Topic windows during attic conversion

Hello everyone,

we want to convert our attic and accommodate two children's rooms in it. In addition to 2 dormers with "normal" windows, 3 skylights are also planned. It's specifically about these windows that concern me. We have the following questions:

[*]Double or triple glazing?
[*]Which manufacturer (is there a recommendation)?
[*]What kind of darkening/heat protection to use (inside/outside/roller shutters)?

A few more details:

[*]House + planned conversion to KfW-55 standard
[*]Bungalow with a relatively shallow roof (25°)
[*]Affected skylights all face west

Many thanks for your tips!

Hello,

personally, we had very good experiences in our former apartment with roof windows from Velux.

However, these were only double-glazed (year of construction 2001). For darkening and heat protection, we used internal thermal roller blinds, also from Velux, and were very satisfied with these as well.

My sister, on the other hand, equipped her roof windows with shutters – since then, her most frequent visitor is the shutter mechanic...

When building our house in 2014 - 2015, we completely refrained from using roof windows because:

- triple-glazed roof windows are very heavy – therefore, electric operation is recommended. However, this significantly increases the price.

- the susceptibility of roof windows to hail damage

I would therefore recommend that you consider whether you really want the double casement windows (as nice as they are) or whether you could possibly compensate for them with floor-to-ceiling elements in the dormers or the gable sides.

Regards,

Dirk

Hail is, in my opinion, not a problem for roof windows; at my parents' place, we have had no issues with it in 40 years anyway (double glazing). Originally, wooden windows were installed, which eventually started to rot, so they were replaced with plastic windows. On that occasion, electric exterior blinds were also installed. That was almost 10 years ago now, but since the blinds are made of plastic, theoretically a slat could actually break during heavy hail if they are down. So far, it has maybe only hailed during the day, and it might also depend on the place of residence how often it actually occurs.
One problem with Velux blinds is that they tend to freeze up relatively quickly in winter and can no longer be moved. They have certainly not been defective yet; the motor immediately blocks if the resistance is too high.

Thank you very much for your answers!

At the moment, we are also leaning towards Velux with double glazing.

Regarding roller shutters, we have already read about so many problems that we would rather do without them. Not to mention that these things are almost as expensive as the window itself. Your statements reinforce our opinion.

: what kind of internal thermal blinds did you use? I looked on the Velux website, and the blackout blinds seem to make the most sense to me. However, they say nothing about heat protection. Did you have something like that or something completely different?

Hello,

hm, I just searched again on the Velux website - but really didn't find anything.

From the description, the blackout blinds come closest to our blinds - however, I couldn't find anything more about the thermal component.

The back of our blinds was covered with a "kind of aluminum foil" that reflected the sun.

Maybe someone at Velux can give you information about this directly. We bought and installed our blinds in 2001.

Regards,

Dirk

I installed roller shutters myself on the double casement windows in our old apartment and wouldn't have wanted to do without them. The heating of the room is significantly reduced and also noise from rain, if bedrooms are located here.

But it is true: these shutters can freeze in winter and then can no longer be opened. Then it stays dark. But this may be less relevant in NW.