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+-- Thread: Tubular skylight choices? (/showthread.php?tid=7350349)
Tubular skylight choices? - Pirate - 09-17-2019
Looking to install a 14" tubular skylight in our house.
Any recommendations?
Good brands?
Flexible or Ridgid duct?
Only has to go about 4' up.
RE: Tubular skylight choices? - meackerman - 09-17-2019
I wanted to put one in the spare bathroom....no windows its kinda dark. climb up in the attic and our air handler is right over where I wanted it to go.
RE: Tubular skylight choices? - MstrCarpenter - 09-17-2019
I've put in three or four Velux Sun Tubes and a couple(or three) off brands that weren't, IMO as good. One of the Velux 10" models was installed in a "L" shaped center hall. It was really too dark to traverse safely without the hall lights on. With the Sun Tube (tunnel?), it was as bright as any of the other rooms with large windows. The customer told us they didn't even need a light at night if the moon was shinning. I liked the roof flashing too. It's oversized and round, so you can rotate it until the globe faces straight up. I like to cut the hole thru the roof then gently remove the singles in preparation of Grace ice/water. I've found that way easier than trying to cut the shingles afterwards. I'm not sure if that was the brand that suggested using silicone caulk (You can end up with a big mess really quick. Don't ask!). I use foil duct tape and foil faced duct insulation. One other thing; if you're doing it on a sunny day you'll have to cover the top in order to install the bottom diffuser and trim. It's like looking directly at the sun times 10.
RE: Tubular skylight choices? - stav - 09-18-2019
How are those things rated for storms/hurricanes ? We were tossing around the idea of adding one to our house at one point.
RE: Tubular skylight choices? - atgcpaul - 09-18-2019
I've installed 2 different brands--Solatube and Velux Sun Tunnel.
The Solatube was a rigid tube and the distance from the ceiling to the roof was probably 6'-8'. This was in San Diego so I had very little rain to deal with. There were no leaks after 2 years.
The Velux installed in the roof pretty much like the Solatube, but it had a flexible duct. The distance was probably 8'. This was in my shop in MD. I didn't see any leaks after 2 years either and we had plenty of rain there.
The flexible tubing is easier to install, but I would definitely choose rigid over flexible. I installed 2 Solatubes in SD and one of them required me to rotate the joint/elbow because I didn't have a straight shot from the roof to the ceiling. It was still crazy bright. The amount of light reflected in the rigid tube is incredible compared to the flexible tube. I specifically remember a warning sticker on the rigid tube to not let it reflect onto framing because of the possibility of starting a fire.
On most nights and especially moonlit nights, the guest bath in SD with no window was bright enough to not need an electric light. In the daytime I'd find myself trying to turn the light switch off as I left the room because it was that bright.
Paul
RE: Tubular skylight choices? - MstrCarpenter - 09-18-2019
(09-18-2019, 06:15 AM)atgcpaul Wrote: I've installed 2 different brands--Solatube and Velux Sun Tunnel.
The Solatube was a rigid tube and the distance from the ceiling to the roof was probably 6'-8'. This was in San Diego so I had very little rain to deal with. There were no leaks after 2 years.
The Velux installed in the roof pretty much like the Solatube, but it had a flexible duct. The distance was probably 8'. This was in my shop in MD. I didn't see any leaks after 2 years either and we had plenty of rain there.
The flexible tubing is easier to install, but I would definitely choose rigid over flexible. I installed 2 Solatubes in SD and one of them required me to rotate the joint/elbow because I didn't have a straight shot from the roof to the ceiling. It was still crazy bright. The amount of light reflected in the rigid tube is incredible compared to the flexible tube. I specifically remember a warning sticker on the rigid tube to not let it reflect onto framing because of the possibility of starting a fire.
On most nights and especially moonlit nights, the guest bath in SD with no window was bright enough to not need an electric light. In the daytime I'd find myself trying to turn the light switch off as I left the room because it was that bright.
Paul
The ones I installed were ridged. There are angled swivels, like stove pipe elbows at the top and bottom so they don't have to go straight up. The straight sections are telescopic so no cutting is required.
RE: Tubular skylight choices? - Cooler - 09-18-2019
Velux is a customer of ours. They demand exacting standards for the components we supply, and the research and development of those components was extensive, including testing of pre-production samples.
I don't know how good the competition is, but based on Velux's approach to quality and design, I would only use their products.
RE: Tubular skylight choices? - atgcpaul - 09-18-2019
(09-18-2019, 06:58 AM)MstrCarpenter Wrote: The ones I installed were ridged. There are angled swivels, like stove pipe elbows at the top and bottom so they don't have to go straight up. The straight sections are telescopic so no cutting is required.
Velux sells both rigid and flexible tunnels. I bought the flexible one for the MD house at Home Depot. I don't remember why. Maybe because of the rafter locations or something.
From what I can tell the rigid Velux tunnel has the same/similar swivels to the Solatube ones I used before.
RE: Tubular skylight choices? - toolmiser - 09-19-2019
We've had one for 19 years. It's a Solatube brand, medium diameter (floor truss manufacturer gave permission to notch floor trusses (16 OC) so it would work). Ours runs thru the upstairs into our kitchen. Once in a great while a snowstorm will cover it for a day or two and it is really dark in the kitchen until it melts. We like ours.
It also has a light inside of it which also makes a light up "moon" on our roof at night.
RE: Tubular skylight choices? - Robert Adams - 09-20-2019
I have a new Velux flex tube one in the box in the garage. Been there for 6 years or so. LOML wants me to put it in either the hallway or the master bath(middle of the house with no windows). Here in TX I do everything I can to keep as much sunlight out of the house. Sun is the enemy here I would also love to take all those 5' and 6' tall windows and replace them with ones half the size but in a brick house it's a royal pain....
This is what living in Texas is like... It's almost the end of september and it was 97* today now it's 92* at 7pm but it's a "dry" 46% humidity. I really didn't want to come back home from Greece...
Anyway the build quality of it is nothing special for the most part. It's what you would expect for what it is intended for. I will say that the plastic dome is quite well made, thick and strong.