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Expert advice on how to choose the right size, shape, and type of skylight for any room in the house
Skylights provide up to 30% more natural light than vertical windows, making a small space seem larger. In a bathroom with limited wall space, a skylight may be your only means of bringing in significant daylight. One with clear glass focuses bright light on a small spot; a skylight with obscure glass or acrylic supplies more-ambient illumination.
Like windows, skylights are either stationary or operable. Fixed skylights, which provide illumination only, may be flat or dome- shaped. Ventilating models can be opened and closed by means of a hand crank, wall switch, remote control, or high-tech automatic temperature sensor. When open, a ventilating skylight can create an updraft to draw hot, steamy air out of a bathroom. An open skylight can vent hot air and is compatible with air conditioning since cold air stays near the ground.
Old-fashioned skylights were simply a single thickness of glass in a frame, but today they come with low-e and tinted coatings to control heat transmission and UV radiation. Skylights are rated for their thermal efficiency in the same way windows are, so you can compare R-values and U-values. As an alternative to tinted glass, which darkens a room, you can get shades or blinds for your skylight. Ventilating skylights can also be equipped with screens to keep bugs out.
When a full-size skylight is too big for a bathroom, you can get almost as much light from a tubular skylight. Just 10 to 18 inches in diameter, tubular skylights consist of a clear dome over a reflective shaft that ends at the ceiling with a sealed diffuser. The system provides an enormous amount of light for its small size, and it’s sealed to minimize heat gain and loss.
Skylight Sizes & Shapes
Skylights come in many standard sizes that run from about 14 inches square to about 4 feet square, though you can buy larger sizes. Of course not all skylights are square—rectangular skylights, often preferred for sloped roofs, are manufactured in sizes up to about 8 feet long.
Where a larger-than-standard skylight is wanted, designers usually group a series of smaller units together or specify larger custom sizes.
Several companies make special flashings designed for grouping their skylights together. Larger custom sizes, which are extremely heavy, almost always require glazing at the site.
How big should a skylight be? There are no hard and fast rules. Some companies recommend sizing a skylight to be 5% of a room’s floor space for ordinary activities, 10% for frequently used work areas, and 15% for kitchens, family rooms, home offices, and other heavy-duty work areas.
How Much Do Skylights Cost?
How much does a skylight cost? For the materials, expect to pay a low of about $250 for a 2-foot-square double-dome plastic skylight and up to $1,500 for larger, standard-sized roof windows with all the options. When it comes to custom skylights, the sky is, well, the limit.
Because there are so many variables, the only way to get a clear idea of price is to call various dealers. Installation costs are equally difficult to peg because they're dependent on the type of roof, among other variables. Installation starts at about $400 and can run up to several thousand dollars.
To locate skylight dealers, look in the telephone directory or on the Internet for “Skylights.”
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