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Skylights Installation..


Wes

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We are in the process of fitting out our 60ft x 12.6 widebeam and we are at the stage where we are planning the skylight install. I have had varying plans from many people who have had them installed but just wanted to reach out to the hivemind to see if there is any Korean info to digest. 

 

We are have two skylights installed. One above the kitchen island measuring 1000mm x 1500mm and then another along a central corridor which will be 2000mm x 500mm. The idea is to build the box section/uprights in 8mm and then have a 45degree horizontal which is about 45mm in width where the glass will sit on. 

 

The larger window will be walk on a 45mm in the middle and 33mm on the horizontal whichand will sit on gaskets and sealant to seal off around the edges. 

 

My main issue is expansion and contraction of the boat in extreme conditions. I have been told to leave a 5mm gap either side where the window drops down along the uprights but I was thinking of doing 10mm just incase it flexed more and shattered the glass. 

 

The glass is toughened and walk on for the larger one. The 2000mm x 500mm is not walk on but toughened.

 

Any info or first hand experience with this will be helpful.

 

Thanks,

 

Wes

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In cold weather it will be like standing in a shower beneath the skylights, unless they are double or triple  glazed, and the associated steelworks well insulated.

 

That said I am not sure I have grasped all the installation detail.  Any chance of a sketch or two?

 

N

 

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4 minutes ago, BEngo said:

In cold weather it will be like standing in a shower beneath the skylights, unless they are double or triple  glazed, and the associated steelworks well insulated.

 

That said I am not sure I have grasped all the installation detail.  Any chance of a sketch or two?

 

N

 

They are both triple glazed and I will be insulating and doing my best to close any thermal bridging. 

5 minutes ago, David Mack said:

@Mike Jordan had an article published in Waterways World mag a while ago on how to build a roof skylight which is good looking, waterproof and durable.

Do you know which article is was by any chance?

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43 minutes ago, Wes said:

but just wanted to reach out to the hivemind to see if there is any Korean info to digest.

 

Hope this helps you to decide on the strenth of the glass needed.

 

 

North Korea: Kim Jong Un observes test of new 'tactical weapon'

North Korean state media said Kim Jong Un "gave important instructions on further building up the defence capabilities and nuclear combat forces of the country."

 

North Korea: Kim Jong Un observes test of new 'tactical weapon' | World News | Sky News

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7 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Hope this helps you to decide on the strenth of the glass needed.

 

 

North Korea: Kim Jong Un observes test of new 'tactical weapon'

North Korean state media said Kim Jong Un "gave important instructions on further building up the defence capabilities and nuclear combat forces of the country."

 

North Korea: Kim Jong Un observes test of new 'tactical weapon' | World News | Sky News

Not sure how "more" turned into Korean. But food for thought...

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I’ve wasted lots of my time down the years trying to persuade new boaters not to have Houdini type roof lights fitted to a new build so that they can “lie in bed and look at the stars”

One acquaintance resorted to a 200 mm thick slab of polystyrene on top of the hatch fitted with a purpose made cover, it still dripped!! It’s a good idea to think long and hard before having a hole in the roof.

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6 minutes ago, Mike Jordan said:

I’ve wasted lots of my time down the years trying to persuade new boaters not to have Houdini type roof lights fitted to a new build so that they can “lie in bed and look at the stars”

One acquaintance resorted to a 200 mm thick slab of polystyrene on top of the hatch fitted with a purpose made cover, it still dripped!! It’s a good idea to think long and hard before having a hole in the roof.

I've got two and a third ready to fit. The light and summer ventilation is worth the downsides to me.

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43 minutes ago, Mike Jordan said:

I’ve wasted lots of my time down the years trying to persuade new boaters not to have Houdini type roof lights fitted to a new build so that they can “lie in bed and look at the stars”

One acquaintance resorted to a 200 mm thick slab of polystyrene on top of the hatch fitted with a purpose made cover, it still dripped!! It’s a good idea to think long and hard before having a hole in the roof.

 

 

Very few people will act on advice given by others based on their experiences.

