Skylights?

I've always heard that sooner or later all of them leak.

I wouldnt be worried so much about the hurricane resisitant skylights but putting a hole in your hurricane resisitant roof. 😉

Plus, for hot climates, the idea is to keep the sun out of the house.

Right especially if you aren't running your AC. However if there was some warranty against leakage or a way to shade the skylight with a blind of sorts it might not be a bad idea.

Betty, good point. I think the materials might have gotten better over the years, and maybe that seal system holds up better over time. I have a conventional skylight in my Virginia home (14 years now) and it seems to be fine... although I keep expecting it to leak.

Linda, another good point. My home will have most of the living space on the north side of the house, and if I have covered decks/galleys (again on the north side), I'm worried that it might be somewhat dark inside the house. So, I was thinking that if I put just a few small skylights on the north slope of the roof, maybe I could get plenty of light and not let so much heat in.

Yup, David, I think I'm seeing that the hurricane-resistant skylight glass is insulated, but even if it were "smoked" it would let lots of light in. But part of my house will be 1.5-2 stories high (very high ceiling in the great room); and that's where I would want the skylight (well, maybe one in the kitchen also), so maintenance will be a bit of a pain... so, I'd want to make sure that the seals are top notch.

My wife claims that she gets very depressed if she doesn't get enough sunlight each day. I think she's really saying that she's sick of being stuck with me in the house when the weather is too bad to go outside.... but, you know how diplomatic (spin doctors) women are. To keep the diplomatic, official story going, she is requesting LOTS of light in the STX home.

Solar tubes are a great way to get light into a room but use very little roof area (less area to leak). They are very much gaining in popularity these days.

Thanks divinggirl... yup, I need to check them out and see if they're more/less expensive. I looked into putting one into my basement, here in Virginia about 3 years ago. It's amazing how much light you can get from them. But, I had so many turns to get into my (completely underground) basement that I was going to lose a lot of light.

Since you are several years away fom building your house, you will be able to see how these skylights have fared for others in hurricane conditions. There are also likely to be new products by the time you build.

If it is just light you are trying to introduce look into 'deck prisms' like i have seen on many boat decks -- they throw a lot of light off with the prism effect and they are certainly able to be installed 'leakproof' - not likely to compromise roof integrity either since they would be installed between roof beams.

I don't think she'll be bothered by lack of light down here at all. She'll have plenty with or without the skylights.

Good point dntw8up, I can google for "skylight problems" and see what pops up over time.

Exit Zero, I would have never thought of that... cool, thanks... I'll do some research.

Yup, Trade, I can tell that she's still thinking that she'll be living the way we do in Virginia now... she hasn't really shifted her thought process towards less work, more putzing (we both love being outdoors, but when you have to work 40 hours/week, you tend to spend more time indoors). So, do we really need to be THAT concerned about light in the house... I really think that windows will be perfectly adequate... but, shhhhh, I have to at least look like I'm finding the perfect solutions for her.

Plus, when you're home, you have your doors open as well as your windows. You will be surprised at how good a cool dim room feels!!

The new laundry that is going in in Princess accross from McDonald's has these awesome skylights that they installed because they want to keep the WAPA bill down. They work amazingly well and the light is very bright and they don't need any other light in the work areas most days. One of the owners of the place is in the solar business and sells these lights on island as well. Stop in and see them there if you are curious. I understand the laundry will be opening in a week or so. I could probably get/give contact information if you want to PM me about it. As for hurricanes, these are very low profile and the installation doesn't appear to be a factor (I'm thinking reduction in WAPA bill will more than pay for the chance of hurricane damage) and leaking I think is taken care of by professional installation and regular maintenance (which is why most skylights fail.. no maintenance). Interesting alternative for some businesses.

Thanks limetime2, I'm in Virginia now, and only get to STX about once/year... but, I'm making a note in my "Things to do the next time in STX" list. Is that STX or STT?

I also did a beginning search for Deck Prisms. These might be really cool in the kitchen, and maybe in the bathrooms (where there isn't as much wall space for windows).

I'm in STX. I only mention the lights because I was fascinated myself by them. They didn't look like sky lights, they just look like neat shaped florescents. They really gave off a lot of light and when one of the owners showed them fo me.... I thought they were so cool. Technology has come a long way since the last time I looked at skylights.

I love researching stuff online and I'm going to look at the deck prisms myself... just for fun.

My brother lives in Virginia (actually 2 of them do)... Amissville... which is a little town outside of Warrenton... and Front Royal which is not too far from the Luray caverns. Nice state VA... pretty rolling hills.

Good night!

Hi limetime2, your brother lives in a really pretty area of Virginia. He's far enough away from DC to avoid all of that nonsense, but close enough that if we wants to go into town it's not an overnight affair.

Yes, I really need to see these deck prisms up close. I've worked in Naval research and development for 30 years now so you'd think I'd know about these; but I guess it's more a commercial boat/ship item.