Forums > Specific Focus > Home, Garden & Construction in Mexico

not_ally

Dec 8, 2004, 8:42 PM

Post #1 of 12 (5035 views)

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skylight tubing

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Hey guys,

In the middle of my remodeling project and am increasingly dissatisfied with the amount of light. Am thinking of purchasing skylight tubes kits. Has anyone used these in Mexico? Have often seen them done in the US, but all directions seem written with wood frame construction in mind, and roof rafters/trusses to run the tubing through/beside. Anyone had any experience with putting this tubing in brick/stucco/foam panel construction?
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"The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly I discover there is no reason." John Cage

Esteban

Dec 9, 2004, 2:17 PM

Post #2 of 12 (5013 views)

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Re: [not_ally] skylight tubing

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You might think about using a little glass block for skylights. You can then use one, two or as many as you like.

Texwheel

Dec 9, 2004, 4:17 PM

Post #3 of 12 (5005 views)

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Re: [Esteban] skylight tubing

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Take your time and do lots of research on skylights. I had heard a lot about the tube skylights, but when helping a friend do a home search, one house had one that so magnified the incoming light that it was surreal. Totally unappealing.
Tom Williams
Georgetown, Texas
Texwheel@aol.com

Rolly / Moderator

Dec 9, 2004, 5:58 PM

Post #4 of 12 (4996 views)

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Re: [Esteban] skylight tubing

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I agree with Esteban. You are likely to find glass blocks a better solution.

And before you consider regular skylights, think about security. Security bars over a skylight will cast shadows that you may not like. The tube lights are probably too small for a bandito to get through. The only place I have seen a tube light that I liked was in a bathroom.

Rolly Pirate

E-visit me http://Rollybrook.com
On Facebook as Rolly Brook

not_ally

Dec 9, 2004, 8:07 PM

Post #5 of 12 (4987 views)

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Re: [Rolly] skylight tubing

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Rolly, why haven't you liked the effect of tube lighting (other than in the bathroom, I mean). Was it because it didn't look like natural light, as Tom suggested? I don't think I've ever seen what these lights look like except in pictures. I'm meeting with the guy from Solatube at the site on Saturday, so any specific advice (eg; using multiple smaller lights to avoid shadows rather than one big one, using specific kind of diffuser, etc, would be really helpful if you can think of any.) Or any good questions.

Gracias mi amigos.
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"The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly I discover there is no reason." John Cage

Rolly / Moderator

Dec 10, 2004, 6:18 AM

Post #6 of 12 (4976 views)

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Re: [not_ally] skylight tubing

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After I installed skylights in my home in Los Angeles, a friend was so taken with the natural light they provided that he wanted to do the same in his home. His attic space was so high that skylights were impractical, so he chose tubes. I thought the light brought into the bathroom was an improvement, but the tubes in his bedroom and living room seemed more like spot lights. He was disappointed that they did not give them broad, diffused light I got from my skylights.

I do not know if he chose the wrong model, if another kind would have been better.

Rolly Pirate

E-visit me http://Rollybrook.com
On Facebook as Rolly Brook

esperanza

Dec 10, 2004, 6:30 AM

Post #7 of 12 (4975 views)

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Re: [Rolly] skylight tubing

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OK, here I am to ask questions and offer opinions about which I know nothing. Feel free to laugh.

In Spanish colonial construction here in Mexico, skylights were built with a smallish (technical term) opening on the roof side and a wider opening on the ceiling side, to allow for exactly what Rolly is talking about: broader diffusion of the light inside the house. Windows were made this way, too. The light allowed into the house is beautiful and ample.

Would this be possible with these skylight tubes?

Esperanza

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

not_ally

Dec 10, 2004, 7:15 AM

Post #8 of 12 (4968 views)

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Re: [esperanza] skylight tubing

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Believe me Ezperanza, this is a pretty tolerant crowd, or else I'd have them rolling in the aisles. Or maybe they are, just discretely. Anyway, I would definitely have gone with skylights, except for the fact that the rooms which need it the most are on the ground floor of a two story house. So I'm just afraid that not enough light will come through, even with (eg) skylights in the roof and glass blocks right below them.

Thanks for the additional info, Rolly I'll definitely see if diffusion of light is something that's going to be an issue. B/t/w, where in LA did you live? My NOB roosting place is in Silverlake.
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"The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly I discover there is no reason." John Cage

(This post was edited by not_ally on Dec 10, 2004, 7:19 AM)

Texwheel

Dec 10, 2004, 11:56 AM

Post #9 of 12 (4953 views)

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Re: [not_ally] skylight tubing

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Just my humble uneducated opinion relative to tube skylights, but while helping a friend search for a house, we visited one with a tube skylite and the light it put out was so bright it was almost surreal...not what I would want or have imagined. Be careful.
Tom Williams
Georgetown, Texas
Texwheel@aol.com

patricio_lintz

Dec 10, 2004, 1:40 PM

Post #10 of 12 (4942 views)

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Re: [not_ally] skylight tubing

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If you are building a traditional style Mexican house, the soultion might be a fancy windowed coupala with a domed ceiling below.

Maybe that does not fit in with your arcitecture.

Rolly / Moderator

Dec 10, 2004, 8:27 PM

Post #11 of 12 (4927 views)

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Re: [not_ally] skylight tubing

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Hi John,

I lived in Tarzana. I hung out in Silver Lake a lot at a Mexican restaurant called Casita del Campo. Know it?

Rolly Pirate

E-visit me http://Rollybrook.com
On Facebook as Rolly Brook

Cynthia7

Dec 13, 2004, 9:15 PM

Post #12 of 12 (4902 views)

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Re: [Rolly] skylight tubing

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I was in a house in SMA where they had put a large (14"- 16") plastic pipe in each corner of the upstairs bedroom. It was open on the roof and covered with clear glass or plastic. The living room ceiling had round holes in each corner and the room was lit with natural light through the pipe. Very clever!!