Follow These 3 Tips for a Mistake-Free Skylight Window Installation
Posted on: 19 October 2018
Skylight windows are the perfect solution for bringing natural lighting into parts of the home that are dark. They are preferred to wall windows because their installation does not involve significant restorations such as cutting into the walls and ruining the structure of the home. However, the fact that the windows are installed onto the roof means that you need to take a lot of precautions to ensure that installation is done correctly. Well-established skylight windows will add up to 30 per cent more natural light into the room. On the other hand, poorly installed skylights usually lead to complications such as a leaking roof and snow damage, among others. Here are three ways to avoid these problems.
Inspecting the structure of the roof
There are some roof types that take skylight windows better than others. Roofs need to be wide enough to be able to accommodate at least a 2-foot wide skylight. If you need alternative framing for the window, you will have to hire a structural engineer to help you customise it to get a 4- or 6-foot long skylight. If the conventional truss system does not support the roofing structure, it will be a little more difficult, but not impossible, to install a window.
Inspecting the attic
The attic is the second factor that comes into play when you are planning to install a skylight. Check the attic to see whether there are structures such as wiring, HVAC systems, and plumbing that may stand in the way. You can consult a window installation professional to help you find out if it is possible to install the skylight without interfering with the existing structures, and they will tell you what changes to make for a simple installation.
Figuring out if you need a chase
The other important factor to consider when installing a skylight is whether you will need a funnel to channel the light from the window into the rooms it is intended to illuminate. This happens in cases where the skylight cannot be installed directly onto the roof of the house that it illuminates, or when there is a ceiling and the house has painted drywall. If your home has a cathedral ceiling, a chase may not be necessary.
Other considerations to make include whether the skylight will affect the architectural structure of your home and the time it will take to install it. With the help of a competent window installation professional, the process will be natural.
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