Vaulted skylights can be a dramatic architectural feature, but if not well-chosen, they could detract from the look of your home or neighborhood.
As you consider these skylight styles, consider which ones look most pleasing to you, as well as which will fit in with the overall style of your home. Pyramid and other kinds of vaulted skylights may, instead of forming a point, form a ridge or flat top. From the inside, there is not much difference between pointed and flat-top pyramid skylights; but, from the outside, one shape or the other might look better on your home. Now, roof lanterns can be made with a glass top to provide a unique look and even more light.
Still, they look best on historical home styles. Your choice of skylight glass will determine how durable your skylight is. Each type of glass can have features and treatments to keep out UV light, insulate better and generally improve performance. All of these skylight materials may be single-, double- or triple-pane thick. Sometimes this allows for unique features, like gas insulation. Other kinds of coatings may be designed to reduce noise, condensation and UV rays.
A skylight manufacturer can layer many of these coatings. Often, UV rays are a primary concern for homeowners because exposure to these rays dulls furniture and flooring over time. If you know the UV blockage value of the glass a percentage of UVA rays that is blocked , you can compare different coatings.
While glass manufacturers continue to make advances in impact resistance, hail remains a challenge. Plexiglass is the worst choice when it comes to hail resistance, as it may scratch and will break much easier than glass.
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