A skylight can be installed in a room below an attic
Q. I live in a small one-story house with a pitched roof. I want to add a skylight in my living room, but there is a tall attic above it. Is it still effective to add a skylight and how do I do it?
A. The addition of a skylight, especially in a smaller house, is one of the most common home improvement projects. Its cost is relatively low and it is a simple do-it-yourself project. Also, the brightness from a properly sized skylight can make a small room appear to be much more spacious.
The actual installation process for putting a skylight in the roof over a room with an attic above it is the same as in a room with a cathedral ceiling. The only difference is you will have to build a tunnel from the skylight in the roof to the ceiling in your living room. This tunnel is called a lightwell.
First, you must decide upon the style of skylight you want. The basic options are flat glass or domed plastic and either can be venting or fixed. A glass skylight is the most expensive material, but it provides a true view of the sky through it. Depending upon how deep your lightwell has to be, a view may not be a significant advantage.
A domed plastic skylight is less expensive and lightweight, making it easier to install. The same amount of light comes through it as from a glass skylight, but the view is distorted. Another advantage of the plastic skylight is the properties of the plastic naturally block the sun's ultraviolet fading rays. A venting skylight is best if you use natural ventilation during the nonheating seasons.
The next step is to determine the size of skylight you desire. A large skylight in a small room may create too much glare and look odd. It also wastes more energy even if it has double or triple panes. If the skylight is too small, it will be ineffective for lighting. In general, multiply the square footage of your living room by 0.045 to determine a recommended square footage size of the skylight.
Determine about where you want the skylight center to be located on the roof. Drill a hole through the roof and hang a wire through it so you can find it from inside the attic. This is just a ballpark position because the location of the roof rafters will determine the final location. Rafters can be cut and reinforced, but it is easier to just avoid them.
With the roof location of the skylight determined, it is time to design the lightwell to the ceiling below. A tapered lightwell, larger at the ceiling than at the roof, is more difficult to build than a straight-walled one, but it looks much better. It also distributes the natural lighting better throughout the room. Plan on making the ceiling area about twice the area of the skylight.
The lightwell is built with standard 2x4 studs similar to any interior wall in a house. The strength of it is not a design issue because it supports no load. The interior surface should be finished with drywall and painted bright white. The attic sides of the lightwell should be insulated heavily and caulked well. Finally install the skylight in the roof.
• Ms. Builder's column appears Sundays in Homes Plus. Send questions to Ms. Builder, 6906 Royalgreen Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45244 or visit dulley.com/msbuilder.
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