Let There Be Light?

Lenny I’ve thought about skylights for my shop and will be interested in seeing the input here by others.
PS – My shop is 22’ x22’ and it’s not big enough, big enough might be a gymnasium. ;-)

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

You don’t want it to take 30 minutes to walk to each power tool!

another point to consider is that skylight will let direct sunlight get through during noon time where the sun is the hottest. this will most likely happen in the summer and overheat the shop (winter mostly is cloudy – although for the winter that might have been a blessing to have that sun in there). whereas regular windows will let the sun in during morning/afternoon when it’s not as hot. wall windows are also easier to cover/shade then skylights.

but it really depends on the direction your shop is facing, and how the sun is positioned in relation to it.

-- ㊍ When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Lenny,
Congratulations on doing an expansion. Natural sunlight would be a nice luxury. I don’t have that benefit because I am in a basement dungeon workshop. I would love to have a dedicated shop building with skylights and a couple large picture windows.

I am not a contractor, but I believe sunlights have come a long way from the bad rap they got years ago for leaking all the time. Find a professional opinion you trust and go with it.

As for dripping water, that makes me think of last year coming down to find that condensation from air conditioning ducts had dripped all over my table saw. Luckily I found it same day and no damage was done.

Good luck.

One of my woodworking buddies has a skylight in his shop, he loves it. I would like to have one or two myself but with the shop being in the basement I doubt a shaft going through the living room would go over well lol. Good luck with the reno!

-- A hammer dangling from a wall will bang and sound like work when the wind blows the right way.

If possible and not too costly, I would go for the skylights. It’s pretty sunny here in New England and it would be great to have the natural sunlight.

I also heartily second Purplev’s comments about which direction, heat considerations, etc.

-- Chip -----------http://www.penmanchip.com-----------------Micah 6:8

Great idea Lenny natural light could never be a negative. As far as warming up the shop is concern it may but not significantly enough to drive you out. Sky light are tinting to reduce heat transfer and as far as leakage is concern if installed properly this should be no concern as well. My friend Pat has two in his shop with a south west exposure and I drool over that much natural light coming in. Your expansion sound like a great idea Lenny good luck and stay safe… Blkcherry

Thanks for the comments thusfar. Sharon (Purplev) thanks for raising the issue of possibly TOO MUCH natural light. I hadn’t thought of that but as blackcherry comments, they apparently have tinted models available. Also, I would imagine there are ways to diffuse the sunlight with shades or blinds like any window. In fact they probably make high end models with blinds within the glass. The direction of the roof is a good point too. The pitch of the roof will be such that the windows will face either north or south. If I elect south, they will face the strong sun during the day. If north, it will still be natural light but not the same level of heat intensity. Good information to consider guys. Thanks.

-- On the eighth day God was back in His woodworking shop! Lenny, East Providence, RI

Too much snow here for a sky light

I can’t spare the storage space that would be lost overhead in my shop. LOL

-- Carpenter assembles with hands, Designer builds with brains, Artist creates with heart!

congrats on the expansion!!! that is the best news…the skylights sound like a good idea…I have thought of them too….and my understanding is the same as yours…they may leak but depends on your installation…

-- Matt--Proud LJ since 2007

check into the light tubes that are all the rage in houses

-- you must live for something or die for nothing (rambo)