# Flat roof skylight options please.



## woody67 (14 Apr 2010)

We have a large flat roofed kitchen extension, approx 12' x 8' and would like more light flooding in from above....what options would you good people take? And how easy/hard a DIY job would it be? 

Thanks all

Mark


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## markymark12 (14 Apr 2010)

Hi
Velux have recently added a product aimed directly at this market, which can also be controlled via a remote. 
Regards fitting, really comes down to the size, and the trimming that is needed to fit. Doubling up on the joists you hanging the trimmer of can mean either access above or below for the length. If the width of the light was only required the one shortening i would not bother myself providing the existing sizing of the joists were generous.
Either way unless you pretty handy with some torch on felt, you will need a flat roofer to make it water tight. May be a good idea to look at the overall condition of the felt and the insulation whilst at it. The insurance companies only cover for a fairly short period, so if spending money may be time to look at recovering.


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## 9fingers (14 Apr 2010)

The other possibility is one of these light pipe devices. Basically a light catcher, a highly reflective tube and some sort of diffuser in the room.

Supposed to be very good. It would still need sealing into the roof but not as big as a velux or other skylight.

Bob


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## markymark12 (14 Apr 2010)

Tried the above, and it is quite amusing to watch people trying to find the light switch. However truth was i thought it was a very poor means of providing daylight and looked even worse on the roofline. The last one i fitted was a couple of years back, but i do remember thinking it was a lot of money for a piece of tinfoil type polished metal, with 2 pieces of plastic on. Good idea from the fitting point of view though, chances are they may work on the existing joist centres without no trimming out. May be worth a look.


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## Oryxdesign (14 Apr 2010)

I've used these guys a couple of times http://www.therooflightcompany.co.uk/d/ ... Range.html
They are a good product at a reasonable price and delivered when they said they would.

Simon


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## Lons (14 Apr 2010)

Standard rooflights such as "coxdomes",(Williaam Cox, Tring, Herts), there are a number of manufacturers nationally are very easy to fit into a flat roof. you just cut the apperture, reinforce / trim the joists and fix it in.
The difficulty as stated is the flashing and weatherproofing issue.

Be aware that they can be a security weakness and you should really IMO not consider an acrylic or PVC rooflight but make sure that it is glazed with polycarbonate. Also ensure it is double skinned (2 layers like double glazing).

_I used to stock them when in the plastics industry as well as supply the raw material to several manufacturers in the North east!_

I have also fitted a number of "sun tunnels" although only those for pitched tile or slate roofs and I now only use the Velux brand as I find them reliable.

I also where possible will only use the "rigid" tunnel type rather than the flexipipe. Rigid gives around 10x more light than flexi.

If installed correctly they give an amazing amount of light even on a dull day and I have customers who still, after years of use, think they've left a light turned on  
Amount of light does depend on position, length of tunnel etc.

Hope that's been helpful

Bob


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## angiebuds (3 Nov 2010)

Sometimes you can consider the plastic corrugated roofing. It can produce natural light also in your room. It is the common thing we are doing for the roof.


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## jasonB (3 Nov 2010)

Loftshop have a few that are not too expensive.

The job I'm on at the moment have just had some very nice walk over skylights fitted but a bit OTT if you don't use the roof as a balcony(or walk about in short skirts with no knickers)


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## JoinerySolutions (3 Nov 2010)

How about a slightly bigger project, it will look better than roof domes or sunpipes, but may require some new tools. :wink: 
Example: One I made earlier.







Rob.


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## dickm (3 Nov 2010)

We have a similar problem with lack of light in the central corridor in our house, and I'd been wondering about those light pipe things. Trouble is, I can't believe they actually work. I'd have thought that on a grey day (which we get quite a lot of up here  ) when you need the light, they'd not give much illumination. Can anyone reassure me?


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## Lons (3 Nov 2010)

dickm":2qpeyorb said:


> We have a similar problem with lack of light in the central corridor in our house, and I'd been wondering about those light pipe things. Trouble is, I can't believe they actually work. I'd have thought that on a grey day (which we get quite a lot of up here  ) when you need the light, they'd not give much illumination. Can anyone reassure me?



Yep - they do work!

The amount of light varies significantly as obviously it is very bright when sunny but still gives a significant amount of light on a dull day.

It varies also with the design / make. Also very important is the type of reflective tunnel. I.E. a rigid tube gives around 10x more light than a flexible tube. Shorter tube also means more light so consider position carefully. All models are made to fit between std rafter spacing. There are different versions for tiles and slates.

I've fitted a number for customers over the past 4 years but now will only fit the suntunnel made by Velux for a number of reasons. Not least being that externally it is flat and looks like a small standard velux window and reasonably straightforward to fit
http://www.velux.co.uk/Private/Products ... lt.aspxted Not cheap but you can get a discount on line or through a builders merchant.

I have in fact just fitted a 14" rigid version in my own house to iluminate a dark utility room and the results are startling. The first one I fitted was for an old couple and the guy kept trying to turn off the light - accused his missus of leaving it on overnight (he was 86 :lol: )


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## dickm (4 Nov 2010)

Thanks for that, Lons. 
With the rigid tunnel, presumably you have to have some sort of bend to get from the roof angle to flat ceiling? 
And how "short" is short? The shortest route from our roof to the central corridor will be about 8 feet. And, of course, now we have PV panels on the south facing roof, there's nowhere to fit the receptor on that face. Doh....


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## Lons (5 Nov 2010)

dickm":cper9i85 said:


> Thanks for that, Lons.
> With the rigid tunnel, presumably you have to have some sort of bend to get from the roof angle to flat ceiling?
> And how "short" is short? The shortest route from our roof to the central corridor will be about 8 feet. And, of course, now we have PV panels on the south facing roof, there's nowhere to fit the receptor on that face. Doh....



Shorter the better!


The tunnel is mirror finish but obviously the shorter the travel - less loss

Standard unit comes with 2 bends which swivel and 2 lengths of tunnel, which fit together, one inner, one outer so they slide for length adjustment. This means it's easy to find a correct position to fit.
Unit comes with 2 metre length tunnel but you can buy additional 1 metre extensions though expensive at £50 each  

My suntunnel faces NorthEast and length is only 1.2 mtrs but last one I fitted for a customer faces North and almost 3 mtr tunnel - customer is delighted with the amount of light over a dark stairway.

Listed trade cost for 14" flexi was £185 and rigid @ £250. 10" comes only in rigid @ £220 (all + VAT)
10" will fit into 400mm rafters and 14" needs 600mm 

Theres an animation here http://www.velux.co.uk/Private/Products ... ation.aspx and you can download fitting intr etc.

cheers

Bob


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## MajorGFX (8 Oct 2012)

Hello - I found this thread searching google, and the image you have here made me sign up! May I ask where this was supplied?

I'm sorry for bringing up an old thread but these are the sort of skylights i'm after.

Dome skylights


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