Page 4 of 6

Re: "Skylight" for standard 14"x14" roof hole (removed Air-c

Posted: June 18th, 2017, 9:26 am
by Scott
Screws would be easy, but I don't want to look at fasteners if I can avoid it.

I hear you on the mosquitos. Bloody bugs on a snow white carpet is not cool. I've used a dust buster type vacuum to get them. Works ok.

Re: "Skylight" for standard 14"x14" roof hole (removed Air-c

Posted: June 18th, 2017, 10:13 am
by kdarling
Yeah, I tried Velcro for my light weight extra bathroom mirror and it always fell off while driving.

But! 3M Command strips use a plastic interlocking grid instead of Velcro loop & hook. So I ended up using tiny screws to hold one side of each strip to the cardboard mirror back where I knew the tape wouldn't hold, and the usual 3M tape for the matching strip on the smooth fiberglass wall. That's been solid so far, and yet easily removable in the future.

Re: "Skylight" for standard 14"x14" roof hole (removed Air-c

Posted: August 27th, 2017, 1:29 pm
by Scott
Finally made the wood casing for my skylight. I tried a couple methods not involving visible fasteners, but they were failed experiments since they weren't secure enough. I wanted this piece to be reasonably easy to take down and reinstall like a typical garnish, so this is the final outcome (for now lol). Window area is a little under 14 inches square.

Re: "Skylight" for standard 14"x14" roof hole (removed Air-c

Posted: August 27th, 2017, 1:39 pm
by kdarling
Nice! What kind of wood is on the ceiling, btw?

Re: "Skylight" for standard 14"x14" roof hole (removed Air-c

Posted: August 28th, 2017, 9:24 am
by Scott
I can't say for certain. Out of the 5 main categories of Lauan, and with tremendous variation within a given category, I'd guess it's Balau. It's not porous in this case, and it has a nice light appearance. I got it at a local independent yard. The trim is Montana Blue Pine that I salvaged from a friend's home-milled stash (it's not red as it looks in the pic).

Re: "Skylight" for standard 14"x14" roof hole (removed Air-c

Posted: August 28th, 2017, 9:31 am
by Blue~Go
Nice!! My Fantastic garnish (adapted to the skylight) is looking a bit ashamed :lol:

And, yeah, it's hard to beat the security of screwing into the (carpet covered) inner fiberglass liner. But nothing wrong with a screw where you expect it (corners of frame), IMO. It's not something you'll decide to move and leave random holes.

But wait... do we know about that overall wood liner you've put up? Did I forget or miss that? Must know more! On the topic, does your rig have a little extra thickness (like 1/2") in places? Mine has something like a built-down pad (this is all under the carpet) from the AC on forward (so AC, forward light, and fan areas) and then another little individual one back toward the galley that is just for a fluorescent light. Figured I'd add some thin insulation to bring the whole thing level if I put on some sort of ceiling.

Anyway, gorgeous!

BG

Re: "Skylight" for standard 14"x14" roof hole (removed Air-c

Posted: August 29th, 2017, 9:03 am
by Scott
Thanks guys for the positive remarks. In this realm of varied tastes, I do appreciate any feedback.

The tones in the photo are not entirely accurate since there was sunlight coming in and I had to use a flash to capture anything useful. Much of the project's intent was to make the ceiling as clean as possible with the hope of highlighting the sky view. I wouldn't have guessed, but the view now being 14x14 really makes a difference versus the < 13x13 inside area of the old plastic garnish with rounded inside corners. Also the daytime view is softened since there's no glare from the white plastic flange. A bonus was covering up marks in the hull liner from the air con and two ceiling lights. Next challenge is to do the same casing to the vent/fan over the galley.
But wait... do we know about that overall wood liner you've put up? Did I forget or miss that?
A couple posts up, I linked the material which I "think" it is. The layout wasn't too bad, but nothing in this rig is truly square/perpendicular/flat, so some "angular influence" is employed to get things looking flush/even. I made a cardboard template for radii fitment, and just measured for vent hole locations. Having a large workbench was pretty helpful since this stuff is thin and flimsy. Sharp blades are critical to minimize chip-out, and the rounded corners naturally have a grain transition of 90 degrees which required some finesse to eliminate delamination. Am I boring anyone yet? I'm pleased with the appearance, but I had to rummage through the better part of a bundle to find a sheet with a near-flawless side across 8 feet.
Must know more!
Whatever you want to know buddy, feel free to ask away ;) .
On the topic, does your rig have a little extra thickness (like 1/2") in places? Mine has something like a built-down pad (this is all under the carpet) from the AC on forward (so AC, forward light, and fan areas) and then another little individual one back toward the galley that is just for a fluorescent light. Figured I'd add some thin insulation to bring the whole thing level if I put on some sort of ceiling.
That sounds a bit different than mine (I have a 3/4" plywood core). There were definitely spots that were not of equal thickness, primarily where the wires go to the air con and light fixtures.

Re: "Skylight" for standard 14"x14" roof hole (removed Air-con)

Posted: April 16th, 2018, 10:54 am
by eporter123
Blue_go, thanks for the idea on butyl and flashing. I did that this weekend with a piece of flashing off a big roll I've got kicking around, and used some Dicor Butyl off amazon. So far it's sealed up real well. Kinda wish I'd just gone with some acrylic to begin with, but I was having too many ideas for the opening and the flashing works for now. Plus a few dollars of butyl tape.

Re: "Skylight" for standard 14"x14" roof hole (removed Air-con)

Posted: April 16th, 2018, 9:37 pm
by Blue~Go
Glad this thread was helpful.

Just as a note: The only butyl I've found in the last decade that is equal to the good stuff of yore (which is really good!) is Bed-It sold by Compass Marine (a fellow sailor who has it made to his specs). I think it's also being sold in some marine stores now too (same name of Bed-It).

I'm particularly sensitive to this right now as I re-did ALL the windows in a fiberglass camper and at the time was not able to get Bed-It. So I went with a roll from a respected supplier to the vintage RV market. Um... no. The windows were leaking within a month! I did a test where I took a strip of an old roll I had left over from twenty years ago and a roll of the new stuff and whereas the old stuff would stretch out for FEET like good pizza cheese, the new stuff broke after like three inches.

So anyway, I put the trailer in covered storage for a few years (I just couldn't face doing them all again right away) and just last week removed every last window. Again. The "butyl" came off in chunks (vs. being gooey like it is supposed to be). I'll now be re-doing them all, but this time with Bed-It . It passes the gooey stretch test just like the old stock roll.

(Side note: A friend and I were doing our sets of trailer windows together. We did his first and I used the last of my old stock roll of butyl. HIs never leaked. Started with the new (non-Bed-It) roll with mine and .... leak city.

You may be fine but I just want to mention it in case. Had I only ever used the ... ahem... "other" roll I would hate butyl. It was more like putty (but was definitely labeled and sold as butyl).

Re: "Skylight" for standard 14"x14" roof hole (removed Air-con)

Posted: September 28th, 2021, 7:21 am
by Newgmole
Any new information on this post…
Have a small leak at ac seal, in Lake Poncha train,
on the roof… trying to decide what to do about this. I love the idea of a skylight, but I’m not into all the work associated with doing that. Thinking maybe I’ll try some Di-Cor sealant to seal it up before making any drastic changes. Anybody have any thoughts on what this would do for the resale value of the rig?