Hello everyone,
Our shell construction including windows and exterior door is completed, and now we are concerned that our hallway might turn out a bit dark. I tried to illustrate the situation in the attached PDF. The orange arrows represent the light beams entering the hallway (green outlined area).
Adjacent to the entrance area, we have a glass door, and next to the living-dining room, there is a floor-to-ceiling window element. At the entrance itself, there is also a floor-to-ceiling frosted glass panel. On the east side of the entrance area, there is another floor-to-ceiling window element. The living room has quite a few light openings.
If all doors inside the house are closed, no light enters the hallway otherwise.
The hallway is open upwards to the attic. In this area, we are considering installing a roof window on our 45-degree pitched roof (pink marking) to let some natural light into the hallway. Plastering will probably be somewhat challenging, but the benefit would be significant. The roof window would be on the north side of the roof, so there would be no direct sunlight.
Of course, it would be advantageous to install the window during the shell construction phase. After the house is finished, the roof insulation and so on would need to be removed and reinstalled.
Has anyone in the forum faced a similar decision? Should one wait to see how the lighting actually turns out, or is it already clear that the hallway will be permanently too dark?
What do you think? Thanks in advance for your experiences,
Axellent
Our shell construction including windows and exterior door is completed, and now we are concerned that our hallway might turn out a bit dark. I tried to illustrate the situation in the attached PDF. The orange arrows represent the light beams entering the hallway (green outlined area).
Adjacent to the entrance area, we have a glass door, and next to the living-dining room, there is a floor-to-ceiling window element. At the entrance itself, there is also a floor-to-ceiling frosted glass panel. On the east side of the entrance area, there is another floor-to-ceiling window element. The living room has quite a few light openings.
If all doors inside the house are closed, no light enters the hallway otherwise.
The hallway is open upwards to the attic. In this area, we are considering installing a roof window on our 45-degree pitched roof (pink marking) to let some natural light into the hallway. Plastering will probably be somewhat challenging, but the benefit would be significant. The roof window would be on the north side of the roof, so there would be no direct sunlight.
Of course, it would be advantageous to install the window during the shell construction phase. After the house is finished, the roof insulation and so on would need to be removed and reinstalled.
Has anyone in the forum faced a similar decision? Should one wait to see how the lighting actually turns out, or is it already clear that the hallway will be permanently too dark?
What do you think? Thanks in advance for your experiences,
Axellent
B
Bauexperte14 Dec 2015 21:52Good evening,
axellent schrieb:If the recessed lights are installed by professionals—often the roofer—there are generally no problems.
Unfortunately, there are quite a few negative opinions about this on the internet (especially regarding airtightness).
axellent schrieb:The rain takes care of it for you; from the inside: when daylight behaves like dusk 😀
What about cleaning the recessed lights?
I would also add a roof window. But I just thought of another option after seeing your floor plan. Why not install a nice, narrow skylight next to the glass door to the hallway, extending across the entire width of the staircase? I can also imagine that looking really nice. And something else I noticed in passing: why don’t you move the door to the garage closer to the main entrance? That way, you'd have two walls where you could put furniture or storage ;-)
Hello Manu, thanks for the two suggestions. The door to the garage was placed that way to allow direct access to the workshop behind the garage without having the car in the way.
A skylight is definitely a good idea, but unfortunately there is already an electrical cable running inside, and the plastering has already been done.
I think the roof window or a recessed light fixture are the most effective solutions for more light.
I’ll ask the general contractor to provide an offer for a recessed light solution :-)
A skylight is definitely a good idea, but unfortunately there is already an electrical cable running inside, and the plastering has already been done.
I think the roof window or a recessed light fixture are the most effective solutions for more light.
I’ll ask the general contractor to provide an offer for a recessed light solution :-)
In a similar situation, we installed a double casement window in the hallway above the staircase. I planned it this way at the time (I wasn’t yet familiar with skylights, which are an interesting alternative).
The lighting situation turned out very well because of it. Both the hallway and the stairwell receive plenty of natural daylight. Without the window, it would be a dark space. We’re very glad we did it. Neighbors across the street copied the idea and are very happy with it.
This is purely a double casement window for daylighting purposes. Although it can be opened, according to the building code description, it was not supposed to be operable. It can be opened using a hook on an extension pole, but I don’t see any need for that in our case.
Regarding cleaning:
- Inside: I bought a 4 m (13 feet) telescopic window cleaner for about 30 (currency).
- Outside: Rain usually takes care of it. For my pressure washer, there is an extension lance designed for exactly this kind of cleaning.
Regarding noise (from rain):
- Personally, it doesn’t bother me, but it can be disturbing for some.
Regards,
Thorsten
The lighting situation turned out very well because of it. Both the hallway and the stairwell receive plenty of natural daylight. Without the window, it would be a dark space. We’re very glad we did it. Neighbors across the street copied the idea and are very happy with it.
This is purely a double casement window for daylighting purposes. Although it can be opened, according to the building code description, it was not supposed to be operable. It can be opened using a hook on an extension pole, but I don’t see any need for that in our case.
Regarding cleaning:
- Inside: I bought a 4 m (13 feet) telescopic window cleaner for about 30 (currency).
- Outside: Rain usually takes care of it. For my pressure washer, there is an extension lance designed for exactly this kind of cleaning.
Regarding noise (from rain):
- Personally, it doesn’t bother me, but it can be disturbing for some.
Regards,
Thorsten
Similar topics