How good are roof windows?

Hello.

Our room above the garage should get more light than the gable provides. Since we don’t want to add another dormer now, it should be done with roof windows.

In not-so-new houses, water stains are often seen on those things, and there are reports of sealing problems – which is quite off-putting for me.

It is also said that sleeping underneath during rain is uncomfortable because it’s noisy.
Presumably, the roller shutter breaks faster too, e.g., during hail.

What are your opinions on this topic? Are those things any good and do they last 50 years?
I know that most people here in the forum are rather new builders and therefore have no long-term experience – but maybe there are some enlightening comments after all... ;-)

They will probably not last 50 years, but with good care, quite a long time. We had to replace the windows under the roof in our multi-family house after 23 years. However, they were not cared for at all and have now become permeable. Regarding noise: that is relative. After all, a normal roller shutter is not necessarily quiet in strong wind and rain.

So when it comes to volume, I can only say that in our former apartment we had the best soundproofed ones on the market from the market leader with V, and during rain or even hail it was quite annoying, but the bed was also directly underneath. However, it is nice when you can look at the stars lying in bed. I mean, ours were made of plastic-coated wood, so quite low-maintenance and they were also tight. However, a big disadvantage is the cleaning (depending on what is underneath) and when there is snow you don't want to open them...

Full quote replaced by direct address to @Neige
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Hello
Did the double casement windows have shutters?

Our self-builder says that such windows are guaranteed to last 10 years, anything beyond that is a bonus. So you have to expect that at some point they will need to be replaced.

In my parents' house, they lasted 17 years, now the time has come...

As Peanuts already said: when there is snow on them, it gets dark and you really shouldn’t open them then :p

Even when it rains, you should definitely be at home, or rather never leave the windows open. However, at least the ones I know have a ventilation function, so you can open a ventilation slot even with the window closed. But if it rains heavily, water will get in through there as well.

There are, I believe, fixed double casement windows, so not openable, which probably last a bit longer.

We had them without shading because the rooms where we had the windows were hardly used. I would definitely recommend shading/darkening.

If you want to use the room regularly, I would definitely consider adding a dormer. If I remember correctly, the knee wall is not very high either. That way you gain space and don’t have to worry about tightness and noise :cool:

We have double-glazed double casement windows from Roto and even there I don't find the noise level that bad. They are made of plastic and at least don't seem unstable or anything like that. But of course... time will tell.