Skylight/velux in loft

Brie

Don't do it.  Not for a loft.  If it was a room you were using ok, but not just for storage.

We have a bungalow that was renovated to add rooms upstairs and have 4 velux windows, 2 in the main bedroom, one in the tiddly back room and one in the bathroom.  Each face a different direction.  Because they are positioned basically opposite another window they do provide a nice cross breeze which is great.  I also love that I can lay in bed and look up at the stars and see the birds in the neighbours huge tree.  

What isn't nice is that the sun has full access to the upstairs via a different window at different points in the day and it gets horrendously hot in the summer even when they are open and there's a breeze.  We can't leave them wide open in case it rains - which has resulted a few times in the bed getting soaked as the rain has poured down the window and on to the bed & carpet.  I'm currently looking into get them all fitted with substantial blinds that are easy to open and close and might also provide some insulation.  Because in the winter there's really nothing much there to stop the heat going straight up out of the house and into the chilly air.  

plumb1_2

Drew210385 said:

The quote includes a full Velux with all fittings and it adds £500 to the quote, sorry I didn't think me saying 'a couple hundred' would be taken so literally, I was being vague on purpose - what I really meant to say was that, if money isn't the issue here so take that out the equation, what would you do? Is it beneficial in a practical sense or not?

Imo No, as explained by others. Unless in the future your gonna make the loft a habitable space.

Doozergirl

I think you may have made up your mind as most of the answers are along the lines of maybe or no, but you're still asking 😬

If you have no storage then I'd rather put £500 towards some properly designed floor to ceiling storage in the house that might prevent me from trekking to the loft every few days.   Decent storage needn't take up much space.  

In two decades of building, I've never had anyone ask for a Velux for the sake of it.  There is no real net benefit.

Silvertabby

We wanted better storeage and access, so had a new double sized hatch fitted, along with  pull down wooden stairs and 3/4 boarding.  The light is powered by means of a long cord, which is unravelled and plugged into a socket on the landing when needed.  Don't see the need for a velux window.

This cost £800 - but it must have been at least 15 years ago.

Rusty190

I have 2 in an unheated loft conversion / hobby room.
Condensation on them inside, is a big problem in the cold weather.
Blinds make the problem worse in winter (sorry @Brie) but the blinds are excellent for keeping the sun out and preventing sun bleaching the colour out of things, in summer.
And, they need cleaning, often, to keep the glass clear of all sorts of mess.

Drew210385

Thanks all, I've decided to say no to the idea!

housebuyer143

Drew210385 said:

Thanks all, I've decided to say no to the idea!

Good idea..I had 4 velux in my dorma and never again. Condensation running down the windows and onto the walls in the winter and heating the house up like an oven in the summer. It will probably make your items damp or sun damaged. Better off with just the roof.