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OT: Anyone built a flat roof skylight

adh2000

Titanium
Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Location
Waukesha, WI
like this:
skylight.jpg
I'd like to cover a 6'x8' rectangular opening on a flat roof. Can these be bought in kit form and built on site?
 
Problem with building your own will be the glass has to be double pane or better.
What is your snow load like? after the first few feet of snow it will pile up on the lower sides and start to press inward as well as down. Several feet more and I doubt if any glass can take the pressure. If you build one it will have to be shoveled clear often.
I wonder how the sidewalk skylights are made with the small glass bricks
Bill D

Saw these the other day on C list.

Glass Block Skylights - materials - by owner - sale
 
Simply go to your largest local lumber yard and ask. They will be the best source for local Knowledge for what works in your climate and code requirements. ie. don't ask someone from south Georgia about snow loads.....

 
I have built a low slope curb skylight system, but not something like that. I bought the actual skylight from Velux.

If I were building such a thing, I think I would not make it a 'hip roof' but a simple roof, with in glazed sides. Then you are just building a little dog house with a glass roof.
 
like this:
View attachment 216681
I'd like to cover a 6'x8' rectangular opening on a flat roof. Can these be bought in kit form and built on site?

If I were contemplating that, I'd check Fine Homebuilding magazine/website or similar publications; I suspect there are kit suppliers out there. As others note, checking with local construction gurus might be wise as well.
 
I have built a low slope curb skylight system, but not something like that. I bought the actual skylight from Velux.

If I were building such a thing, I think I would not make it a 'hip roof' but a simple roof, with in glazed sides. Then you are just building a little dog house with a glass roof.

That's the way the old mill buildings in much of New England were done and it gives plenty of light. In a couple of the older buildings I worked in they also had awning type windows for ventilation. A very long pole used at floor level cranked the windows open and closed. This could easily be used with modern windows by fitting a right angle drive in place of the crank handle.
 
That's the way the old mill buildings in much of New England were done and it gives plenty of light. In a couple of the older buildings I worked in they also had awning type windows for ventilation. A very long pole used at floor level cranked the windows open and closed. This could easily be used with modern windows by fitting a right angle drive in place of the crank handle.

lazy bastards have electric openers now

It should be noted that skylights are in fact the spawn of the devil, horizontal glass has much worse thermal performance than vertical. I have two in my bedroom[part of the aforementioned project] and am pondering backing them up with triple glazing.

I also thought in the OP's situation almost vertical glazing pointing south would let in most of the light with less of the downsides.
 
Your skylight, even if a properly installed triple pane with a good frame, will have very little insulating value. It will be very expensive to get to an equivalent of R5. I love sunlight more than most, but I think you will have far more cost in the sunlight than its worth. With that large of a cold panel in the ceiling that room will require extra heat and will likely still feel cold.

And that is not even contemplating the problems of leaks or the heavy rafters required to span either side of the light.
 
Problem with building your own will be the glass has to be double pane or better.
What is your snow load like? after the first few feet of snow it will pile up on the lower sides and start to press inward as well as down. Several feet more and I doubt if any glass can take the pressure. If you build one it will have to be shoveled clear often.
I wonder how the sidewalk skylights are made with the small glass bricks
Bill D

Saw these the other day on C list.

Glass Block Skylights - materials - by owner - sale
Don't be such a doomsayer.....Jeesh

The local Walmart has probably 50 of them on the roof, in the "snow belt" part
of Erie.
If you recall, we just got over 5' of snow this storm alone.
 
Nothing but trouble, if code permits have a look at a lantern roof, make the vertical upstand about 6", sit the lantern on top, looks cool inside, and out.
Mark
 
What can I say. Our friend is an Architect in the Lake Tahoe area. Last year they got 40+' of snow. I have seen well built houses with the walls caved in from snow piled up. Not just the windows but the entire structure.
This was because they were vacation homes and they owner did not shovel the snow away. Some of the windows, and I am sure skylights, have to be rated to withstand windblown ice falling from tall trees. This can cost several thousand for a decent size window.
Bill
 
Clearstory or sawtooth roof is another method to get light inside.
Velux makes solar battery powered skylights with remote control to open and close it. I suppose it is for remodels so you do not have to pull wires in the ceiling to run a motorized skylight.
Bill D
 
Skylights are prone to leak. Flat roofs are prone to leak. A flat skylight is gonna leak, and aggravate you endlessly, unless you do a superior job of layering the various flashings, seals, etc.

If you planning on installing yourself, take a day or two to read up on (and appreciate) how to tie the waterproofing into the rest of the roof structure. Actually, if you plan on having it professionally installed, get educated enough to grill your installer on what they plan to do wrt waterproofing. Draw up a sectional drawing, showing what goes inside and what goes outside.

If you can accept even a 4" plinth/pedestal/curb for the skylight, that's going to help significantly. Just remember you've got rain and snow melt all over the glazing, frame and structure, so there can't be any paths from the outside to the inside. There is a definite limit to how much (any how long) caulk or roofing tar is going to help. That's why proper flashing is critical.

Finally, don't forget to check your local building codes. There's probably something directly applicable in there.
 
Sorry Digger but when I read your comment the first thing that came to mind was You "The Pot and calling the Kettle black. LOL

Why is this ?

I gave a very common "Real World" application, our local Wal-Mart stores, and in the 10 years or so the store has been there, I have never seen even a stain from a leak.

And as I stated before, That Wal-Mart is located in a "Snow Belt" that
routinely gets over 3' deep of snow on the roof.

It's common, and it's being done every day.

So go out and find a proper vendor from post #9.

And Yet BillD, knows best......
 
Why is this ?

I gave a very common "Real World" application, our local Wal-Mart stores, and in the 10 years or so the store has been there, I have never seen even a stain from a leak.

And as I stated before, That Wal-Mart is located in a "Snow Belt" that
routinely gets over 3' deep of snow on the roof.

It's common, and it's being done every day.

So go out and find a proper vendor from post #9.

And Yet BillD, knows best......
The Fresno Sams club has buckets scattered all over the store every time it rains...

Leaks galore since new and it is not that old.

It seems these window systems are common in some places and there are posted existing vendors.

Assuming those vendors may have engineering support so suggest using their contact page to ask for advise

It seems they would be building to fit as these may not be a normal stock item so they must have application limitations or other guidelines that provide a "system approach" to insure it works.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk
 
The Fresno Sams club has buckets scattered all over the store every time it rains...

Leaks galore since new and it is not that old.

It seems these window systems are common in some places and there are posted existing vendors.

Assuming those vendors may have engineering support so suggest using their contact page to ask for advise

It seems they would be building to fit as these may not be a normal stock item so they must have application limitations or other guidelines that provide a "system approach" to insure it works.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

I agree that there are many different vendors & styles available.

Make sure the installation is under warranty as well as the actual unit.
 








 
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