Skylight Covers

[shackdweller]

I'm glad to say that owning a condo, I've had few roofing leaks, probably once, following a hurricane probably three years after moving into the condo twenty years ago.

The Condo Association has keep up with roofing needs, having new roofing put on in 2009, 25 years after condo construction in 1984.

One thing that has concerned me over the years has been skylight covers.

When the roofing repairs were being done, I discussed the matter with the foreman, and he said to get a 2 X 4, obviously two feet by four feet size, skylight cover for the one skylight that I have in my condo.l

I have been to Lowes, and Home Depot, and they do installation of skylight covers they sell.

However, I have so far not found any that are exactly what I am looing for.

Basically, there are window blind types of covers and wooden shutter types of covers.

I am speaking of skylight covers that are put on from the inside of the building, and covers that can be opened or closed depending on when one needs or does not need the light and heat from the skylight.

I have gone online and done searches for skylight covers, and some of them are quite elaborate and expensive.

I don't know if Rube Goldberg, who did these animated cartoon films of ridiculously complicated and far fetched mecahnical devices, is well remembered today, but I remember him, and would call my own self-bult skylight cover that I have used for many years a true Rube Goldberg device.

I would welcome any other board members' accounts of their experiences with skylight covers, both store bought manufactured ones, and do it yourself jobs.

 

[beachguy005]

This video is pretty good. Great idea that you could modify with other fabric. If you want to be able to open and close it, just mount it with hinges and a magnetic cabinet latch to hold it closed.


[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecwkDSvlnMY[/ame]

 

[bud16415]

When I was young and first thinking about houses I thought skylights were the greatest thing since sliced bread. I was telling my dad how great I thought skylights were and he said “It’s never a good idea to cut holes in your roof.”

I quite thinking about them about 40 years ago and never had one leak or crack or let out any heat.

That’s all I know about skylights.

 

[nealtw]

I'm glad to say that owning a condo, I've had few roofing leaks, probably once, following a hurricane probably three years after moving into the condo twenty years ago.

The Condo Association has keep up with roofing needs, having new roofing put on in 2009, 25 years after condo construction in 1984.

One thing that has concerned me over the years has been skylight covers.

When the roofing repairs were being done, I discussed the matter with the foreman, and he said to get a 2 X 4, obviously two feet by four feet size, skylight cover for the one skylight that I have in my condo.l

I have been to Lowes, and Home Depot, and they do installation of skylight covers they sell.

However, I have so far not found any that are exactly what I am looing for.

Basically, there are window blind types of covers and wooden shutter types of covers.

I am speaking of skylight covers that are put on from the inside of the building, and covers that can be opened or closed depending on when one needs or does not need the light and heat from the skylight.

I have gone online and done searches for skylight covers, and some of them are quite elaborate and expensive.

I don't know if Rube Goldberg, who did these animated cartoon films of ridiculously complicated and far fetched mecahnical devices, is well remembered today, but I remember him, and would call my own self-bult skylight cover that I have used for many years a true Rube Goldberg device.

I would welcome any other board members' accounts of their experiences with skylight covers, both store bought manufactured ones, and do it yourself jobs.

I would like to see what you have been using.

 

[slownsteady]

Two quick notes about the video:
1- Landscape fabric decomposes in sunlight. i don't know how fast, but he will be replacing that eventually
2- Beachguy mentioned a magnetic latch, but those screen frames are usually aluminum. Just add a small steel plate where you want it to latch.

 

[beachguy005]

Two quick notes about the video:
1- Landscape fabric decomposes in sunlight. i don't know how fast, but he will be replacing that eventually
2- Beachguy mentioned a magnetic latch, but those screen frames are usually aluminum. Just add a small steel plate where you want it to latch.

A magnetic cabinet latch comes as 2 parts, a magnet and a plate. You use both just as in a wood cabinet.

 

[nealtw]

Something for one end to hook or slide into and earth magnets on the other end. Eye hook on the magnet end so a hook stick can be used to open and close it.

 

[Snoonyb]

I would like to see what you have been using.

I hinged a plantation shutter and telescoping pole to open and close.

 

[joecaption]

just did a Google search and hundreds of company's came up.
https://www.google.com/search?q=sky...5.10239j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

 

[shackdweller]

After several years of just having the skylight covered full time, with a very thin piece of plywood, I cut the cover in half, and added hinges on the bottom part, leaving the top part covered.

