Round skylight/ light tubes, which one, any good?

[David Brown]

all comments appreciated!! I want light in a dark hallway, and am looking at the round light tubes, galvanized flashing, plastic flashing, aluminium flashing, lots of options every vendor says hsi is better. i will be cutting a hole in a good roof, so I want to get the best one. i am leaning away from the plastic, (could get brittle w/ age?) some of the galvanized look like outhouse flashing, aka, big/ ugly?? This is on the front of ther house so I want someting that blends in. Thanks to all, Dave

[Ken Garlock]

Hi David. I went through the evaluation of "light pipes" when we built our home. We have a hall bath which has no windows. I searched the Internet and found that there are significant differences in what is available.

The main things to look for is:

1) What is the max distance a particular brand will support? I found a popular brand that was limited to 8 ft. between the ceiling and roof. I had about 18 ft to cover....

2) Does the manufacturer have multiple sizes/diameters of pipe. I used a 16 inch pipe.

3) What is the outside light collector made of, will it last more than a year of two?

4) Is it something you and a friend can do without special tools?

5) What is the actual reflecting pipe make of?

When all the smoke cleared, I settled on a company called "Sun Pipe" located in Elgin IL. IMO, they offered the best product for my application. Check them out: Sun Pipe (http://www.sunpipe.com/index.htm)

I would buy from them again, should the need arise.

[Jim Becker]

My mother had one installed in here "land locked" kitchen down in Florida a few years ago and it's amazing the amount of light that fills the room during the day, even on cloudy days. It's rare to need the lights except for detail work at the counter. I don't know the brand, but am very impressed...so much so, that I'm considering them for our MBR and MBath up here in PA!

[Perry Schmidt]

Dave - I've seen Ken's light 'in action'. It's a very impressive light. Brought in more light than most other sky lights that I've seen, and over a longer distance. It was quite impressive.

From a looks/function standpoint, I'd 2nd Ken's recommendation. Very nice light!

Perry