Roofs That Reach For the Sun, Moon
More and more North County residents are reaching for the sky--adding skylights to their home to take advantage of year-round sunshine and natural illumination.
Skylights can open up cramped or dreary quarters by giving a feeling of spaciousness.
Steve and Pearl Kesterson of Poway installed two skylights in their Poway home--a 2x4-foot white opaque skylight in the kitchen and a 2x2-foot clear, operable skylight in the bathroom.
“You can’t imagine the difference,” Pearl said. “It’s totally more pleasant throughout the house. They give us so much more light and fresh air. During the day, we never have to turn on the light in the kitchen, and when we open the skylight in the bathroom, it gives us circulation and a cool breeze throughout the house.”
Costs vary according to style and material and can range from $200 or $300 to up to $1,500. The most popular skylight, a 2x4-foot model, can be installed in a standard-roof home for about $600 to $800. A small 2x2-footer is about $400. The average for a single skylight installation is about $700 to $900.
“A skylight can really transform a house,” said Steve Schoettler of Southwest Skylights in Oceanside. “It can change the feeling of a room, make it bright and cheerful. There’s nothing more dramatic.”
Skylights can be clear or translucent (also called opaque), can be made to open and close, and there are even some models that come equipped with a sensor that closes it automatically when it begins to rain.
“Most of the skylights I do are white, but they don’t let you see the blue sky,” Schoettler said. “White reflects heat and keeps a house cooler,” he said. “It diffuses the light over the whole room and provides even lighting. It also requires less upkeep. Once you put one in there’s really no maintenance. With glass, you may have to get up on the roof and clean it.”
Opaque white is the most functional, according to Schoettler. “Clear skylights let the sun shine in and let you look out. You can see the blue sky, but they also let in sunlight and extra heat. Ultraviolet rays can bleach carpets and damage furniture or walls.”
Other options include gray or bronze tinting of clear skylights to control glare and heat gain while still preserving the view. Tempered glass gives a clear view and resists scratching and discoloring, but since it is fragile and quite heavy, is best used for smaller skylights or those built on a very steep roof.
Acrylic plastic is the most popular choice among the different glazing materials and, since it is about one-third the weight of glass, is better suited for larger skylights.
Acrylic plastic is tougher than glass, can be molded into domes or pyramids, and provides insulation. Acrylics, however, scratch more easily than glass, and if molded into flat panels, tend to sag.
Acrylic plastic also resists discoloration, which makes it more popular than polycarbonate thermoplastic glazing, which, although extremely strong, tends to discolor with age.
Skylights come in three basic styles based on their mounting system. The most popular choice is a self-mounting system that comes with its own wooden frame (or curb) that one contractor described as looking like a sandbox (sans the sand, of course). The curb holds the skylight and also has a metal rim (or flashing) that is sealed to the roof with caulking or other material to eliminate leakage.
A curb-mounting model, while less expensive than a self-mounting model, does not come with its own frame and can only be installed if a curb is already present. A curb-mounting model is often the choice of a seasoned do-it-yourself remodeler, who may want to save money by building his or her own frame.
Flush-mounted skylights are usually made of one piece, seamless plastic and are made to attach, without a frame, directly to the roof. They are the least expensive of the skylights, but are not recommended because of their tendency to leak, crack or discolor.
Where to put a skylight and how large it should be are two key steps in the decision to add a skylight.
Living rooms, kitchens and bathrooms are popular settings for skylights, but many people who want to sleep under the stars put a skylight in the bedroom. It’s been said that the moonlight can be bothersome for the first night or so, but that you quickly adjust and get back to your normal sleeping pattern.
Some people put skylights in one or two rooms, others put one in every room in the house. “A lot of people get two or three,” Schoettler said. “Some people get six or seven--one for each room, especially if they’re getting a new roof. When you’re re-roofing it’s a good time to put in skylights.”
You also have to consider the location of your house in relation to the sunlight. Houses facing south are usually in the best position to capture the sunlight. Homes facing east can get much of the morning sun, and those facing west can catch the afternoon and evening rays. Houses facing north generally get less sunlight, but can still be fitted with a functional skylight.
How big should the skylight be? Most specialists say that 4% to 10% of the room’s total floor area is normal. “The size of the skylight depends on the size of the room,” said Bob French of the Skylight Works in Escondido. “A 2x4-foot skylight is good for a room 12x12 feet. If it’s bigger--like a 16x20-foot living room--you might want to use two 2x4-footers, and spread them out a little bit.”
In smaller rooms such as a bathroom, for example, the relative area of the skylight can be greater while remaining functional. “I put a 4x4-foot skylight in an 8x8-foot bathroom,” said French. “It opened up half the ceiling--it was almost like being outside.”
Cutting a hole in your roof is a pretty serious remodeling job and it is widely recommended that you work with a skylight specialist or experienced contractor when installing one.
“Get someone who specializes in skylights,” French said. “It’s not complicated, it just has to be done right. There’s a simple way to do it without tearing up the whole roof.”
There are visual as well as structural considerations.
Perhaps three-fourths of all skylight installations must penetrate both a ceiling and a roof. “First, you have to find out where inside the house you want the skylight, then you have to get up in the attic and find out if it’s possible,” French said. “You see if there’s anything in the way, like heating ducts or gas pipes. You have to see if the structure will allow it. Do you have trusses or conventional framing?”
If you have to go through both a roof and ceiling, you will often need a shaft (or well) to seal the area between the roof rafters and the ceiling joists. “You have to build a shaft or tunnel from the ceiling up to the roof. You frame it in with wood and drywall--like a little room,” French said.
The enclosure should be larger than the skylight, to allow more than just a narrow shaft of the sunlight to enter the room below.
Leakage is one of the main concerns with skylights, but a professionally installed and properly sealed skylight will seldom leak. As for heat loss, a double-insulted glazing of the glass or plastic material usually provides sufficient insulation for homes in a climate like that of North County.
