Residential Skylights

Choosing a skylight for your home: What you need to know.

Perhaps you’ve invested in custom skylights before.  Perhaps not. It’s the kind of thing that most people do only once in a lifetime.  This means, that for most people, it’s their first time purchasing a custom skylight, so they have a lot of questions.

Choosing a custom skylight is nothing like buying an ‘off the shelf’ drop on model from your local hardware store. For one thing, it’s a one off, never-been-built-before item, custom designed to create a special ‘window to natural light’ that’s an aesthetically pleasing enhancement to your home.

Nothing is mass produced. The space in which you plan installing it is never precisely the same as the space someone else has for theirs.  Consequently, though Spectrum Skylights are certainly reasonably priced, they are definitely not in the same category as the lower end, mass produced hardware store models.  But then again, other than calling them both ‘skylights’ there’s not much else that’s similar regarding quality, construction or performance, either.

Many people are surprised when they discover just how much detail’s involved. They’re amazed when we insist on assessing the space as well as finding out exactly what your expectations are before beginning the process.  The reason is that your skylight needs to be perfect.  There’s no room for error.  We stand behind our products and service and we take that responsibility very seriously. It has to look the way you want it to and perform the function you want it for while maintaining the integrity of your structure.

Everything from the design. to the materials, to the construction and installation is part of a very precise and thorough process. Whether it’s a small space or irregular and innovative, your project is treated with absolute attention to detail, before, during and after the installation.

Here’s how the process will normally work:

1. We will come to the project site and perform an assessment.  This includes more than taking a few measurements – it will include assessing access to the site and the condition of the installation area.  We need to ensure that we do whatever is necessary to build, deliver and install your custom skylight safely.
2. The details will then be brought back to our team who will assess the design and engineering requirements. Building permits may be needed and this has to be factored in.  Materials have to be specified.  Timelines and other construction details decided upon.  Once we’ve gathered all the information, then we’ll prepare a quote and present you with a proposal.
3. The proposal will provide more than the price. It will tell you about exactly how we suggest handling your project and whether we’ll require access to the site from inside your home.  It will detail the design, type of construction, required permits and timelines.
4. Once you’ve decided that a Spectrum Skyworks skylight is for you, we’ll take care of the details. As you’ll discover, that’s something we have a reputation for handling very well.  From choosing staff you’ll feel comfortable with at the site, to a post installation check-up to ensure that your new skylight is performing exactly as it should.

We’re happy to discuss your ideas, liaise with your architect or contractor and ensure that you have everything you need to make the right custom skylight choice.