Installing roof windows?

Hello dear community,

our shell construction including windows and exterior door is mostly complete, and now we fear that our hallway might become a bit dark. I have tried to illustrate the situation in the PDF. The orange arrows represent the light rays entering the hallway (= green bordered area).
We have a glass door adjacent to the vestibule, as well as a floor-to-ceiling window element adjacent to the living-dining room. In the vestibule at the front door itself is a floor-to-ceiling frosted glass element. On the east side of the vestibule there is also a floor-to-ceiling window element. We have relatively many light entries in the living room.
If all doors in the house are closed, no more light comes into the hallway.

The hallway is open upwards to the attic. In this area we could now imagine installing a roof window on our 45-degree saddle roof (pink marking), so that some natural light falls into the hallway. From a plastering point of view, the whole thing will probably be somewhat difficult, but the benefit should not be underestimated. The roof window would be on the north side of the roof, i.e. there is actually no direct sunlight.

Of course, it would be advantageous to install the window during the shell construction phase. After the house is finished, the roof insulation etc. would have to be taken out again.

Has anyone here in the forum faced the same decision? Should one wait for a decision to see how the lighting conditions really are afterwards, or can one already see here that the hallway will be permanently too dark?

What do you think? Many thanks in advance for your experiences,

Axellent

We also ordered one last week. We have now been living in the house for 2 years and were annoyed after moving in that we didn’t install one in the hallway. Now it is being done afterwards so that there is finally light in the darkness again. It would certainly be cheaper and easier during the shell construction. If I were you, I would do it :-)

Why no artificial light?

Hi, I actually didn’t want a skylight - but after we saw the house that served as a model for ours (OK, the architect had some good improvement suggestions, and I added a few small detail improvements as well), it was clear: a skylight has to be there. It sits exactly above the stairwell, right in the middle of the house’s longitudinal axis. It’s inconvenient for cleaning, also necessarily requires a motor drive since you can’t reach it without a ladder, but ... I would have missed it terribly! Artificial light can’t replace what it’s like when the blue sky is visible up there - and even when the rain is pelting down on it - I would have missed it!

Good evening,

The hallway is open upwards to the attic. In this area, we could now imagine installing a roof window on our 45-degree gable roof (pink marking) to let some natural light into the hallway. Plastering will probably be somewhat difficult,

I would not install a double casement window at this point, especially if it cannot be opened electrically. The issue of noise – besides the almost impossible effort to clean at this spot – is also not insignificant.

There are so-called daylight spots – prismatic domes – that "capture" and concentrate daylight. If I am not mistaken, such a spot can also be used as a "lamp" via electrical wiring during dark hours.

I have attached an example for you; with this system, we designed a dark hallway into a bright and friendly area. For a little over a year, these spots have also been available from the best-known double casement window provider. The costs are comparable to those of a good double casement window.

Rhenish greetings from on the go

Hello everyone and thank you for your opinions. We have also already considered these daylight spots, I also thought they were really great. Unfortunately, you can also find quite a few negative opinions about them on the internet (especially regarding tightness). Of course, you can't always believe everything that is written there and it also depends on the manufacturer and installer. How is it with cleaning the spots? We have planned enough artificial light in the hallway, as well as spots at the stairs. Natural light is just something completely different. And even if it is not economically relevant, it is naturally nice to consume as little electricity as possible.