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It all started with a post, the making of a skylight


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IMG_0122.JPG.ae30b3767a3f89b77997c2db3fbd6b7b.JPGHi folks

i just wanted to say thankyou all, back in May this year I posted that I was wanting a opening skylight.

and requesting plans, and who could build one for us.

Many thanks to Mike Jordon for making the plans and making these available to all.

the help and advice by ditchcrawler, Kevin

and then our Wotever  Tony who after a begging letter when he hinted he would make it for us.

hence this Monday Tony came down a second time to fit the skylight to our boat.

its a work of art

 

 

 

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Edited by bigcol
Adding more photos
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The above is Tony  Wotever after fitting the skylight.

to think that this was built from plans, by a forum member keeping us informed with photos etc.

the quality and the professionalism showing throughout  the project and the end result, from sourcing the timber, double glazing panels, all the Chrome bright work.

 

so whether he appreciate this, but for all your wood projects Wotevers your man

 

yes we're happy happy happy, and my wife has her openers

 

thank you Tony 

 

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1 hour ago, NB Lola said:

Great result guys, very impressed and wondering about one myself now!

This was all Tony, 

Tony done everything! From sourcing, hiring the van and the fitting and initial measuring up.

and of course the building of the skylight.

 

i just supervised

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Hi Col,

 

I'm happy for you to see that Tony made you such a beautiful skylight, that man surely knows how to work with wood.

 

Now it's up to you, to keep it as beautiful for the next (at least) 20 years.

 

Peter.

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1 hour ago, NB Lola said:

Great result guys, very impressed and wondering about one myself now!

Feel free to PM ;)

2 hours ago, bigcol said:

its a work of art

Cheers, Col :)

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Now keep on top of looking after the varnish on it Col. Every couple of years rub it down a bit and put on a new coat. We didn't and I recently had to take ours back to bare wood to refinish it from scratch. Looks nice again now but took bloody ages!

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Yes. It's double glazed

re the varnish Tony used although very expensive I bought a tin from eBay.

this unlike varnish doesn't crack flake away.

easy to put on and it lasts apparently. See photo

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1 hour ago, bigcol said:

Yes. It's double glazed

re the varnish Tony used although very expensive I bought a tin from eBay.

this unlike varnish doesn't crack flake away.

easy to put on and it lasts apparently. See photo

IMG_0116.JPG

Do you know what product was used to bed in the DG units? We need to replace one of ours I think. 

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2 hours ago, bigcol said:

Yes. It's double glazed

re the varnish Tony used although very expensive I bought a tin from eBay.

this unlike varnish doesn't crack flake away.

easy to put on and it lasts apparently. See photo

IMG_0116.JPG

I thought it might be Le Tonk. I am currently in the process of revarnishing my cratch and front doors with Le Tonk Vernis No.1, following successful experiments of using it on garden furniture.

Main problem with is is the number of coats they recommend along with the "allow 24 hours minimum between coats". Currently up to coat number 3 (of 5) with rain forecast for tomorrow. :angry:

Edited by cuthound
To unmangle the effects of autocorrect.
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Hi guys. I'm back in the land of t'internet again so I can answer some questions. 

First and foremost, Col never posted an image of the final thing, so here goes...

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The protective bars are stainless as per Col's wishes as they match the rest of his barge's fittings. Alternatives would be brass (lots of polishing potential!) or maybe ally. The bars are hinged to make cleaning the glass easy and the wooden supports sit proud of the window frames to avoid trapping water.

Timber: I used Utile (pronounced 'you-till-ee') for this job. Col wanted 'mahogany' so the common choice would be Sapele but Utile is a little nicer and isn't a whole lot more expensive. I bought the timber rough sawn and machined it to size myself. Rough cut looks like this;

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The glass is indeed double glazed with the lower pane being laminated and the top pane toughened. This way if the worst did ever happen the boat interior won't be showered with little pieces of glass everywhere. However, with the protective bars over the top and the top pane being toughened, you'd have to work hard to break it. 

