thoughts on skylights

[Dot]

Curious what the Punatics think of skylights in the Puna area. We are building a house in Nanawale that already has the houseplans and permits in place from the previous owner. It has a skylight in the kitchen, which would be a nice little extra, but it just seems WRONG to put a hole in a perfectly good roof! Appreciate any input on this - Dot
(10 below zero today in Ak, wishing I was in Puna!)

[Rob Tucker]

Your instints are good. Putting a hole in a roof is asking for trouble. Too often people opt for skylights and want to do it cheap. A cheap hole in the roof is asking for double trouble.

It can, of course, be done. The issues of design, proper flashing and maintanence make the proper installation of a quality skylight a rarity.

My opinion only.

[Mitzi M]

Personally, I don't like them a bit! Every skylight I've ever lived with has leaked a lot. Also, I've generally wound up covering them up in summer because the light seems too intense. A nice bedspread I had faded dramatically where the light crossed it. I know they do make blinds for skylights but last I checked they were pretty expensive. My take is that since its possible to be outside or on a lanai all year here, I don't really miss the extra light indoors. Just my thoughts!

Aloha,
Mitzi

[Kapohocat]

We have 3 in this house. One is leaking (big crack from coconut fall) in the hallway. One we had to partial cover or the living room bakes all summer. The only one that seems to be any use at all is the dining room for natural light but going but it also has a small leak on edges.

[Kelena]

When I was looking at houses I visited a very small but elegant house with an enormous skylight. The entire house was filled with beautiful light....and it was hotter than hell. I visited another house on the same block with no skylight. It was much cooler. I like the idea of a skylight, but I think there is a heat transference problem and, of course, the potential for leakage.

[Sharlee]

Wow, I am so thankful this came up because as we plan our house I was thinking skylights would be a great addition. Keep the lighting bill down with natural light and all and I just like a lot of light. But these are definitely thoughts to ponder. It seems, even if you have it installed right, you still are dealing with possible misery from the heat.

Maholo!
Sharlee

When life gives you lemons....trade them for chocolate!

[Les C]

I was just over at a carpenter-friend's home where he put in two skylights. They haven't leaked in the recent heavy rains. He said that you have to install them properly, especially with a catchment roof. Something about having appropriately tall sills. It's also another way to get that mildew-preventing sunlight in to areas of the home that normally doesn't get sunlight.

We have been thinking about adding another skylight to our place that can be opened to vent the heat in our 2nd floor loft area.

[Hotzcatz]

Some folks have said nice things about SolaTubes. It is sorta a skylight but quite small and looks like a light fixture from the inside.

Most times when I draw in skylights, they are merely translucent plastic sheets of the same shape and size as the typical tin roof. The roof remains without any holes in it, it is the ceiling below which is removed to let the light through. There is a white corrugated plastic roofing which lets in semi-obscured light which isn't too bad. Be sure to add extra ventilation up near the top of the walls to let out extra heat if necessary.

On some boats, they have these interesting glass prism "deadlights" which look really interesting. Might be nice in a house to let in a little light without letting in a whole lot of light and heat.

Frequently when folks choose to install skylights, they get a bit over exuberant about it and you get the results of too much light and heat.

[David M]

When I remodeled our house in Ga, I added 4 skylights in a new roof. The roofer was there the day I installed them and he made sure they were tight as he did the shingles. The sunlight and view of the night sky were indeed welcome. The additional summer heat was not, but we tolerated it mostly by staying out of those rooms daytime and keeping the ac going. So when designing our Hawaiian home, skylights were on the list. Of course this was to be a metal roof. After getting cautious reports, I did some research and the predominant advise was against. Having observed our rain patterns these past few years, I'm glad we don't had the potential leakers although at times I miss the view.

BTW, in prepping the Ga house to sell for our move, I opted for a roof reshingle as the existing roof was showing its age, but still had a year or two of life. Figured it would help the resale. After the first rain, the roofer had to return as now 2 of the 4 skylights leaked - not a good selling point

David



Ninole Resident

[Fishboy]

This is an interesting subject and one that I've thought of bringing up myself. My curiosity is satisfied by all the opinions of heat and leakage problems, so I'm sold that installing your standard skylight isn't a good idea.

Hotzcatz brings up another design, SolaTubes, that I'd bet most people have at least seen in advertisements. My wife is sold on installing a couple of these to brighten up a couple of rooms. The Small size would likely reduce the problems with too much heat, but it's still a breach of the roof. Does anyone have any experience with these?

Mahalo nui loa,
Brian and Mary
Lynnwood, WA\Discovery Harbour