So we had a hail storm a few weeks ago that damaged our roof enough to warrant its replacement. We also have a skylight that was put in by the builder 17 years ago (when the house was built). I was thinking that now would be a good time to update the skylight since the roof guy will be replacing all the shingles.
We have that Velux skylight in our breakfast area and are very happy with it. It has a sensor so that if it starts raining it closes automatically. It was installed in 2014 and we have had no issues with it. I love the quality of light it gives the room. We don’t use airconditioning a lot, and find that it really helps with air circulation.
I have two of them in our master bathroom (we have a cathedral ceiling in it), and it is kind of nice, at night when there is a full moon we can see it from our bedroom if the door is open, can look magical. About the only thing you may want to do is have some sort of blinds that can be opened or closed for summer, even with skylights with coating it can make the room hotter than it might otherwise be.
I have that skylight as well, in my remodeled attic. There is an integral blind, also remote controlled that can be added for a price, that I thought was well worth it for hot summer days.
And thank you for mentioning as I had forgotten about the tax credit!!!
Agree with the Velux recommendation. We replaced a fixed skylight with one, and it makes a big difference letting out steam from the shower since we do not have an exhaust fan in the master bath. [Blame the builder, not me.] It’s on a sloped section of roof that can’t be seen by anyone else, so I’ve never fretted about blinds.
We have skylights too. One in the bathroom,2 in the bedroom over the bed. I get the one in the bathroom - there are no natural windows so it does help a little. The ones in the bedroom - I’d seal them up if I could. Instead I got two hunter douglas blinds. I hear every raindrop all night long, lets in light at all the wrong times. They just seem super dated to me. One of my walls is floor to ceiling windows so I certainly don’t need extra light.
We have 6 skylights in our home altogether. They don’t open, but we love having them and would totally go with what you are looking at if we had to replace them.
DH still doesn’t want the one we have, so I mentioned we should ADD one to the Master bedroom so we can get cross ventilation. I swear his head looked like it would explode. So now that I’m pushing 2 lights, I’m positive I will get the bathroom one upgraded. sneaky, yes.
Love skylights, have 2 currently: one is in a long hallway which makes the hallway look brighter and wider, and the other is in master bath. In the next house, we will have too many, and I am thinking about getting rid of the ones in the master bedroom! Morning light wakes Mr. B up, who in turn wakes me up.
I would not want a skylight in my bedroom. Full moon? No. Sun up before 6? No. I get wakened by light sneaking around the blinds, so I think I’m very helio-sensitive [I also think I may have just made up that word]. But the skylight in the master bath has never bothered me, and I love the two fixed ones that light up our staircase to the upper floor. I’ve tried to persuade my wife that we should replace them with opening ones as well [see post #9] but have not been successful – yet.
We have several friends/family members with the remote/power control skylights and they all love them. Had the hand-crank ones in a previous house in Denver and loved them. Vent all that hot air out into the cold night sky! Watch the stars!
Back in the late 90’s we had a huge, “youge” skylight in our master bath. Clear plexiglass. Husband would catch me darting around it on my way to the shower … he laughed and waved “Hello Spy satellites”. Turns out they probably had much higher resolution than they were admitting at the time . To those monitoring at NSA, sorry. My backside wasn’t worth your time.
We have skylights in two of our bathrooms. Love the moonlight that comes in during full moons. Additional light during day hours is nice too. Ours do not open, not sure I’d open them if we did, we have cross ventilation with other windows in the bathroom. I tend to vote for more light whenever and wherever possible.
We had a hailstorm that resulted in our insurance company paying to replace the shingles too. All three skylights were dented by the hail so they were also replaced. Make sure you are getting what you are entitled too.
I once housesat in a house where there was a huge skylight over the master bed. It was fun to see the moon, but not fun to be woken at the crack of dawn. I don’t know why those guys didn’t have a blind for it. And like AboutTheSame, I am now way too heliosensative to have a skylight in my bedroom. I’m annoyed by the light creeping around my blackout shades.
We have a skylight over the bathroom, too. Thinking of replacing the roof in the next year or so, and I love the idea of the solar skylight for ventilation. Bookmarked–thanks!
So now that I’m pushing 2 lights, I’m positive I will get the bathroom one upgraded. sneaky, yes.