Making a skylight on the roof with your own hands

A glazed opening is placed in the roof of the house for the flow of natural light and air into the attic. Sometimes a dormer is combined with a roof exit. Incorrect design and installation errors lead to the collapse of the roof structure. The openings additionally equalize the atmospheric pressure in the space under the roof and outside, and improve the exterior of the building.

Definition of the dormer and its function

Dormer openings are arranged in pitched roofs, they are performed not only in the classic rectangular shape, but also made triangular, trapezoidal, round. Functional openings are more often found in private cottages, mansions, therefore, special attention is paid to their appearance and combination with the decoration and construction of the house.

The room is ventilated through the gaps in the roof, the space is illuminated, and the area of ​​a small room visually increases. The absence of openings greatly reduces the usefulness and comfort of the attic space, making it separate from the outside world. The roof window significantly affects the proportional perception of the roof, therefore, its design is thought out in detail.

Dormer window device

First defined with the frame of the window. Whatever the shape of the opening and the structure of the above-window house, the structure of the supporting frame of the lucarne should not violate the integrity of the rafter system or weaken its strength.

The main elements of the device:

• frontal beams between the rafters;
• vertical racks on rafter legs;
• girders over the props;
• additional rafters from crossbars to ridge;
• window frame;
• lathing, laid on the rafters in the shape of the roof above the window opening;
• roof covering similar to the main flooring.

It is difficult to organize an additional clearance on the roof without interfering with the supporting roof frame, therefore civil engineers recommend erecting windows at the same time as building a house.

Varieties of roof slope construction

The attic window has a roof, which is designed according to the general rules for arranging roofing. The frame of the opening can be in the plane of the slope and be inclined, but more often the window frame is taken out and placed vertically. For the resulting "birdhouse" make a roof of various configurations.

Types of structures:

• flat coating;
• gable quadrangular roof;
• gable quadrangular;
• semicircular;
• triangular;
• trapezoidal panoramic;
• glass lantern.

The auditory gaps are placed in the end wall (pediment), sometimes the dormer in the roof is placed above the roofing plane. Antidormers are mounted inside the roof (recessed form).

Flat

These types of coverings over the window ensure maximum light flow and ventilation of the room. For a flat coating, an additional water drainage system is installed, which is subsequently combined with a common drain.

A flat roof over the window can be easily arranged by yourself:

• an opening is cut out in the roof;
• adjust frames according to the project;
• arrange the roof structure over the window;
• cover the flooring along the crate.

When designing, take into account the height of the ridge, the degree of ventilation and illumination. Pay attention to the proximity of the outlets of the boiler pipes, the outlets of the general air conditioning system.

A wooden beam with a cross section of 50 x 100 mm is involved in the work on the device, which is installed in the rafter structure at different angles.

Quadrangular shed

The slope is made in the form of a trapezoid, rectangle or square, and the dimensions of the window opening are determined depending on the purpose of the rooms and the required degree of lighting. According to GOST standards, the area of ​​windows in attics should be in the range of 1/6 - 1/8 of the square of the floor.

Before installing a pitched roof over the opening, check the integrity of the main frame. If it is damaged or the supporting elements are worn out, the installation of the window must be delayed until the rafter system is repaired. You can cut out part of the rafters to increase the distance, but then you need to redistribute the load to other beams by installing additional runs.

The slopes above the opening are correctly joined to the inclined plane of the main roof; metal aprons and galvanized lining are used.

Quadrangular gable

This type is the most common because a relatively uncomplicated structure fits seamlessly into any type of roof.

When building a quadrangular flooring with two slopes, you need to take into account the requirements:

• the device is allowed if the roof slope is from 35 °;
• roof superstructures are located at a certain distance (0.8 - 1.0 m) from the external load-bearing walls of the building;
• the minimum size of the swinging sashes is 0.6 x 0.8 m, the window opening is 1.2 x 0.8 m;
• height above the floor of the room - not less than 1 m.

The gable roof over the hatchway increases the area of ​​the attic due to the removal. The slopes can follow the slope of the main roof if the window is on the pediment.

Semicircular

This type of overlap over the lumen looks original and is popularly called a bat. The roof is made semicircular, and under it is a window of the same configuration or a round frame is placed.

The waveform above the light hole defines different subgroups:

• smooth wave line - a bat;
• a steep wave with an oval window - a bull's eye;
• combined view - a bat, with a curved single-slope cover.

The main roof is continued in the flooring of the dormer and looks like one whole.

The round window in the attic looks beautiful, but it is rarely placed due to the complicated installation. Such frames are made with one or two swing doors or blind double-glazed windows are installed. The latter type is rarely used, because there is no way to care for the outer glass.

Triangular

Windows of a triangular configuration are framed by slopes with a steep slope or are made flat, openings are placed on the roof or placed on the pediment. In this configuration, there are no side walls, so the issue of saving materials, as well as insulation and waterproofing, is easily solved. The shape of the lumen reduces the flow of light into the attic, so triangles are placed less often or several of them are made.