 

To a certain extent we all do it, we don't hear what we'd like to hear so it is shunted into the background.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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29 minutes ago, Mike Jordan said:

I’ve wasted lots of my time down the years trying to persuade new boaters not to have Houdini type roof lights fitted to a new build so that they can “lie in bed and look at the stars”

One acquaintance resorted to a 200 mm thick slab of polystyrene on top of the hatch fitted with a purpose made cover, it still dripped!! It’s a good idea to think long and hard before having a hole in the roof.

Fair point however this is a triple glazed unit and I will eliminate thermal bridging and insulate properly. 

  • Haha 1
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1 minute ago, cuthound said:

I've got two Houdini Hatches. Neither drip but they have removeable  plastic diffusers underneath them.

You got an image for reference by any chance?

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No pictures but we had a dog box / pigeon box / hatch over the bed and you'd get soaked with drips of condensation.

 

It was cured buy cutting a square of 'box sections - greenhouse roof stuff' (sort of sheets two sheets of plastic with Zig-Zag pieces between the two sheets),

 

The wooden frame had a small lip all around it on the bottom so the plastic sheet was pushed up and rested onto it,

 

NO MORE CONDENSATION - DRY NIGHTS (no more thinking I'd wet the bed)

 

 

Edit to add :

 

This stuff :

 

£5 for a big sheet

Marlon 4mm Horticultural Insulated Polycarbonate Sheet (building-supplies-online.co.uk)

 

4mm Clear Twinwall Cut To Size

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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6 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

No pictures but we had a dog box / pigeon box / hatch over the bed and you'd get soaked with drips of condensation.

 

It was cured buy cutting a square of 'box sections - greenhouse roof stuff' (sort of sheets two sheets of plastic with Zig-Zag pieces between the two sheets),

 

The wooden frame had a small lip all around it on the bottom so the plastic sheet was pushed up and rested onto it,

 

NO MORE CONDENSATION - DRY NIGHTS (no more thinking I'd wet the bed)

 

 

Edit to add :

 

This stuff :

 

£5 for a big sheet

Marlon 4mm Horticultural Insulated Polycarbonate Sheet (building-supplies-online.co.uk)

 

4mm Clear Twinwall Cut To Size

Lovely stuff. Atleast you don't wet the bed anymore. 🤣👌

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Just now, Slow and Steady said:

I like that, did you make them yourself?

 

 

No, they came with the boat. There is one in the galley (the one in the photo) and one in the bathroom.

 

The boat will be 15 years this year and I have owned it for 8. To date no drips, leaks or condensation issues with the Houdini Hatches.

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1 minute ago, cuthound said:

 

No, they came with the boat. There is one in the galley (the one in the photo) and one in the bathroom.

 

The boat will be 15 years this year and I have owned it for 8. To date no drips, leaks or condensation issues with the Houdini Hatches.

I want some! Mine do drip like buggery in the winter with cooking condensation, though we do have shaped cushions to stuff in the holes which works but obviously no light then so we put them in in the evening. I will google and see what I come up with. Thanks for the info, it seems like very little trouble for the results.

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1 hour ago, cuthound said:

I've got two Houdini Hatches. Neither drip but they have removeable  plastic diffusers underneath them.

We had 3 in our narrowboat. No condensation as we fitted a perspex panel underneath attached by magnetic tape.

 

This is the skylight on our widebeam. Triple glazed, not that I would walk on it. No condensation.

IMG_20220418_173354234_HDR.jpg

Edited by pearley
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These things are tricky, I have two. The glazed and hinged 'leaves' have two very big potential problems. First is condensation so they must be double glazed, second is that water does not run off - it pools on the lower edge of the frame and rots it. When I made mine I made the glazed 'leaves' with the glass set quite deeply in the frame then woth double sided adhesive foam stuff stuck a piece of perspex over the top, water runs off, it looks ok, it does not rot amd in chilly weather it is condensation free. I also have covers for them to protect the varnish and I reckon that with a bit of polystyrene unde the cover it would be OK in winter.

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