10-Inch Tubular Skylight

Update Feb. 2021. We continue to be very pleased with these skylights and have had no issues through sun, rain and heavy snow. I would purchase again. They do not add any "draftiness" whatsoever. I notice the snow does not melt on them any sooner than the rest of the roof (meaning little or no heat is escaping through the skylight). Highly recommended. (Original review follows): I purchased five of these last fall (2019) but didn't get them installed until this week (April 2020). We are very happy with the quality of light in areas where they were installed, as others have said, "brighter than expected" and you think you left a light on. I would rate myself as somewhat "handy" with tools and light construction and repairs around the house. In this case, I had to get over my fear of cutting a large hole in my roof 5 times! Like a lot of jobs, the first one you do takes 3 times longer than the 2nd one as you learn the process. I had good access to my attic space in a single-story home, so was able to get to every location, in the attic and on the roof, where the skylights would be installed. I cut the ceiling drywall from above rather than below for example and was able to clear the insulation away first. I'm not saying it was easy but that access helps if you can get it in your home. I could be sure of no obstructions and that I was between the rafters. Also I got a new shingled roof at the same time, so I was able to do the prep work earlier, then "dry fit" these skylights, and then have the roofers install the "flashing" or roof part of these skylights at the same time as the shingling. The instructions are very good, in color, very readable. I called Customer Service twice (on a Friday, once in the morning, once later afternoon) and got a prompt answer (was never put on hold) and help with my minor questions. Outstanding customer support from this company (the manufacturer, I'm not referring to the seller here). One thing to note: Two of the five units had slight shipping damage to the ring or top collar of the flashing part that goes on the roof. This is made of heavy aluminum, but had gotten slightly deformed somehow in shipping. Inspect carefully upon receipt of your order. I didn't notice until installing, as it was minor damage. The company should consider padding this area better for shipping. I think the dome, which also has a metal ring around it, got pushed into the flashing in the box, and deformed it slightly. I was able to tap it back to "round" or near-round with a hammer and by using hand-force. It seems to have sealed OK with the plastic dome upon installation. I'm still happy. Assembling the aluminum "tubes" gave me some trouble initially. It'll take you some time. Try to flatten out the coiled aluminum they send you, and bend back each edge a little bit before attempting to assemble them (similar to aluminum venting pipe if you've worked with that, such as on a dryer, etc. but larger.) Again, the first one will take you 45 minutes (or at least mine did), the second one will go faster as you learn. Also I found I could use a jigsaw with a metal-cutting blade to cut the vent pipe neatly to length. This was much neater and faster than using tin snips. Cut a small starter slot for your jigsaw with a hacksaw. Insert jigsaw and cut. I was able to insert the tubes, mark them for length on the roof, pull them out, and cut precisely to length, then reinsert. This is not how the instructions say (they suggest trimming to fit with snips, on the roof, as also if needed from below which should not be necessary as the tube is "stopped" by the lower ceiling ring pretty well) but it worked better for me. And don't worry if you muss up the super-shiny mirror-like interior of the tube a little as you work...you can't see it once everything is installed, and a little dust or fingerprints will not seriously impede light transmission to your home's interior. Hope this helps someone else. I will update if I encounter issues, the skylights did not leak in our first thunderstorm the other night!

I looked at all the pictures and finally took the chance on these lights. I wasn't sure if they would bring in enough light. My last house had walls full windows. This one was made in the 80's. They didn't believe in windows. If you're moderately skilled the install is easy (1-2 hours). They've been working for 9 months through several big storms and a freeze (No issues). A small will light up a bathroom very well. The large light is supposed to light up 250sf. My estimate is closer to 150sf. I do want it bright though. These lights have a Aluminum boot on top. this is a MUST in TX. i am not worried about sun damage and hail. This will last!

I bought 2 of these one for my guest bath. It lights up the entire bathroom without using electricity. The other one was for a closet. It makes everything easy to access without a light.

The skylight works great and the bathroom now is bright like it had an actual window in there. It is of good quality, especially the lens and the roof glass. Where the price shows is in the quality of the instructions and ease of install. It was my first time installing one of these and together with my father-in-law we were able to put it together, but it didn't go as straight as we wanted and the instructions were a bit unclear. So, overall, take your time to plan and measure things twice before installing. Make sure the hole in the roof is perfectly centered with the one in the ceiling.

I would have taken off a quarter of a star but not a full one, just because one light pipe came with slightly bent edges so I had to manipulate it and force it together, eventually just using foil tape to keep it shut- it never did snap shut like the other one. Also- I followed instructions to a T but discovered that I have a SECOND ROOF to go through- not the fault of the manufacturer and there’s is no way I could’ve known, it was just 6 inches of space to account for, but it meant some crawling around in attic and mcgyvering a nail up thru second roof to know where to drill. To top it off, I then had rafters going north/south AND perpendicular to maneuver around! That said, I wish I would’ve put in the tube first then finished cutting the hole in my ceiling to match up the ring to the tube. This sequence of events added about 3 hours to my installation time, but next tube will be super quick. It is NOT hard to install unless you run into Mr murphy:)I have to patch the ceiling but otherwise it looks awesome and I’m going to buy another one now.

This is a very convenient way to bring light into a bathroom. It is more of a daylight bright light, so it’s not a warm light. But the parts are all plastic except for the metal part of the tube easy to install with the right tools and a lot of light to the bathroom.

The solar skylight was easy to install although I had to get an added extension for use to get to the roof of a barn. It has been through several Texas hard rains and hasn't leaked. The light quality is truly amazing. During the day you can get the equivalent of a 100 watt bulb's output and that is traveling 12 feet down the tube. The light is good even when the sun is not high and the solar skylight was installed on the north side.

At first I was going to send them back and install 2x 48" sky lights. Bur then I WOLD HAVE TI CUT CHANNELS OUT IN FOAM for 2x6 framing which have been a task on a 12-12 pitch roof. It was much easier to cut a 10" hole in the decking and use a hot knife the foam. ( I found a 6" hot knife at Harbor Freight tools" for $ 20. and it worked like it was cutting butter. The hardest part was getting flashing under the shingles. Bottom Line they look great no leaks and I would use them again.