Sky light in a garage

[IH2LOSE]

Well this is the year I am going to extend my garage.


I thought we discussed this prior but I could not find this is the archives,

So call me cheap but I love the idea of free lighting.I dont have concerns of security, I am not worried about the heat gain as I will be adding an a/c system.

Can anyone one think of why I wouldn't want to have the skylights, do I have to worry about the sun getting in and fading the paint?

 

[bobs78]

I've thought about putting a skylight in also. I would think UV rays may be a problem depending on your location but you could always use a car cover.

The other thing you need to consider is to make sure its installed according to your local fire code. If you have an attached garage it should be constructed with fire blocks so if a fire should start it will slow down spreading into the house.

 

[Vanity Plate Bob]

How about an electric operated blind. 1. One that would change with brightness. Photo ray. Manual or automatic. 2. One that would adjust like a venetion blind.

Proper installation of the light. Leaks, I understand are a real catastrophy.

Vents in roof.

 

[Dirtfarmer]

Yup...the first thing I think of when I hear "skylight" is water leak. I know they've come a long way with skylight technology but water seems to have a pesky habit of finding it's way past our best defences.

 

[Scott Winebarger]

Don't go for cheap, get a good quality skylight! Proper installation is a must but in a few years you don't want leaking yellow Plexiglas.

 

[Piet]

I put in a patio door on the south side of the building (which is enclosed in my yard). It lets in TONS of light, yet no direct sun on my car. Something to consider.

 

[LVMYVT76]

I have sky lights in my house, no fading of carpet or anything. I do know that they have them with mini blinds in between the glass with electric motors to open and close them by remote control. I have not had any leaks, but that all depends on your roofer, have him make some diversion pieces on the top to run water away from the sides, its easy and doen't cost anything to do.

 

[JohnZ]

When we built our new ranch home six years ago, my wife's basic theme (she designed the house) was "bright, airy, open, lots of natural light", so we have a fortune in huge custom-made windows. Interior hallways and some bathrooms don't have windows, so we had "Solatubes" installed in those areas - they're 14" or 18" in diameter, with a flush flat milk-colored glass in the ceiling, and a flexible round tube lined with bright aluminized material that leads up to a clear, round faceted prism mounted on the roof. The prism gathers light, which is transmitted down through the tube to the lens in the ceiling, and literally bathes the area below it with natural light - it appears that you left the lights on, even at night when they get moonlight. None have ever leaked, and it's "free" lighting. We also have several top-quality skylights installed in her studio areas, and those haven't leaked either.

 

[Zippy]

John, I've seen your garage in a Vette mag..excellent, well thought out design, but why did you leave that shop towel in the picture?

 

[JohnZ]

John, I've seen your garage in a Vette mag..excellent, well thought out design, but why did you leave that shop towel in the picture?

Which picture?

 

[Zippy]

If I remember correctly, the shop towel is on a rung of a ladder.
Don't remember which car mag..I read a ton of 'em.

Zippy

 

[wallyknoch]

I have skylights in my warehouse and many days we dont even use the lights or if so not very many. They are opake {is that a word} anyway you cant see through them and no direct sunlight goes to anything. THey are 20 feet up and there are approximately 12 of them 4x8 in size.

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

I have skylights in my warehouse and many days we dont even use the lights or if so not very many. They are opake {is that a word} anyway you cant see through them and no direct sunlight goes to anything. THey are 20 feet up and there are approximately 12 of them 4x8 in size.

[FONT=&quot]We have the same type of skylights in the Team’s garages. 4 years old now and never a leak. I am going to install the same type skylights when we build a new place on the farm.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

so we had "Solatubes" installed in those areas - they're 14" or 18" in diameter, with a flush flat milk-colored glass in the ceiling, and a flexible round tube lined with bright aluminized material that leads up to a clear, round faceted prism mounted on the roof.

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Could you please send a link about these? They sound at least 20 years ahead of Spanish technology.[/FONT]

 

[JohnZ]

[FONT=&quot]Could you please send a link about these? They sound at least 20 years ahead of Spanish technology.[/FONT]

Yup, here's the link - they're great!

http://www.solatube.com/residential.php

 

[JohnZ]

If I remember correctly, the shop towel is on a rung of a ladder.
Don't remember which car mag..I read a ton of 'em.

Zippy

That's probably the one with a car wash towel hanging from one post of my lift - hey, I work out there.

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

Yup, here's the link - they're great!

http://www.solatube.com/residential.php

Thanks, they look great. The site list a Spanish connection but of course the local distributor knows nothing about the product. We are ordering 1 from the US to have an up-close look.

Another +++ for the family.

 

[Tom Bryant]

I don't have any of the Solatubes in my place but I wish I did. They came out shortlly after we built. I see lots of them in new construction. We used Anderson skylights in the house and in 15 years they have been leakproof. With the E glass they don't allow a lot of UV rays through either. The only problem we had is the one in the master bath is up a 6 foot tunnel in the highest part of the ceiling. I did get condensation on it that would run down but I installed a second exhaust fan up in the tunnel where it can't be seen and that cured that. I have also seen skylights in kitchens that had condensation problems due to stream from cooking.

Tom

 

[SebringBill]

There's a company called Tubular Skylights about 1.5 mi from my house. I'll be installing 4 of them in the garage, and 3 more in the house. I believe they're about $200@, go in very easy, and my roofer and architech (both Corvette buddies) haven't seen one (that was properly installed) leak yet. Remember in FL we get rain by the inch/hr in the summer.