Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Solar Tube For The Upstairs Bath

Mr. Fanatic finished another project on the list. 
It actually wasn't on any of my lists, but Mr. F. though it would be a great idea to put in a solar tube skylight in the upstairs bathroom while we were getting our house re-roofed. The upstairs bathroom doesn't have a window and definitely needed some natural light.

We had the roofers put in the top part of the solar tube.
I don't know about you, but I would have a difficult time cutting a hole in a perfectly good roof!
Velux.com
A hole was cut in the drywall ceiling in the bathroom and Mr. F. put the flange on. Looking through you can see into the attic.

The ducting was connected with the part that goes through the roof.
  
Another piece of ducting attaches to the flange in the bathroom ceiling. All the light you see is from the hole in the roof. As you can see here, an additional piece of ducting was needed to connect the two.

The ducting comes in a couple of pieces and had to be connected with screws and duct tape.


Here's the  duct-work all connected.

Notice how dark the bathroom is when the solar tube is covered up...

...the solar tube brings quite a bit of natural light into the room.

The solar tube really adds the perfect amount of light and the bathroom looks great with the vanity light on

Now that the solar tube is installed, we he can get back to the list...
How are you doing on your project list?

Pam


Disclaimer: The above post is how we installed our solar tube. I don't take any responsibility for any errors or results obtained from using this information. When using power tools, use safety equipment.

14 comments:

  1. I love it! I am dying to put a couple of these in our house to get in more natural light. Good job!

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  2. I always wanted to put a solar tube in my bedroom, but I wasn't sure if I was going to get enough light from a solar tube. Your bathroom looks so much brighter, this may work for my bedroom too.

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  3. Wow, makes a big difference. It really does add a lot of light. Hugs, Marty

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  4. Wow! Such a big difference! We've been wanting a couple of these for a few years now. Glad to see someone has had good results with it!

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  5. It really makes a difference! I would've never thought to do that.

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  6. I've always wanted to try one of these out! I'd be scared to cut a hole in our roof too! Maybe when we get it re-roofed like you guys did! I hate how dark my kids' bathroom is because it's the only room without a window in the house! It could really use a solar tube! Great job!

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  7. Here is a great place to buy the tubular skylights at including the Velux Sun Tunnel used in this project:
    Solar Tubes
    Very helpful staff and great pricing.
    Nice job on the installation!

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  8. Great job! Here is a great site to purchase the tubes at:
    skylightguys
    Very helpful staff and the best pricing.

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  9. Awesome! That's amazing how much light came in from it! Smart time to do it too!

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  10. The Velux Solar Tube has very good instructions on how to install on existing roofs, and the proper flashing is part of the unit so it should be easy even if you don't do it at the time of a new roof install. Don't wait to get it done, it's worth it to get that amount of light in a dark room.

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  11. Nice job, solar tube in shower shines brightly and gives an outdoors feeling...

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  12. I love solar tubes! You can pretend you have a telescope inside when the sky is shady. Plus, you can easily fool someone that it’s an ordinary light, and not improvised. On second thought, it’s already gaining popularity so, it wouldn’t be that effective. :P Anyway, I love its effect with the vanity light on.

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  13. The solar tube was really a great addition to your house. You installed it in the right place. I love how it reflects sunlight and gives radiance to your bathroom. It somehow gives a crack of dawn effect naturally. ;)

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  14. What I like about solar tubes is that it’s easy to install and doesn’t require major structural changes to the roof. It provides enough light to brighten up the entire house during the day. What a great way to save on electric bills!

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