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Original poster

Skylight in bathroom?

17 replies

Agrestic · 07/10/2014 21:24

Has anyone got a skylight as thier only natural light source in a small bathroom?

I'm thinking about installing one in an otherwise windowless bathroom and wondering if they cause any problem? I've seen some mega fancy ones with remote controles and rain sensors!

OP posts:
Blackeyez09 · 07/10/2014 21:53

I have a velux window and it's excellent installed by previous vendors, nothing fancy!
Lots of light and lovely looking at the sky when showering

HansieLove · 07/10/2014 22:54

I have one, only skylight in house. It is big, 2' x4', I think. It gives wonderful natural light; it is a windowless room, and allows us to hear rain when we walk into that room. The bath is a large room, with a smaller toilet/shower room, and it lights up both rooms.

minipie · 07/10/2014 23:52

We have this (well technically there's another tiny window but it's sealed shut!). no issues, it's great. Also provides a couple more inches of headroom which is great if you have an eavesy room.

You'd only need a remote if it's hard to reach, and you'd only need a rain sensor if you might want to leave it open a lot (eg if it's your only ventilation in the room, no fan, or if it's a good way to let heat out of the top of the house). The motors you need for either of these are expensive though.

ChippingInLatteLover · 08/10/2014 00:43

I have one. It's lovely. It has turned a grim bathroom into a lovely light room. (It is 'boxed' from the flat ceiling in the bathroom, through the loft, to the roof.)

I kind of wish I'd spent the extra money and got the remote control/rain sensor one, but it was a lot more money and as we might be renting this out, went for the option that couldn't really be broken.

I might get around to getting a long pole for it for next summer though (if we are still here).

cricketpitch · 08/10/2014 08:32

We do - and it is great. solves the problem beautifully.

Original poster
Agrestic · 08/10/2014 11:26

Thanks all.

Do you think the fancy skylight would be worth it latte/mini? I plan to be in this house for 10+ years. Mine would also be boxed in up to the roof so if I went for a regular I'd need to get a bloody long stick!

The bathroom is a total referb/reconfiguration so I'll be starting from scratch.

OP posts:
minipie · 08/10/2014 12:09

It really depends on how often you might want to open it. Our bathroom with the skylight is at the top of the house so it's a good way to let hot air out. Also I hate extractor fans so choose to open the window rather than have the fan running. So ours is open a lot. However if you might only open the window a handful of times in the summer, a long stick is a lot better value!

I think the motor was about 200 + labour to install - can't remember exactly - so not a cheap option. It can be retrofitted if you don't get one now but change your mind later.

ChippingInLatteLover · 08/10/2014 12:15

Yes.

If we had been staying here I would have gone for the 'better' options. I can't remember what Ve lux call them now, but they do one that has a better level of insulation (I have a feeling this one is going to make the bathroom feel chilly in the winter!) and the remote control with the automatic rain thingy.

Our 'stick' will need to be really long too, I can stand up in our loft. Not quite where the window is, but almost.

I did look at 'sun tunnels' which they say give you more light, but I wanted the window, I wanted to be able to see the sky and hear the rain as well as it 'feel' like a window and not just 'lit'.

My bathroom was a total refurb. It all ended up arse backwards due to tradesmen rescheduling, being ill etc and I ended up having the window done after the bathroom was installed... it was a nightmare and one I would seriously avoid at all costs, the mess is unreal - but absolutely worth it. It took them half a day. My plasterer did the boxing up and he did a fab job.

ChippingInLatteLover · 08/10/2014 12:19

mini I think they are quite a bit more now? The ve lux guy suggested that doing a retro fit was a bad idea - I can't remember all the details now, but he said something about it not being able to be done on a lot of the windows & that it 'fails' quite often... I wasn't paying too much attention.

minipie · 08/10/2014 12:24

Eek, hope ours doesn't fail.

I know you can't retro fit on Veluxes which are older than a certain date (pre-2000 ish?) since they don't have the right bits. But the OP would be putting in a brand new window so I'd presumed that retrofitting would work... agree you'd want to check though! Maybe certain models you can't retrofit even on a modern one.

ChippingInLatteLover · 08/10/2014 13:17

Maybe certain models you can't retrofit even on a modern one that's what I took from what he said as we were discussing 'if in future' but tbh I really wasn't paying attention - he was a bit of a windbag and I'd lost the will to live by that stage Grin I'm sure yours will be fine.

RCheshire · 08/10/2014 13:59

Chipping, we're in the same boat. Our bathroom has just been refitted and due to delays in trades/permissions the new velux open through the loft hasn't been installed - will be at a later date. Any tips on avoiding damage to the fitted bathroom etc when doing things in the wrong order - i.e. velux through loft last!

ChippingInLatteLover · 08/10/2014 14:05

Yes. One huge one. They can hang a net, that looks like a trampoline mat and catches all the crap. For some reason they didn't do this until most of the crap had already come down - shooting down the steep angle of the boxing (which incidentally all had to be pulled down and re done!). I did think about asking them to rig something up but it seemed a bit ott, I wish I had. As it was, fortunately nothing got broken, but I had covered everything with dust sheets/towels/boards (several layers) but there are some things you just can't protect and you just have to hope for the best. However, if I had to do it again no bloody way I would make sure they had and put up the trampoline mat.

If your ceiling is finished you will end up with a few nail holes to repair, but that's a small price to pay.

RCheshire · 08/10/2014 14:12

Thanks - that sounds a really useful tip!

superram · 11/10/2014 19:10

If you can afford the remote and rain sensor then do it. We have these in our bathroom and kitchen (not especially high ceilings) and it is so easy and feels like a real window.

mariecam · 25/09/2019 14:06

Yes! I got one skylight in my bathroom from Sunsquare (exactly this one www.sunsquare.co.uk/skylights-and-rooflights/aero-electric-access/) and I love when it is raining and you are taking a shower and meantime you can hear the rain. In love! I highly recommend it!

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