Heat loss from skylights

MrSherry

I recently moved into a great apartment: skylight, cathedral ceiling, a ceiling fan and lots of windows, they forgot to mention electric heat, window air conditioning and very drafty windows. I have put plastic on the windows and A/C units. But all my heat just goes up into the skylights. I do run the ceiling fan all the time but is there anything I can do about the skylights? My manager suggested putting plastic over the skylight. But how could this be done? My apartment is extremely cold and the electric bill is killing me. Any suggestion?

joecaption

There's lots of companys that make a shrink wrap plastic that gets attached with double faced tape.
Any Box store, hardware store, Wal Mart has it.

MrSherry

There is nothing to hook it to just drywall and the double sided tapes will pull it off when I remove it.

Fairview

I plugged the shaft opening of ours with 1" rigid Styrofoam painted with the same paint the ceiling is painted with. My wife has her code inspections that must be passed or it would still be light blue with the brand name stamp.

MrSherry

Do I need to worry about condensation? Thanks that sounds easier the trying to put window covering up with the command stick stuff.

Fairview

Yes, condensation can be an issue if any heated room air is allowed to reach the colder sky light surface.
Sealing that area off is important.

ddawg16

Make a frame with wood strips that is about the size of the inside opening of the skylight. Cover both sides with clear plastic....put foam around the edge of the frame....then push up into the skylight opening.....if necessary, use a few small nails to hold it in pos.

Or...put on more clothes....

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Dave Sal

Being that this is an apartment, you probably would need permission from the landlord, but a relatively simple way to solve this problem is by adding a frame with a lip on the inner perimeter of the skylight shaft as ddawg16 suggested, and then add some decorative framing on the ceiling to finish it off. Get a plexiglass grate and cut it to fit so it sits on top of the inner frame lip, and then cut a piece of clear plexiglass to fit and lay this on top of the grate. I had the same problem that you do and that is exactly how I took care of it. Before I did this, just standing below the skylight during the winter and you could feel the cold air falling down on you from above, plus the condensation on the inner surface of the skylight itself would often drip onto the floor below. Now, there is no more cold air from above and the condensation problem is gone.

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