Skylights?
 

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!

Skylights?
 

"phaeton" wrote in message

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

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


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

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.



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

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

--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

Skylights?
 

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

Skylights?
 

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...

Skylights?
 

phaeton wrote:
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?

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.

http://www.veluxusa.com/


--
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 http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Skylights?
 

On 21 Nov 2005 23:10:41 -0800, "phaeton"
wrote:

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?
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

Skylights?
 

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.

Skylights?
 

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.

Skylights?
 

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.

--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com



On 21 Nov 2005 18:56:54 -0800, "phaeton"
wrote (with possible editing):

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!

Skylights?
 

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.

Skylights?
 

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

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.

Skylights?
 

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.

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

Skylights?
 

On 22 Nov 2005 13:14:05 -0800, "phaeton"
wrote:

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.

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.
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
www.VirginiaNewsSource.com

Skylights?
 

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!

Skylights?
 

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

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:
http://www.solatube.com/res_edu.php
If 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.


--
Bill