A skylight can be a neat feature in your home if installed and placed correctly. Not only will it bring you extra natural light, but it will also add some fresh air to your room. As you could expect, homeowners and potential buyers are always looking for an abundance of natural light in a home. That is why we often see a lot of large windows in modern houses, but that’s also why we see skylights making a comeback.
If you’re one of the people interested in adding a skylight to your home, but you’re not sure whether that’s a good idea or not, we have a solution for you. In this article, we’re going to present you with both pros and cons of having a skylight installed in your home, so you can make a good, informed decision based on those.
Let’s begin on a bright note and take a look at the pros.
1. Abundance Of Natural Light
Source: digital-photo-secrets.com
As we’ve already mentioned, the best thing about installing a skylight is that you’ll get a lot of natural light in your house. Not only is natural light very popular amongst home buyers, but it is also quite healthy for you. You will take in a lot of vitamin D, and it has been proven time and time again, that being in a room filled with natural light can have an array of positive effects on you.
Your mood will improve, your concentration will improve, you will become more productive, you won’t slouch on the sofa in front of the TV and so on. Everything just feels better when you add natural light to it.
2. Fresh Air
If you’re considering adding a skylight to a room with no windows, not only will you let the sunshine in, but you’ll also let in a lot of fresh air. Fresh air is often overlooked because the more time we spend on the inside, the easier it is for us to forget just hove refreshing the fresh air feels.
Air in the room without windows can become stale quite quickly, and if you don’t let any fresh air in, it is only a matter of time before you start feeling down. Furthermore, we don’t have to tell you this, but the smell of stale air is not at all pleasant. You might not feel it because you’ve been breathing it in for a few days, but the moment someone else sets foot in the room – they’re going to feel it big time.
3. Looks Good
Source: bostondesignguide.com
Now, unlike the previous two – this one could be up for a debate. Many dislike skylights because they would much rather just have a plain old ceiling, and if you factor in that those glass panels get dirty very quickly, we do see the point they’re trying to make.
However, not a lot of things can beat laying in your bed at night and looking directly at the stars, and guess what – you can’t do that without a skylight. Not only that, but you could really work in the skylight into the décor of the room and have it look wonderful. Just use your imagination. Or, if you can’t do that, find someone like saris-extensions.co.uk to help you out with it because they sure can.
4. Extra Space
It is not a secret that skylight works really well with tight, confined spaces. If you have a small room that you wish would look bigger – just add a skylight. The lack of walls, along with the extra sunlight, will create the illusion of a much bigger space. Sure, you won’t get any actual extra space, but at least your room won’t feel like a prison cell anymore.
Now that we’re done with the good stuff let’s take a look at some of the disadvantages of installing a skylight.
1. High Maintenance
Source: upgradedhome.com
As we’ve already said, skylights can get really dirty, really fast – especially if you live somewhere where it rains a lot. You could literally wash them almost every single day, and they would still manage to look dirty. Is this a small price to pay for such an amazing feature? Well, that’s up to you to decide – we’re just stating facts.
2. High Cost
Nothing about skylights is cheap. The installation is quite expensive since it requires detailed planning and precise installation. Maintenance costs can also rack up, and the worst part about them is that they keep growing as time goes by. Also, having a skylight instead of a firm, the sturdy surface will most definitely affect your bills, and not in a good way. Finally, skylights can even influence the premiums on your house insurance simply because they’re prone to leaking and could do some damage to your property. All in all, if you want a skylight – be prepared to pay for it.
3. Potential Leaks
Source: ecohome.net
The greatest risk that comes from having skylights is that they will become leaky. Now, when installed properly, skylights rarely become a liability. However, in a lot of situations, they’re not installed right, which means, sooner or later – you’re going to suffer some water damage.
As you could expect, there are ways to prevent this from happening, but all of this will depend on the selection of both the skylight and the handymen that will install it, which leads us to our next point.
4. Not Everyone Can Install Them
Finding a reliable skylight installation team will be harder than you might think. However, under no circumstance should you just let anyone do this. You will need an experienced crew handling this project.
The sad truth is, those crews might be hard to come by. You will have to do your research and find a crew with years of experience under their belt. If you don’t, be prepared to have a leaky, energy-sucking, bill-raising liability of a feature in your home.
Conclusion
The truth is, if installed right, there are virtually no significant drawbacks to having a skylight. However, as you just saw – that won’t be easy.
Hopefully, you’ve found this article helpful and are now well aware of everything you needed to know.
