Stained Glass Attic-Hatch

[MulesMarinair]

Hi,
My Victorian 2 storey detached has no loft insulation at all (...and its in Scotland, so the summer can't come quick enough at the moment!)

It will be insulated but what I'd like to ask about is the attic hatch -

Its a large glass hatch, with a stained glass trim (all single glazed).
Its a really pretty feature, but probably won't be all that energy efficient when the insulation goes into the rest of the Loft.

Any suggestions as to how to improve it (or if its worth keeping in the long run?)

Thanks
GT

 

[David Q]

Secondary double glazing on the loft side should help. You may need to increase the depth of the hatch to match the insulation depth as well, but I would try to keep the 'see through' of the glass.

 

[MulesMarinair]

Thanks David. They worked on the roof about 20 years ago and put in a small sky-light at the back, so there is day-light coming from the loft side that lights it up in a subtle way. It would be a shame to lose it.

 

[NT]

I dont know why youre considering getting rid of it. Secondary glazing is fairly simple to apply.


NT

 

[chuckey]

Why not turn this feature into a crude "light pipe". Build a box between the two sky lights and paint the inside of it brilliant matt white. This will also stop dust from the loft settling on the top of the lower one.
Frank

 

[NT]

Why not turn this feature into a crude "light pipe". Build a box between the two sky lights and paint the inside of it brilliant matt white. This will also stop dust from the loft settling on the top of the lower one.
Frank

might make loft access tricky


NT

 

[MulesMarinair]

...I'm having visions of the original Willy Wonka movie when I try to picture that!

Any suggestions as regards sealing the secondary glazing?
Ye Olde Readers Digest / Collins have velcro & insulation strip combination, as well as a frame/holder

Weight won't be an issue as it will be lying flat on top of the old hatch.

Thanks again for the feedback

 

[NT]

Secondary glazing is not normally sealed. If its lying flat on the wood frame of the entrance hole, how about foam strip draught excluder applied round the edge of the sheet glass, then it can simply be placed on the frame. To enter, you just lift and move it.


NT

 

[David Q]

Add a strip of wood around each side (to turn it into a shallow box. Make a rebate along each side top (you can use two strips, the inner about a centimetre lower) This gives you a secure base for the glass (acrylic sheet if you prefer). Fix draught excluder to the rebate, then use L clips (sold for secondary glazing) to hold the sheet in place. Dont rely on gravity if you are lifting the hatch for access.

 

[arl]

Ive never heard of a glass loft hatch before. Do you think it is original? With no windows in the loft you wouldnt really have seen it would you. sounds very quirky. Nice feature though. Any chance of a picture?

 

[plumbers mate]

I have a glass loft hatch but I also have two very small wooden ones which I can squeeze through for access to the roof.
The Glass one is so high you need oxygen and abseil ropes to get to it (not really - it's 16ft high over the half landing, but it seems like very high to me)
It's aim was to act as a skylight as it's under the glass skylight set in the slates - not very efficient but better than nothing until the cobwebs build up and I have to go into the roof to clean it.
The glass "hatch" lifts out as an ordinary wooden hatch would but it's double the width (two joist gaps wide as oposed to the single width) therefore it's a bit heavy to lift out and a more than a bit scary to drop back into place.
You couldn't do as you would with the usual wooden hatch ie climb a step ladder and push the hatch up into the roof and to the side.

I liked the idea of a large box-type "light-tube" and in the past have tried drawing one up which isn't as easy with the differences in size and the slope of the roof etc, but what stopped me was it would make the roof space very dark as the skylight saves having a light in the roof. One of the farmhouses in the Keilder Valley had a similar design which was my inspiration (Those houses were razed to the ground to make way for the reservoir)

 

[NT]

ali foil would make a very simple light tube. No absolute need for a rigid structure at all, just 4 pieces of string ata minimum. Light leakage into the loft would occur, or the tube could be taken up to 2/3 of the skylight instead of all of it etc. Just more options.

NT

 

[MulesMarinair]

Here you go, its not the best as it wasnt very bright when i got home last night or rose this morning, the colours aren't as saturated as in the pic.

As well as requiring insulating, it needs a good clean too! Its about 4 foot long

 

[Nemesis]

It's rather lovely actually. We have a small glass light over the stairs but it is double glazed and the loft hatch is separate. It does help with light on the stairs where before it was very dark, as there is a tiny rooflight above, but yes it gets very mucky I agree.

 

[Moo]

I reckon that some imaginative person long ago found a good use for a discarded window. Recycling has a long and noble history.

Is there any chance that you could just leave it as it is, with the addition of double-glazing, and make a new loft-hatch somewhere else?

 

[MulesMarinair]

That's the plan. Its right over the stairs, so you'd need a harness and belayer if you were to try to access it safely!
I'll put the new hatch in a better position.