Skylights in roof

[Dan T]

Wondering if anybody has skylights installed in their home? I’m not interested in getting those round portal. The living room is so dark so I though skylights would be nice but I don’t know they they install them here. Thanks in advance!

[retiredguy123]

I think that The Solars Guys will install a skylight. They mostly install solar tubes, but their website shows skylights.

[Decadeofdave]

In a dark living room you can also install flat LED lights in the ceiling. Skylight might produce a lot of heat, even with coated e glass. Lenart electric

[JGVillages]

We purchased our pre owned home 15+ years ago and it has a skylight and Solar tube in our Great Room. Also a solar tubes in our Kitchen and 2nd Bath. If I had a choice between a Skylight and Solar Tubes for me the Solar Tubes provide more light.

[villagetinker]

OP, skylights will cost ($$$$) and only work when the sun is shining. Recessed LED lights with dimmer controls will cost ($$$) and work ALL the time, and do not require a hole in your roof. Just my humble opinion, you will save a lot of money having one or more ceiling lights installed instead of skylights.

[Arctic Fox]

Wondering if anybody has skylights installed in their home? I’m not interested in getting those round portal.

Do consider the heat that skylights will let in, before dismissing solar tubes.

[Michael G.]

I lived in a house facing north and south up north and now own a house facing the same direction.

I would never own a house facing any other way especially taking advantage of the south sun for light and the north shade.
I have lots of windows facing south that lights up the whole house except of course the bedrooms.

Something to think about for those looking to buy.

[dewilson58]

OP, skylights will cost ($$$$) and only work when the sun is shining. Recessed LED lights with dimmer controls will cost ($$$) and work ALL the time, and do not require a hole in your roof. Just my humble opinion, you will save a lot of money having one or more ceiling lights installed instead of skylights.

:BigApplause:

[Stu from NYC]

OP, skylights will cost ($$$$) and only work when the sun is shining. Recessed LED lights with dimmer controls will cost ($$$) and work ALL the time, and do not require a hole in your roof. Just my humble opinion, you will save a lot of money having one or more ceiling lights installed instead of skylights.

And now we know why you do not see skylights around here.

thanks again for sharing your expertise.

[skippy05]

I have seen many different houses with Solar Tubes and all that I have seen produce a blue-ish LED light in the room that is beyond terrible. Unless some model can produce true sunlight wavelength light in the room I would forget this idea. Think about the hue of the light and the way it makes you feel about the space. It is VERY important to being able to enjoy the room.

[Toymeister]

You can certainly get skylights installed after home construction.

There are a few reasons that they are not common. The first is they are not necessary, light tubes provide more than enough light in sunny Florida.

The second revolves around cost. Light tubes are cheap and simple to install. The third is the flexibility of positioning of the light tubes vice skylights. By their nature skylights must be positioned in-between roof trusses. Light tubes can be placed virtually anywhere you need the light.

[MandoMan]

Wondering if anybody has skylights installed in their home? I’m not interested in getting those round portal. The living room is so dark so I though skylights would be nice but I don’t know they they install them here. Thanks in advance!

I had two Solar tubes installed in the ceiling of my dark living room, and it made a huge difference. They have UV filters to keep out light that fades fabric, and they are warm in the day but not hot. They cost about $850, installed, each, and one expert from the Solar Guys has one in in an hour. They don’t seem to leak, properly installed, and they do install them properly, without a mess.

By contrast, a big skylight can really heat up a room unbearably. A lot of people who have them have shades they can draw to decrease the intensity of the light. They are prone to leaking. They require a large hole in the roof, and we do get a lot of rain here. There has to be a long (perhaps six or eight feet) box made of 2x4s and drywall to connect the skylight with the ceiling. (Long, but only as wide as the distance between your roof trusses unless you are willing to weaken your roof by cutting through a truss. Thus, your light is coming through a deep and narrow slot.) Meanwhile, hot air in the attic and from the skylight heats the drywall, and then the room. It probably isn’t insulated as well as the ceiling. Also, it’s difficult to keep the drywall seam from cracking where the vertical and horizontal meet, as roof trusses expand and contract a bit with temperature changes. And people will be working in your living room for at least several days, what with cutting holes, building the box, drywall taping and mudding, and painting. I would guess that a $2,000 high quality skylight could easily cost $6,000 fully installed.

[Luggage]

We have two solar tubes one in our laundry room which is perfect and another one in our large front to back living room which has a lot of light. Never a leak does not add any heat. And if you need more than that especially at night I would add a few cans LEDs . Make sure you get the 5,000 bright white LEDs versus the other ones that are yellowish.

[milling73]

You should look at homes with solar tubes. They do emit as much light as a sky light, with less chance of leakage. We have a solar tube and love how much it brightens the area. Neighbor has sky light and has repaired roof twice around it.

[Bridget Staunton]

Solar Guys very professional company, absolutely no debris. We had 3 installed and it gives a lot more light

[Guitarman1951]

They put in three round portals for us. One bigger one in the kitchen, one smaller in the utility room and one in the hall bath. The amount of light is incredible and we've had them for several years without any problems. Certainly don't need a full skylight as that would probably be way too much light for any of our rooms. Didn't put one in the living room because it would put a glare on the tv.

