Skylights?

[phaeton]

Will be buying a house soon, house will be needing a new roof and the seller and we appear to have found a monetary agreement towards the roof.....

Anyways, for now we might have the roof repaired (it has a leak or two), and later have it all stripped off (both courses of shingles) and have a standing-seam metal roof put on. The entire upstairs is a vaulted-cathedral ceiling and a set of skylights would be very very nice in that room...

Should skylights go in before, during, or after a new roof is put on?

Are skylights typically put in by roofers, or is this a general contractor type of job?

Are skylights just an invitation for more trouble down the road (thermal efficiency, another spot to leak, etc)?

Any thoughts on the remote-controlled, vented/shaded skylights? Look cool, but how well do they seal when closed?

Is it too regional/situational (I'm outside of Madison WI) to ask an approximate cost of what skylights are to put in? They (and the roof) would be put on by professional hire- I won't be doing them myself....

thanks for any and all!

[Edwin Pawlowski]

After stripping, before the new roof. That makes it much easier to flash around it properly.

I'd go with a carpenter type. Cutting hte hole and putting hte exterior in place is easy enought that the roofer may do it, but he may not want to, (or have the skills needed) to finish the interior portion of trim, sheetrock, etc. Of course, there will always be the talented roofer that can do it all.

They have improved much. I'd consider it myself.

[tom]

It's do-able. If I were the roofer putting in those skylights, I'd want them as close to the top as possible, to minimize the amount of water they see. The pop-top skylights are great, and seal well when closed. Get quality curb-mounted types, and you'll be happier down the road. They all have their thermal problems (condensation, fogging, etc.), but a good double-glazed model will minimize that. Got no idea what you'll be charged for installation, but get a guarantee in writing against leakage from the installer. Tom

[phaeton]

Thanks for suggestions thusfar....

Another question I forgot to ask- Are skylights not enjoyed by everyone? I.e. this isn't something that universally improves the value of the home, right? This is a "starter home" and we expect to live here about 5 years or so and move on to bigger and better things.

Would it be better to invest the money elsewhere, such as a kitchen or bathroom renovation, central air, or something that is universally desireable?

Thanks for any and all...

[dadiOH]

I don't think skylights per se are universally desireable, I think it depends on where they are and why. If they were installed to brighten an otherwise dark area then they *might* be perceived by others as desireable ("might" because one could not compare with the same area without skylights).

OTOH, if the area in which you are thinking of installing them is already bright and cheerful through a bounty of windows and you just want to install them as an architectural detail then I personally would put my money elsewhere.

To answer your question directly, I doubt that a future buyer would pay much attention to the presence or lack of skylights unless your upstairs area was a real dog without them.

I happen to have seven of them in a house I built a few years ago and love each and every one; all were installed because the areas would have been too dark for my taste without them. Two are in halls, for example. All are Velux, curb style, welded aluminum, non-opening, tempered glass. Cost installed was about $500 each 10 years ago in central Florida.

-- dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[Roy Starrin]

This changes the ball game a bit. There are lists (can't find one right now" of what home improvements enhance resale value the most. A good realtor might tell you. But, if the goal is resale value, my gut tells me that skylights would be pretty far down on that list

[Buck Turgidson]

In my opinion you need both a roofer and carpenter.

I had skylights (Velux) installed as part of a new roof in 2003. Most good roofers are familiar with the flashing procedures that are required, and most will also guarantee their work for a period. However, I had a good carpenter do the interior framing and insulation once the skylights were in the roof. Insulating the shafts is important to prevent ice damming.

I had them installed on the north side of my house, and it changed it from dark and dreary to bright and sunny.

Ask the roofing to use a waterproof membrane, which isn't required, but not a bad idea.

[trader4]

A quality skylight correctly installed can be a great addition. It's true, that they are one more item that you have to deal with. They need to be cleaned occasionally. Also, if you have trees around the house, it's possible a falling branch could break them. Plus, eventually, like all windows, they will have to be replaced at some point way down the road.

I have Velux and highly recommend them. I have the electrically operated ones and am very happy with that aspect too. I would get either fixed ones or go the motorized route. I would not get the ones that open with a hand crank, as I think you will find you will rarely open them if you need to use a crank. Plus, the electric ones will close automatically at the first few drops of rain.

[L. M. Rappaport]

For what it's worth, I think you've gotten a lot of good advice so far. There are two types of skylights - fixed and moveable. The movable types allow ventilation, but should have screens if you are in a climate with bugs. (who isn't?) If you are concerned with lightening a dark room, I'd suggest fixed as they are more watertight. We have Andersons and they have never leaked or sweated (be sure to get double glass - they don't seem to sweat even in bathrooms).

Also fwiw, I think if you're in a hot climate, central air adds more to the value of a house, but if you're only there for five years, and the house is already built, adding central air is expensive and you might not get your money out, particularly if the housing "bubble" bursts.

I think it's impossible to tell you whether a kitchen renovation would be a better investment without seeing the existing kitchen.

[m Ransley]

An R 3.3 argon low E skylight is no comparison to R 35-50 that you need in Madison, heat rises and so will heating costs.

[Goedjn]

It would be better to invest the money in a mutual fund, and just depend on good maintenance to improve the resale value of the house. Unless you're doing all the work yourself, renovations generally cost more than you get back. Any that you do should be optimized to appeal to YOU, not a hypothetical buyer.

[phaeton]

That's probably even regional and demographic as well.... I'll check with a realtor here, but if these 'lists' have a specific name I'd appreciate it. I'll do the hunting around.

thx

[Roy Starrin]

Try this. Google "resale value" "home improvements" as shown. You could add as a third search term after the other two; your state, or even city, since the above search provides 22K responses. Normally these "lists" are run in the R.E. section of newspapers every now and then. If you live in a big enough city, you might get hold of the R.E. editor of the local paper and see if he can help you. Roy National/International News Guy

[phaeton]

Thanks Roy,

I figured maybe y'all had the "definitive list" within reach when I posted that, but I did spend most of last night googling (mostly this newsgroup) about increasing home values, etc. It's a bit of an eye-opener, but in a way it's comforting to know that it won't be necessary to go do all this outlandish stuff ;)

Happy Thanksgorging!

[willshak]

On 11/23/2005 11:29 AM US(ET), phaeton took fingers to keyboard, and typed the following:

If this installation is just for putting some daylight where there is none at present, you might look into the light tubes rather than skylights. This is just one manufacturer:

you go the skylight route, make sure you get the highest e value glass possible. You don't want the summer sun working against the AC.

[matmox]

responding to

matmox wrote: I would look for a product that would be absolutely leak proof in design. I have used VELUX skylights products for years and I've never had any problems at all. Here's is a good site to visit for more information

phaet> Will be buying a house soon, house will be needing a new roof and the

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[trader4]

You dig up a 5 year old post in a shameless attempt to spam for a company. Nice. I'm sure everyone will be real impressed.