How can I cover this skylight?

[Ediblefrisbee]

Hi everyone, this skylight is in my bedroom and let’s a lot of light in - which is great during the day but wakes me up with very bright light early in the morning. How would you go about a blind for it? I am in a rental so not looking to spend a ton of money but I do have permission from my landlord to put a blind in.

thanks!!

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Ediblefrisbee. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about installing a blind.

The issue you'll need to overcome is installing a blind horizontally; most are designed for verticle surfaces. I'd imagine it would need to be some auto-retracting blind that remains tensioned when pulled out and clipped onto the far side of the opening when extended. I'm thinking of something similar to a pull-down projector screen used in schools or those old blinds commonly used on kitchen sink windows. However, they'd still need a clasp on the opposite side of the gap to hold them vertically.

Were you planning on closing this blind each evening and opening it the next day when you woke? If you were handy with a sewing machine, you could use a length of Windoware 2m Hooks And Eyes Expanding Curtain Wire Kit on either side of the opening and have a material blind that you could push back in the morning or draw across at night. You'd need a piece of fabric the same size as the opening and then add a folded hem on two sides that the wire could be fed through.

Have you considered adding tinting to the glass/plastic panels? Something like the Pillar 0.76 x 3m Automotive Tint Adhesive Window Film will block up to 63% of the light. However, this might be too much during the day. A frosting might be enough to soften the bright morning light while allowing a sufficient amount throughout the day.

Let me mention one of our knowledgeable members, @TedBear, to see if he has any neat solutions.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[TedBear]

Hi @Ediblefrisbee,

that's a problem that I haven't personally faced, so I can only offer a suggestion to consider...

(another option to consider was in a post in 2021 

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/t5/Living-and-Bedroom/Options-for-installing-a-skylight-blind/t... )

I would be considering

1) putting a diffuser across the opening, just to make it look better and distribute light more uniformly, since the "hole in the ceiling"approach would tend to throw most light as a square of light onto the floor.  You could consider using corflute for that if the hole skylight isn't too big, since it is light and cheap.

2. Using a timber Venetian blind, if you can find one about the right width.

(i.e. a blind with slats that aren't going to sag when mounted horizontally.)

You would need to modify it by cutting it off at the correct length to cover the hole, and refitting the bottom piece, which isn't too hard to do.

To keep it horizontal you would need to add an eyelet at each end of the the bottom strip.

You will then need to mount it in a timber frame to hold it all in place, such that the blind can be permanently tensioned (by the cord provided for that) to pull against the "top" of the blind and against the "bottom" of the blind, which is held in place by a hook at each end of the frame to catch on those added eyelets. (There will be no actual top and bottom once mounted horizontally.)  

You would then mount the frame containing the blind onto the ceiling, ensuring that the cords for operating the blind are at the wall end. Preferably near that corner.

The eyelets will need to be substantial (not the tiny ones) to withstand the constant tension.

Alternatively, depending on the blind's construction, you could insert large nails (points cut off) from each side of the frame to act as pins, which would keep the blind's bottom piece in place while allowing it to pivot.

The whole unit can be made at ground level.

If the blind seems like it will sag despite tensioning, you could add a timber (or metal) strip, with felt to protect the slats, down each side to prevent them sagging, especially when the slats are open.  

I hope that description makes sense.