[Marvivo]

You cannot compare natural light with electric bulbs👎

[butlerism]

I have a 24" x 48" skylight in the Kitchen. I seldom turn on the lights as a result.
Keep in mind to put in a skylight it will require a roof penetration, getting in the attic and seeing where it will fit in between the trusses.

Myself, I use a flashlight to to do basic walking around the house. Have them all over the house. After all, with what is going on with the economy we will be using Homemade candles soon. Should be fun to see electric bills in a few months.

[JMEZARIC3]

OP, skylights will cost ($$$$) and only work when the sun is shining. Recessed LED lights with dimmer controls will cost ($$$) and work ALL the time, and do not require a hole in your roof. Just my humble opinion, you will save a lot of money having one or more ceiling lights installed instead of skylights.

Checkout the round flat LED lights at Home Depot in the commercial lighting section. You can adjust the output to daylight .I installed one in the kitchen of a Patio Villa with a dimmer and it looks like a solar tube . No hole in the roof and and it mounts flush to the ceiling. The manufacturer claims $1 per month operating costs at full output if left on for 12 hours a day.
At night I dim the light to low and it is perfect for watching TV .

[johnphil]

We have 3 one in the kitchen and one in each bathroom we love them it's like having the lights on all the time.

[PurePeach]

We have a large Solar Tube in our kitchen and the light is pure white.

[Dlbonivich]

Skylights need a ton of maintenance in Florida. The heavy heat and sun really eat away the caulking and rubber parts on the skylights. You have to inspect and reseal every year or so. My dolor tubes provides a lot of white clear light with little maintenance. They are pretty large.

[retiredguy123]

We have two solar tubes one in our laundry room which is perfect and another one in our large front to back living room which has a lot of light. Never a leak does not add any heat. And if you need more than that especially at night I would add a few cans LEDs . Make sure you get the 5,000 bright white LEDs versus the other ones that are yellowish.
If you want the brightest, non-yellow LED bulbs, look for the term "daylight" bulbs.

[Tsalla Apopka]

The solar tube allows sunlight to come in unless you have a filter added. The opening in the roof is minimal and much less likely to leak or be damaged by hail. You can also add a solar charged nightlight and/or a remote controlled shutter to close off the light.
The Solar Guys can do it in a couple of hours as opposed to a skylight will be very much more expensive.

[Heytubes]

Having no dog in this fight as I sold my VELUX skylight business last year and having sold and installed over 33,000 skylights and tubular skylights in 25 years I’m intrigued by many of these comments that skylights create heat, need to be resealed, etc. No longer true. The new generation of skylights by VELUX are now Energy Star certified and even have a 10 year no leak factory guarantee even if the homeowner installs them personally. The solar powered vented skylights or the solar powered shades have a 26% Federal Solar Tax Credit on material and labor. These products can be opened or programmed by your smart phone or you can even purchase the Smart Home automated system. Yes, they are pricey, running from as little as $1500. to as much as $20,000. but the ambiance of opening up your interior space gives the home added value with a larger resale price upon selling your home. The Solar Guys spent a great deal of time in training with my company so you can be rest assured they know what they are doing and will do it right. Go to VELUXUSA.com for more info on the new generation of glass skylights. Stay away from plastic skylights we called trouble bubbles.

[retiredguy123]

Having no dog in this fight as I sold my VELUX skylight business last year and having sold and installed over 33,000 skylights and tubular skylights in 25 years I’m intrigued by many of these comments that skylights create heat, need to be resealed, etc. No longer true. The new generation of skylights by VELUX are now Energy Star certified and even have a 10 year no leak factory guarantee even if the homeowner installs them personally. The solar powered vented skylights or the solar powered shades have a 26% Federal Solar Tax Credit on material and labor. These products can be opened or programmed by your smart phone or you can even purchase the Smart Home automated system. Yes, they are pricey, running from as little as $1500. to as much as $20,000. but the ambiance of opening up your interior space gives the home added value with a larger resale price upon selling your home. The Solar Guys spent a great deal of time in training with my company so you can be rest assured they know what they are doing and will do it right. Go to VELUXUSA.com for more info on the new generation of glass skylights. Stay away from plastic skylights we called trouble bubbles.
That works out to an average of 5 skylights every weekday for 25 years that you sold and installed. You must have been extremely busy.

[Heytubes]

Some days our crews installed up to 15 tubular skylights. Traditional skylights could take one crew 2 to 5 days to install two to four units at one home. Some days none—don’t want a hole in someone’s roof during a rainstorm.

[donassaid]

We installed solar tube in our kitchen and in our laundry room by the Solar Guys. Both have built in night lights. They provide so much light we find ourselves trying to "turn the lights off", even when they are off. Highly recommend.

[Ross]

I have installed skylights, one in a home in NY. One here. Both cutting and reinforcing rafters and joist.
Opened up the rooms greatly. they have been there for 16 years, no leaks I much prefer them to solar tubes.

[Carlsondm]

The color of solar tube lighting can be altered with filters. Have one put in to change the white light to warm if that is a preference.

[Laurawilcox]

OP, skylights will cost ($$$$) and only work when the sun is shining. Recessed LED lights with dimmer controls will cost ($$$) and work ALL the time, and do not require a hole in your roof. Just my humble opinion, you will save a lot of money having one or more ceiling lights installed instead of skylights.

Hello and thank you in advance. When I think of recessed I think of the trim around the tray ceiling. How else or where else can these be used?