ᐅ Sufficient lighting in the hallway? Requesting your opinion.

Created on: 2 May 2019 23:17
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chrisw81
Hello,

we have a fairly large hallway (approximately 3 x 5.5 m (10 x 18 ft)), with a 2 x 2 m (6.5 x 6.5 ft) stairwell opening. We have planned only one double casement window measuring 74 x 118 cm (29 x 46 inches). The rafters are arranged so that the window can be placed either on one exterior wall, the opposite exterior wall, or in the middle.

My question is whether the room might end up too dark. Considering symmetry, I see only three windows as an option. What do you think?

Thanks in advance.

As a side note, the hallway on the ground floor is also not very bright because we don’t have a fixed sidelight next to the door, only a small extra window. It would also benefit from natural light from above…

My current ideas:
1) Place two windows above the stairwell opening so that it is at least symmetrical with the opening. I would not put a window above the gallery then.

2) One window in the center.

3) Three narrower windows.


Handskizze eines Wandaufbaus mit Dämmung und mehreren Isolationsschichten
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Yosan
3 May 2019 12:30
If the cost is not an issue, I would also go for 3 windows... unless your house is located on a slope where people would have a clear view directly into the hallway.
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boxandroof
3 May 2019 22:16
Or you could give the storage room a nice south-facing window and a glass door.
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chrisw81
5 May 2019 11:50
We had the idea of installing a glass door as well. It definitely helps, though probably not as much as adding extra skylights.

Would it look odd to have just two windows above the staircase? They would at least be framed by the gallery railing and might look quite good.
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boxandroof
5 May 2019 15:24
I think either two windows above the staircase or all three windows would look good.

North-facing windows have a negative energy balance; if you’re not particularly attached to having three, I would go with two.
M4rvin12 May 2019 18:17
So, we have a roof window upstairs and a small window for the staircase downstairs. During the day, there is enough natural light.

Half-finished house with tiled roof, construction fence and blue portable toilet
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chrisw81
13 May 2019 09:36
M4rvin schrieb:

So, we have a skylight above and a small window by the staircase below. During the day, it’s bright enough.
Ok, good to know. Although the window below in your case looks quite large, we only have a very small one (1 x 0.76 meters (3.3 x 2.5 feet)) in the hallway, so we would prefer double casement windows above the staircase.
We have now decided on two 65-cm (26-inch) units to be installed above the stairwell (U-shaped staircase).