Are skylights a good idea?
Our room above the garage should get more light than the gable provides. Since we don't want to make another dormer now, we want to do it through skylights.
In not-so-new houses, you often see water stains on the things and hear about leakage problems – which puts me off quite a bit. They also say that it's hard to sleep under them when it rains, because they're noisy. Presumably, the shutter is also broken faster, e.g. in hail.
What are your opinions on the subject? Are things good and last 50 years?
Answers
Everyone has a different sensitivity to noise. If you've lived on a main road, federal road, or railroad tracks before, maybe the rain on the double-paned windows doesn't annoy you as much.
I had one right above my bed, and when it rained, I preferred to sleep on the couch , let alone hail.
There are probably less or no problems with airtightness.
Interestingly, many people blame glass for the noise when it rains, but that's not true. The main reason for this clutter is the outer metal coating of the frame.
That's why manufacturers cover the interior overlays with a special coating that insulates noise. In addition, there are windows on the market with rain sensors, and even those that accept time-controlled ventilation.
50 years they will probably not hold, however with good care already quite long.
We had to replace the windows under the roof after 23 years. However, they were not maintained at all and were now permeable.
Regarding noise: this should be relative. After all, a normal roller shutter is not necessarily quiet in strong wind and rain either.
So as far as volume is concerned, I can only say that we had in our former apartment the then best possible soundproof from the market leader with V and in the rain or even hail it was already very annoying, but the bed was also directly under it.
However, it is nice to be able to look at the stars while lying in bed.
I mean, ours were made of plastic-coated wood, so quite easy to clean and tight they were.
However, a big downside is the cleaning (depending on what's underneath) and when there's snow you don't want to open them.
Our home builder says guaranteed such windows last 10 years, anything over that is a bonus. So you have to expect that they will have to be replaced at some point. In my parents house they have lasted 17 years now, now it's time.
Even if it rains, you should definitely be at home, or never leave the windows open. However, at least the ones I know have a ventilation function, so you can open an air slot even when the window is closed. If it's raining really hard, it's also wet there.
There are, I think, also fixed double-wing windows, so not to open, they probably last a little longer. We had them without shading because the rooms in which we had the windows were hardly used.
I would recommend shading/darkening in any case.
We have double-glazed double-wing windows from Roto and even there I don't find it so bad with the noise.
They are plastic and at least don't seem like they are unstable or anything. But sure... time will tell.
The skylight does what it's supposed to do: it has light, protects from bad weather, and can be ventilated if necessary.
Whether the window itself clears because of the slope of the roof, I don't think about that. If it's open, rain can get in any window.
My childhood experiences: great looking at the stars, and when it rains, you hear special pounding sounds reminiscent of camping vacations.
My parents kept them, these windows from 1978: the wood in front of them is stained with water, because we had to use those windows as a full-fledged vent at the time. I think now, after more than 30 years, it's the carpenter's turn.
My kid's room has a large skylight that has been tightly closed for over 30 years, although sometimes it's a bit of a draw. The new house has a really big skylight that is noticeably quiet even when it rains.