For quite a few years I have been just using a pole made from probably 4 mop handles held together with screws, pushing it up against the cover, and removing the pole when I wanted the sunlight.

I'll take some photos of the whole rig, although I am a bit embarassed for anone to see them.

I have been thinking of a magnetic latch.

I did have a hook on the cover, and a hook on the poles but eventually the hook tore loose.

I'll get some photos on here which will probably amuse all of you and make you think the shacks the people in Dodge City lived in, might be preferable to what I've got.

 

[shackdweller]

Many thanks for all the replies, everyone, and I hope you will get some good laughs when you see the photos.

 

[nealtw]

Many thanks for all the replies, everyone, and I hope you will get some good laughs when you see the photos.

You set that up right . now we can laugh with and not at you.:beer:

 

[shackdweller]

OK, Folks, I will now start giving you The Details on my catchpenny, self made skylight cover.

I did a very exact measurement of the exact outside (includiing the wooden frame), and inside (the area where the skylight itself is),

But, to keep it simple, I'll just use the roofing foreman's size of
2 X 4.https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1451/25611825581_67d31b7a0e_b.jpg

I cut a 2 X 4 cover which covered the outside measurement including the wooden frame, from a very thin plywood probably 2 mm or 1/32 inch thick, and attatched it to the wooden frame with phillips head wood screws.

Below is a photo of the show side of the plywood, which I used for other projects which I can't recall right now.

 

[shackdweller]

Here is the backside of the thin plywood I used for my fixed skylight cover, showing it is a Georgia Pacific product.

Camera rez not really enough to read the finer print, but it might be familiar to some or many of you other message board members.

 

[nealtw]

That is plywood made for interior of campers, trailers or airplanes and the sort. Not that that matters.

 

[shackdweller]

That is plywood made for interior of campers, trailers or airplanes and the sort. Not that that matters.

Thanks for the post, nealtw. Great to know those uses!

 

[shackdweller]

Having the inside of my shack dark during the daytime didn't bother me much during the summer, since covering the skylight kept a lot of the heat out, but when the winter arrived, I needed the sunlight for the heat, and, also simply because I much prefer natural sunlight to artificial, electrical lighting. (The roofing replacement in 2009, included new skylight covers for all conodo units, these newer covers specially treated to keep out the harmful rays).

I did not think my do-it-yourself abilities great enough to make the entire lentgh of the skylight cover moveable, so I compromised and cut it in half, leaving the upper part in place with the phillips head screws on the side of the skylight frame, but removing those screws from the lower half, and hinging the bottom half, with some heavier wood inside the skylight cover to hold the screws in place.

To hold the cover in place when I didn't want the sunlight, I rigged up a pole, with a hook on the end of it, and simply left the pole against the skylight cover, engaged into an eyehook in the middle of it. This eyehook, the longer one in the photo below, with the larger washer, was simply put thru a hole in the thin plywood, with no reinforcement on the opposite side, and, of course, over time, with repeated use, it tore loose, leaving a rounded hole in the thin plywood, which you will see in subsequent photos. After that, I used a smaller eyehook, with some thicker wood backing on the other side, and, with repeated use, it also eventually tore loose, leaving me in the situation I am now in, of using the pole to hold the skylight cover over the skylight, with no engagement of the hook at all.

More photos and commentary to follow.

 

[nealtw]

Beach guys video of a window screen would work with stuff you have.
The small eye screws, two in one end of the screen that hook into 2 longer open hooks screwed into ceiling.
2 magnets on the other end of the screen and matching magnets on the ceiling and your stick and eye for opening and closing.

Instead of fabric you could use this stuff to just cover a screen.
I am sure it won't float a boat but it would block light.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofMwxrWDUmQ[/ame]

 

[shackdweller]

The pole I have been using is made from four 4 foot handles used for a ceramic tile brush.

Since they over lap at the joints, the entire length is not 16 feet but a total of 12 feet, 5 & 1/2 inches.

And, the hook on the top of the pole adds another 3 & 1/4 inches to the entire length.

Here's the first pole, joined to the second one, at the bottom, this pole resting on the floor of my shack.

 

[shackdweller]

Here is the second pole up from the bottom.