Triangular types are in harmony with gable roofs, but not always combined with hip, semicircular or hipped roofs. They put frames with a configuration of cut corners, while the overall triangularity is preserved, but in fact such a window can have 4 - 6 corners. To open the doors, a swing-out mechanism is often used.

Panoramic

Structures of this type provide a large overview and illuminate the interior space as much as possible. The roof often has a trapezoidal shape with a straight section of considerable length. Windows are made without side walls, low fences are made of wood or they are laid out with bricks, foam blocks.

For the installation of the lathing under the roofing, you need to make a solid base with chipboard panels, waterproof plywood. Panoramic windows under the roof are installed in the premises of the greenhouse, conservatory, billiard rooms or attic pools. The disadvantage of viewing frames is that, due to the large area, heat escapes and there is a danger for young children who live in the attic. For protection, the openings are framed with a grill.

Glass

They are called lanterns due to the fact that they let in a lot of light; such large square openings are integrated into the roof plane.

By design, they are:

• flat, not protruding above the surface;
• convex lanterns in the form of a dome, hemisphere, pyramid.

The window frame, which is usually durable, fits into the rafter structure, and is fixed to the structural elements of the main floor. For filling, they used to use simple polished glass, now they put acrylic or mount polycarbonate.

Most of the area of ​​the lantern is deaf, but there are hinged doors that are manually or with a remote control (electric control with a drive).

Accommodation options

The classic form of installation is the configuration of the superstructure in the form of a house, while the drawing is calculated so as to meet the lighting requirements of the room. Dormer skylights can be gable or pitched. They are glazed or installed with roller shutters, blinds are used.

According to the standards, a temperature difference between the street and the interior of 5 - 10 ° is provided. If the difference is greater, systems are installed in the construction of the walls and roof of the house to prevent condensation from falling out.

Several such gaps are made in the intervals between the rafters, so as not to cut out the supporting elements of the roof structure for installing windows and not to change the structure of the beam system of the house.

Mono-pitched

Roof slopes greater than 15 ° create additional rainwater flow towards the window. Shed roofs above the window are placed so that it is possible to organize the flow of water into the receiving funnels outside the overhangs or inside the building. The slope is made of such a size that its slope does not affect the volume of the room, but at the same time there is a reliable drainage of precipitation outside the canopy.

The slope of the window slope is made slightly less than the steepness of the main covering of the house. The design is carried out by drawing the project on paper to a scale so that the dimensions of the shed window are combined with the dimensions of other elements of the facade. The slope affects the number of battens and the volume of the roof deck. For soft rolls, a slight slope is used, but a continuous crate is performed.

Gable

Such openings are placed between the rafters so as not to disturb the structure of the rafter system. A ridge element is placed above the window to organize the correct junction of two slopes. Inclined surfaces can be different in quadrature and have different slopes from each other. The upper part of the window canopy is domed or hipped.

The base of the gable window can be located in the plane of the roof or be placed at a distance of up to 0.5 m. In the second option, additional reinforcement of the beam scheme of the house will be required. If an exit from the dormer gable window is provided, an observation deck is constructed, which is made in the form of a small balcony with a railing.

A roof over an opening with two slopes requires more construction costs than a single slope structure.

Design standards and nuances

SNiP 11.26-2010 contains instructions for installation, location, organization of ventilation.

Installation technology is limited by the rules:

• the rafters framing the window opening must be doubled, since they carry an additional load;
• auxiliary girders should not cut into the body of the rafter legs, their ends are fixed with steel plates;
• the frame is protected with moisture-resistant plywood;
• the gable of the window is made vertically, the correctness is checked with a level or plumb line.

According to the standards, window houses should have walls whose height starts from 1.2 m. The frames of the vertical side fences rest on the ceiling girders under the opening. A distance of 0.8 m is allowed between adjacent auditory canals, narrower places contribute to the accumulation of snow in the gaps.

Making a dormer window with your own hands

First, part of the roofing is removed at the place where the window is inserted.The workplace is organized by installing scaffolding or scaffolding. Work to strengthen the rafter structure can be carried out from inside the attic. The installation of beams, racks is checked instrumentally.

Work order:

1. cut off the bar for the lower base along the length of the frame of the auditory opening plus 20 - 25 cm, fasten it to the floor so that it protrudes beyond the undercarriage equally on both sides;
2. corner posts are placed 15 cm higher than the window size, each is nailed to the reinforcement beam and the lower support;
3. the upper girder is attached to the racks with nails, the lower beam is mounted in the same way, the racks are aligned;
4. for the window sill, a bar is taken, which is fixed in the undercuts of the side pillars with a depth of 1 cm, it is additionally fixed with linings.

From the side of the roof, three ceiling beams are installed with an interval of 40 cm to the side ceilings, then the structure is sheathed with sheets of moisture-resistant plywood. They do the installation of roofing, arrange a ridge, gutters, install ebb tides.