Half a day to a day for a straightforward run on an accessible roof. The reason it is so much quicker than a rooflight is that there is nothing structural to do: no joists cut, no trimming designed, no reveal formed and no plastering. The ceiling is cut with a hole saw and the diffuser trim covers the edge.
How long a rooflight takes
The variables common to any roof job are on how long does a flat roof rooflight take to install.
What follows is what a light pipe removes from that.
What it does not involve
Almost all of what makes a rooflight a project.
No structural opening, no designed trimming, no room open to the sky, no plastered reveal and no drying time before decoration.
Setting out
The first half hour, and it decides the result.
The ceiling position is agreed, the route is checked from the loft, and the roof position is marked from inside so the tube runs straight.
Why marking from inside matters
Because the run is what matters, not the roof.
Working from the ceiling position upward gives a straight tube, where choosing a convenient tile from outside gives a bend nobody needed.
Why bends cost is on can a sun tunnel go round a corner.
Opening the roof
An hour or so. A few tiles or slates come off, the underlay is cut and the collar formed, and the roof unit is set and flashed into the covering.
The flashing
Where the care goes. A kit matched to the covering is dressed under the courses above and over those below, and the courses are set back so they run true.
Cutting the ceiling
Minutes, with a hole saw. A circular opening is cut from below, and where it falls across a joist that is trimmed as ordinary carpentry rather than as an alteration.
The tube
Assembled in the loft. Sections are joined, taped and set between the roof unit and the ceiling ring, and on a short run that is a straightforward half hour.
Insulating and sealing it
The stage worth not rushing. The tube is insulated where it crosses the loft and sealed at the ceiling, and skipping either is what produces problems later.
Why is on do sun tunnels cause condensation.
The diffuser
The last ten minutes. The trim goes in, covers the cut edge and holds the diffuser, and at that point the room is finished and usable.
What making good involves
Very little. The trim covers the cut, so there is generally no filling or plastering, though a repaint of the ceiling is often wanted afterwards.
What extends it
The access, first. A bungalow reachable from a tower and a two storey roof needing a scaffold are the same kit and very different days.
What extends it, second
The covering. Setting hand made clay or natural slate back around a flashing takes considerably longer than concrete interlocking tiles, and breakages have to be matched.
What extends it, third
The loft. A cluttered or fully boarded loft has to be cleared and reinstated, and an obstruction in the route means rethinking the position on the day.
What to look for is on can a sun tunnel go through a loft.
What a homeowner can do
Clear the loft, and the room. A cleared route and a clear floor under the diffuser position is the difference between starting at nine and starting at half past ten.
Dust
Modest, and it is worth preparing for.
Cutting a ceiling drops plaster dust and loft debris, so the area is sheeted and the furniture moved before anything is cut.
Adding a light kit
Adds an electrician rather than a day.
The fitting goes in with the tunnel, and getting a switched supply to it is separate work, quick where an existing light was in the same position.
What is involved is on can you get a sun tunnel with a light.
Two or three on one visit
Far less than the sum. Access, setting up and protection happen once, so a second tunnel is a couple of hours rather than another day.
Weather
Matters for a short window. The roof is open for an hour or two rather than a day, so a sun tunnel is far less weather dependent than a rooflight installation.
Doing it with other roof work
The sensible way to buy one. Where a scaffold is up for anything else, a sun tunnel is an hour of extra work rather than a job with its own access cost.
The economics are on how much does a sun tunnel cost.
When the room is usable
Immediately.
Unlike a rooflight, there is no plaster to dry, so the room is finished when the diffuser goes in and the dust sheets come up.
What happens if the position has to move
Decided in the loft, before anything is cut.
Where an obstruction appears, the diffuser shifts within the ceiling to find a clear route, and that is agreed with the household rather than settled unilaterally on the roof.
Half a metre either way rarely matters in a hallway and it can save a bend.
What is left behind
Very little.
Offcuts of tube, a few tiles and the dust from the ceiling cut, and the loft insulation packed back where it was disturbed.
Handover
Two minutes, and worth having.
Where the tube runs, how to clean the diffuser, and that the dome wants clearing when the gutters are done, is the whole of what an owner needs to know.
How we set it out on a sun tunnel
We set out from the ceiling upward and check the loft before anything is cut, because a straight tube is worth more than a convenient roof position and it costs nothing to get right.
The whole picture is on the sun tunnel installation page.
Thinking about this job? We survey across Worthing, West Sussex and the South Downs and give you a fixed price before any work starts, with a 10-year workmanship guarantee.