Let There Be Lux

And the weather and Greenwich Mean Time combined to say "Let there be light," and there was.  I saw the light and it was good.

And it came to pass that the first of the Velux windows was fitted.

The timber bridles to form the opening for the Velux window had to be doubles up and i glued and screwed them together for additional strength.

The bridles had to be hung on the doubled up rafters using joist hangers.  The cut rafter ends also had to be hung on the bridle using joist hangers.  These were fitted before stripping out the existing skylight and creating the larger opening for the Velux. 

Even the small Velux windows (960mm x 600mm) are quite heavy, but thankfully the window sash separates from the frame quite easily.

To remove the sash on this top hung window you simply open the window fully using the bottom handle, then pull down fully the ventilation strip and spin the window a full 180 degrees.  This exposes the hinge and the securing pin.

Once the securing pin has been pushed in, the window can then be lifted out of the sash and laid aside.

Now that the rafter has been cut, the bridles fitted and the Velux prepared for fitting the window opening can now be formed.

Forming this opening was relatively simple as there was an existing skylight, so it was simply a matter of leaning out, stripping back the slates and then cutting the opening to the correct size.

The sash is fixed in place by screwing through the external brackets into the rafters.  Externally, there is a flashing kit fitted around the sash which is then slated over to provide a waterproof finish.  Daylight was fading fast at this point, so i didn't stop to take many pictures.  However, i've two more Veluxes to fit, so there'll be detailed pictures in a future post.

Re-fitting the sash was the reverse of removal, with the hook part of the sash being inserted into the frame hinge mechanism and the locking pin being pressed into place.  Then the sash is spun 180 degrees into place to its top hung position and closed normally using the handle.

The job took about 6 hours in total, which is not too bad for fitting my first Velux and doing my own slate work.

The Road to Partition

Divide and rule

The chimney breast partition had to be double sheeted with 12.5mm plasterboard, with the joints staggered.

As well as being screwed in place the 2nd layer of plasterboard was also stuck on with grab adhesive for good measure.

I've only double sheeted the right-hand side of the chimney breast partition to allow the en-suite partition to be constructed.  The left-hand side has been left un-sheeted just in case the Building Standards Inspector wants to check the insulation at the partition at the next stage of inspection.

The first part of the en-suite partition was then constructed using 3" x 2" timber, allowing for the door opening and the double thickness timbers at the rails, cripple studs and lintels.  The return leg of the partition will be done once the en-suite Velux is fitted and the full depth of insulation fitted at the ceiling and the walls.