Skylights

[Tom.]

I fancy making some skylights up for a single storey flat roof extension. The extension takes the place of what was formerly the back wall of the house, which contained a large vertical window and a sloped skylight (the wall stood slightly proud of the 1st storey wall and the skylight joined the two).

Now I didn't do this extension, or I'd have done things differently. The back room is now pretty dark because the window on the extension is 8-9 feet further away than it was when the house was built (1910)

Anyway, the roof is a simple timber frame, felted effort, and supports nothing. How difficult would it be to cut some of the joists, build a frame, and put some glazing in there? All with the aim of increasing the light level to the back room? I'm thinking about 300-400 for the frames and glass, and hundred or so for the materials. The windows won't open at all, and they'll need to be sealed to stop water ingress.

Any comments?

 

[chappers]

if you've got that sort of money to spare then buy them off the shelf and save yourself the grief.

 

[Tom.]

Well I like to do things myself, and I'm not sure if I'd be able to get windows to fit easily. Making them myself would allow me to position them squarely between joists, perhaps only needing to cut one joist away? I'm not decided yet, so if there is an off-the-shelf solution that saves me money and looks good, then I may well go for it.

This is the roof:

This is the ceiling underneath:

This shows the lack of light entering (although the camera makes it a bit worse):

 

[DAZB]

You can get ready made roof lights in all shape and sizes and this should give you a few ideas...........

http://www.nationaldomelightcompany.co.uk/

The Whitesales / Merchandome site looks very good and has installation details too but
you may need a Roofer to make it waterproof though if you are not familiar with flat roofs.

 

[Hazelb]

If you want to give the dinning room a nice airy feel you could try one of those double glazed 'jack lantern' style glazing stuctures. It would look fabulous!