Scarlett O'Hara Staircase

     This was a formal staircase design popular with  new two storey homes built back in the 70's and 80's mainly found in homes 2600 square feet or larger. Many of these homeowners have lived in the dark for years with the lack of light over the stairs down to the foyer. 
   
      The home shown in the posted photos was located in Richmond Hill Ontario.  I was quickly overwhelmed by darkness the second I walked in through the front door and gave the customer  my full confidence that I could transform his stairway and hallway with a 14" Solatube installation.

     As shown from the before and after photos, the end result was quite spectacular with the abundance of natural light.

Turret extensions

     Living in a northern climate can create some shadowing on certain north facing roof lines depending on they're pitch. The other reason is for build up of ice and snow in some prone areas, in some areas North of Toronto 24" or more of snow or more can build up on roof tops.  Our latitude in the Toronto area is about 44 degrees,  to maximize the amount of light input into the dome assembly Solatube developed turret extensions.  These fabricated collars raise the  height of the dome and are available in 4", 6", 12", 24" and 48" increments.  I had a couple of installations with photos where I used these extension turrets that performed very well extending above the shadow line created by the obstructions.

48" extension turret with dome above level of A/C unit.  Due South is to the right of the A/C unit

24" extension turret with dome installed above upper level roof line. In this home the shadowing what quite extensive with the split level roof casting a long shadow. 

Building or Renovating and adding natural light to a lower level?

     There exists the potential to install a Solatube from the roof line (sloped or flat roof) down through the room below to the next level living space.  In some cases the building plans will incorporate a framed in vertical shaft to house the Solatube to line up with the dark area below.  The framed in shaft will line up directly with the floor joists below and the ceiling/roof trusses above to permit the vertical Solatube.  Some of these installations yield a 10ft - 17ft long tube shaft depending on the height of the attic space above the framed in shaft.  Usually this shaft ends up located within a closet, hallway or pantry wall and is dry walled upon completion.  There is a small amount of light loss within this extra length, however the end result is sensational compared to the previously pitch black room below.

                                           
                                               
      

New Frosted Glass Diffusers By Solatube

Solatube's Just Frost Glass diffusers are a  popular choice with all my customers.   These stylish low profile diffuser covers are made of all glass and really do show well in any room.  The glass material appears to enhance the natural lighting properties reflected down the Solatube tubular shaft into the living space below.  The vibrant light remains soft however appears warmer than the standard fussion acrylic diffuser lens.  Taking photos of these diffusers in daytime is always difficult with the results of over exposure.    

     

14" Solatube JustFrost glass diffuser

Solatube Daylighting For Offices

     I completed this office lighting project back in October 2011, there were a total of ten 14" Solatubes to be installed on a flat roof building structure with a metal corrugated roof deck.  The 12 foot tube runs reached down through the open plentum space to the 110 square ft offices below.

   14" Solatubes on a tar and gravel flat roof  

14" Solatube runs partially completed through plentum space

       
 12 inch curbs where contructed to raise the flashings and domes above the roof line, the end result flooded the offices with stunning natural daylighting. The ceiling was composed of drywall and was supported with metal joists above.  The existing office light fixtures where replaced with Solatube add-on light kits for the new locations for supplemental night time lighting.

 14" Solatube installation in an office

                                                        14" Solatube office

Solatube Daylighting For New Home Builders

     Green Park Homes is one of Canada's leading home builder and are all about focusing on quality and methods to produce more efficient homes.  Conventional skylights were not really an effective way to bring in natural lighting due to there lengthy dry wall shafts from the ceiling to the roof line. Some of these were over 10 feet in height due to the higher pitched roofs in this modern age.

      The open ended shafts created a tunnel for warm air to rise up the drywall shaft creating heat loss.  With Solatube, the reflective tube run is closed at the ceiling end with a dual glazed diffuser system maintaining the homes energy efficiency and is also sealed to the  ceiling vapour barrier inside the attic preventing any air leakage.  The option of installing a Solatube for Green  Park Homes is most popular in upstairs hallways, stairwells and windowless bathrooms.

                           example of a 12ft long Solatube  inside attic up to roof

                                 14" Solatube Hallway application, Stouffville
                                 

Solatube installed through Cathedral Ceiling

     There are actually many styles of homes out there that have a cathedral ceiling in one or more rooms.  I often have inquiries regarding if this type of installation is feasible or not.  Well the answer is yes, they can be installed through this type of roof structure and there are two main types of cathedral ceilings where Solatubes can be installed through.  The first being where the  supporting roof rafters have the drywall ceiling directly fastened to the underside inside the living space and with the roof sheathing directly on top with no attic space.  These roof rafters can typically be constructed of 2x6's up to 2x10's depending on age and construction of the home.  The second type I come across is the cathedral ceiling that is constructed with a scissor type truss roof.  This roof type has a small attic access above the sloped ceiling  and with  the sloping shingled roof above.

                                                 Two 14" Solatubes with the cathedral ceiling

        This living room in Markham had an 11ft cathedral ceiling constructed with 2x6's on 16" centers and no attic space.   I located the  Solatubes a little over a third of the way in from the side walls for an even lighting balance.  The end result yielded tons of pure natural sunlight brightening the entire room room wall to wall.

                                 This roof shot displays the Solatube flashing and domes directly
                                 above the ceiling locations.  Note the unique victorian shingles.