A Beginner's Guide to Skylights

When renovating your home, nothing reclaims dark spaces like a skylight. Attics, extensions, and upper-floors can all benefit enormously from the additional light that a ceiling window can provide. In this article, we’re going to run through everything you need to know when you’re considering brightening up those darker areas.

Benefits of Installing a Skylight

There is nothing like natural light to bring comfort and vibrancy to a room — add to this a beautiful view, and you can see why skylight installations are a popular home renovation solution. Likewise, adding a roof window for ventilation can really make the difference on hot days, and even bring a bit of freshness to your home.

Different Types of Skylights

To start, we should address the fact that there are many different types of skylights for every kind of home and situation. We’ve listed the primary types to give you an idea of what’s out there.

Ventilating Skylights – As the name suggests, this is a skylight you’re able to open. There are a number of different options for how this is done. For example, the window could open inwards, outwards, both, or rotate on a hinge in the middle. Not only that, but for windows out of your reach, you can get solar-powered, remote-controlled, electric-opening skylights. Or, you could simply get the classic skylight window, opened by a hook on the end of a large pole. There is an enormous amount of variation in the market.

Fixed – This window does not open. It exists solely to allow light to enter the room. Like the previous entry, this is a “classic” skylight, with a rectangular frame and a broad pane of glass, allowing in lots of light. These are easier to install, and ultimately easier to care for because they have fewer moving parts. The only downside is that they fail to provide any kind of ventilation, but this may be a good option for rooms already well ventilated.

Tubular – Like the name suggests, a tubular skylight is one that uses a reflective tube to bounce light from the outside, down a tube, and into the room where it provides natural light. Unlike the previous two windows, these do not provide a view. They can, however, be much more versatile in terms of installation — the tube can for instance pass through your attic space, meaning sunshine can access rooms in a way they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.

It should also be noted that each of the above three have many variations for consumers with different needs. For example, it’s possible to have a UV screen installed to protect your furniture, or mesh screens installed in places where insects are an issue.

Why You Need a Professional

Installing a skylight roof window, while doable, requires skill and experience. At the end of the day, you’re working with a roof, which means that this job needs serious attention to detail and skilled handiwork to ensure that your installation doesn’t cause issues with your roof’s permeability. Getting it wrong could spell disaster!

So why wait? Call U.B. Code Roofing now at (303) 458-3790, or contact us through the form on our website. As a family business with over 40 years working in roofing (including time spent in roofing inspection), we’re proud to serve the Denver area. We have the expertise and commitment to quality to ensure that every job is completed to the highest possible standards.