ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996 TAG: 9610080003
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Cut Your Utility Bill
SOURCE: JAMES DULLEY
My kitchen, bathroom and hallway are too dark. I prefer no-cost natural light, but skylights are too expensive and difficult to install. How effective are do-it-yourself low-cost skylight tube kits?
A: Natural light, with its excellent color rendition, is especially appealing in a kitchen. It makes foods look more appetizing. Natural light is full-spectrum, which has been shown to help alleviate the winter "blues" some people suffer.
Skylight tube kits are easy to install yourself. I restore cars as a hobby and I installed a skylight tube in my garage in about one hour. Unlike a large skylight, no cutting of joists or support framing is needed.
A basic skylight tube kit uses a 10-inch to 20-inch diameter tube with a highly reflective interior. It runs from the roof to the ceiling. On a sunny day, one provides the equivalent light of 15 100-watt bulbs. Since the diameter is small and totally sealed, it is very energy efficient.
One unique skylight tube kit has an optional built-in vent fan for kitchens and bathrooms. The vent inlet is hidden inside the decorative ceiling trim collar. A small quiet exhaust fan is high up under the roof. Built-in nighttime electric light kits are also available.
From indoors, a skylight tube looks just like a standard globe light fixture on the ceiling. Some kits have decorative real oak wood trim around the indoor globe. The other end of the tube, which extends through the roof, is covered with a waterproof, breakproof, clear acrylic dome.
The dome extends only a few inches above the roof. The interior of the tube is made super-reflective by being highly polished or laminated with a special reflective film. Light just bounces back and forth inside the tube as it makes its way down into your kitchen or hallway.
Since it is so reflective, very little brightness is lost. These are effective even on steeply pitched roofs where the tube must be long to reach up to the roof. Adding a standard skylight would be difficult.
Most rigid skylight tube kits are made of lightweight sheet steel or aluminum. Various designs of angled dome flashings are available to simplify mounting and sealing on all types of roofing materials. Optional angle sleeves allow it to be routed around an attic obstruction.
If the attic space has many obstructions, choose a skylight tube made of a flexible corrugated material. This special tube is very reflective on the inside and can be bent and twisted in any direction inside the attic.
For a buyer's guide of high-efficiency do-it-yourself skylight tube kits listing sizes, features, prices and installation instructions, write to James Dulley, The Roanoke Times, 6906 Royalgreen Dr., Cincinnati, Ohio 45244. Ask for Update Bulletin No. 554. Please include $2 and a business-size self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Q: My old front door is leaky, and I need to replace it before next winter. Is it better to buy a separate door, frame and hinges or just get a more expensive prehung door?
A: Unless you are a handyman and have replaced doors before, I would recommend a prehung door. It can be difficult to line up everything properly for an airtight seal if you buy all the components separately.
Many prehung doors come with special attachment methods for the do-it-yourselfer. Once the door is installed, the fit can be easily adjusted.
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Easy-to-install skylight tube kit brightens a roomby CNBefficiently.