Much as I normally hate the stuff the panes are bedded in with UV resistant brown silicone. My favoured bedding compound is just too soft to work in this application. 

The finish is indeed Le Tonkenois. 6 coats on most of the exterior, 3 coats on the interior. I suggested that Col adds another couple of coats all over. Le Tonkenois can't achieve the glass-like finish that Varnish can give but the shine is nevertheless deep and, most importantly, it won't flake and peel - simply go a bit dull. At which time, wipe any muck off it and give it another two or three coats. This picture shows my first experiment with it on this job (it later got sanded off):

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I think that's about it. Any more questions please feel free to ask. 

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Hi Col

It's considered best to shield the joining compound of sealed units from uv light. Normally the frames and beads do this but if not sign-writers' vinyl can be used. I've had to do this with my windows which I've made so that the sealed units tilt back thus exposing compound. You can just about make out the shielding in the photo.

 

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3 minutes ago, stegra said:

It's considered best to shield the joining compound of sealed units from uv light. Normally the frames and beads do this but if not sign-writers' vinyl can be used.

The manufacturer informed me that there shouldn't be a problem with the way I've fitted the panes. Time will tell I guess. The problem with applying anything to the glass edges with the panes only sitting at 15 degrees off horizontal is that it will trap water. As it is, Col has a flush surface from frame to silicon to glass, so water should run off freely. It's the way that Mike Jordon recommends it should be done. 

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8 minutes ago, WotEver said:

The manufacturer informed me that there shouldn't be a problem with the way I've fitted the panes. Time will tell I guess. The problem with applying anything to the glass edges with the panes only sitting at 15 degrees off horizontal is that it will trap water. As it is, Col has a flush surface from frame to silicon to glass, so water should run off freely. It's the way that Mike Jordon recommends it should be done. 

Ok. If the manufacturer is ok with it exposed it may be that the compound is uv resistant. I was aware of it because I sometimes fit sealed units in conservatory rooves with stepped units leaving an overhanging drip into the gutter. They generally have the vinyl over the spacer bar and joining compound.

 

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The panes in ours are bedded in with some sort of black silicone and it's show no signs of UV damage after several years. I pondered removing the panes and redoing the bedding when refinishing it but decided it was working fine so didn't touch it!

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9 hours ago, David Mack said:

Normal advice for double glazing is that there should be a drained air space around the seal between the two sheets of glass, as otherwise the seal can break down leading to misting between the panes. How do you deal with that?

But this isn't 'normal' double glazing fitment.   There are no fillets, beading, or other things to get in the way of or trap water. The design is specifically to allow water to drain freely. So as soon as it stops raining the whole area should dry quickly. With there being nowhere for water to sit, Jordan's design is intended to avoid any misting over time. Conventional DG will have water pooling at the lowest point, so drainage has to be incorporated to get that away from the units. If the seal breaks down and if the water gets in and if the panes mist up on this dog box design I'll be surprised but I'll sort it for Col in such an instance. Jordon doesn't mention any such problems with his design. 

9 hours ago, Giant said:

The panes in ours are bedded in with some sort of black silicone and it's show no signs of UV damage after several years. I pondered removing the panes and redoing the bedding when refinishing it but decided it was working fine so didn't touch it!

Indeed, if it ain't broke, don't fix it ;)

Edited by WotEver
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Oh... there's one other design feature that's pretty major. The ridge bar is held in place with two sliding bolts, and the screw openers for the lights have a spring-loaded quick-release plunger. So by sliding two bolts and releasing the two openers you can lift the whole shebang off the roof in seconds, giving a huge access hole into the boat for mattresses and other large items of furniture. 

(It's a good job I proof-read this, autocorrect had decided that the access hole would be good for mistresses.)

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Big Col: That looks bloomin' great on your boat, you must be so chuffed. Congrats on a fabulous modification. 

Tony WotEver: What a lovely looking piece of work. If I was any more impressed, I'd be more impressed than a bloke who was very impressed indeed!

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