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Is a frosted skylight worth installing or does it defeat the object of installing one?
We want to put a skylight in the flat roof of our kitchen and the upstairs neighbour wants to use the roof as a roof terrace. So we've thought of installing a frosted walk-on skylight but not sure if it will let enough light in. Some say it's better as it diffuses the light coming in. Others say it's rubbish as you can't see the sky.
Another option is to put in a long narrow skylight with clear glass (about 350mm by 2000mm) but also not sure if this will let enough light as it's so narrow.
I sometimes go on the roof of a block of flats to access a cellsite, its pretty weird being able to gaze straight into the hallway of the top floor resident.
How about these if it's just light you want?
[url= http://www.monodraught.com/products/natural-daylight/3/square-sunpipe/ ]Sun Pipes.[/url]
Plenty of various models and brands, but you get the idea. Cheap to fit too.
APF
Yeah that's why we would go for frosted if it was in the middle of the roof (it would feel weird looking up at the neighbours arses!) But if we had the narrow one with clear glass we would put it right at the edge where the upstairs neighbour wouldn't go.
Thanks Alex, yes we've considered them too. Could be a good idea if they work well enough on a simple flat roof.
get some mirrored window film. You can see out, they can't see in.
We have 14 frosted skylights on our flat-roof house here in the desert southwest US and, as a result, almost never need lights on during the day except in the bedrooms which don't have the skylights.
Had a friend who tried the Sun Pipes (had peaked roof with enclosed attic, so they were about the only viable choice), but didn't like them and had leak problems.
One thing with skylights is you need to have them installed correctly and keep them well sealed/caulked or you will get leaks.
The frosted ones help prevent sun damage on carpets, furniture, etc. and are better in keeping the summer heat out, but that is obviously more of an issue here with 300+ days of sunshine per year.
I've got two sun tubes, a bathroom and a toilet both rooms without windows and they're good. No need for lights during the day at all. One is even downstairs so the light is piped 6 meters ish
My best mates firm is reflex glass ltd, they do the walk on roof lights, you can get them in a blue or bronze tint that might be a good compromise ? Nice bits of kit though... Give some serious "wow" factor to any property... Send me a mail if you need any advice and I can get my man to have a chat... could possibly get you a bit of discount too 🙂