Skylights FAQ

Do you provide free on-site quotes?

Yes, if you are in our service area we will come out and perform an inspection to provide you with the right size skylight to suit your needs. You can give us a call on 1300 35 15 15 to talk with our friendly, helpful team or get a quote online.

Do you offer any warranties?

Yes, Supreme Skylights offer;
 – 10 year warranty on the Supreme Flexishaft & flashings
 – 10 year warranty for workmanship for the Supreme Flexishaft Skylight installation.
For full details of our guarantees, see our terms and conditions.

VELUX skylights and roof windows offer;
 – 10 year warranty on the unit
 – 3 year warranty on accessories eg: blinds.
For full details on VELUX warranties, follow this link.

Where the VELUX skylights are installed by Supreme Skylights, we will also back this with a 10 year warranty on the installation.

Redilight Solar Skylights offer;
7 year warranty on the LED light fitting
 – 5 year warranty on drivers
 – 5 year warranty on all Redilight approved parts & accessories
 – 1 year warranty on Redilight remote control handset
Redilight Solar Panels
 – 5 year warranty on materials & workmanship, 10 years 90% of rated output, 25 years 80% power output.
For full details on Redilight warranty policy, follow this link.

Do you have insurance?

Yes, Supreme Skylights is covered for;
Public Liability @ $20m for any one occurrence
Completed Work Liability @ $20m for any one occurrence
Property in care, custody or control up to $100k for any one occurrence
Along with Workcover & Fleet Insurance.

Are you licensed and qualified?

Yes, our installation team is qualified and our VBA Licence number is 38580. You can perform a licence number check here.

What sized skylight will I need?

The size of the skylight needed will depend upon several factors.

1. The dimensions of the room (length and width).
2. The distance between the floor and ceiling (height).
3. The purpose of the room / what it’s used for.
4. The number of windows already in the room.

Different room types require different light levels because the activities performed in each room varies. Your kitchen, for example, needs much more light than your hallway. As a general rule though, the bigger the skylight the brighter it will be.

We’ve written a guide on how to choose the ideal skylight which provides more information. Our friendly, experienced team can help you determine the right sized skylight for your situation.

What is the difference between a round and square skylight?

Certain situations will call for specific shapes of skylights but a square skylight of the same diameter as a round skylight, will let in significantly more light – approximately 21% more! For this reason Supreme Skylights try to avoid installing “solar-tube” based skylights. Square skylights also spread the light more evenly in a square or rectangular room.

Will a skylight save energy?

Yes, installing a skylight will provide a source of free natural light that will reduce the need to use lights, thereby reducing your electricity bill.

Will my skylight leak?

A well built skylight installed by professionals should not leak. However nothing is perfect, on old GAL roofs and flat roofs the installation is a little trickier however you can rest assured that an installation done by Supreme Skylights is covered by a 10 year workmanship warranty, therefore if you do have a leak we will attend and get things watertight.

Supreme Skylights makes custom flashings to suit your roof type and pitch making the likelihood of a leak extremely low. We promote a 99.5% surety.

Skylight Owners: Be Aware! When you or someone else is walking around the roof (tin especially) be very mindful around the skylight as you can break the weatherseal to your flashings and cause a leak.

If your skylight is leaking your first action is to have you or someone else cover the skylight on the roof with a tarp or similar cover. Weigh down the cover with bricks or if it’s the dome tie a rope or bungee cord around the throat of the flashing to hold the tarp in place. This will prevent water damage to the building. Then CALL Supreme Skylights 1300 35 15 15.

Can my skylight double as a regular light?

Yes, Supreme Flexishaft Skylights are available with an LED light option that is wired back to an existing switch.
The LED light strip used is 1000 Lumens of cool white light. Where a large skylight is installed we recommend two LED light strips be used.

How long does it take to install a skylight?

A standard skylight (A.K.A. “Flexishaft”) installation, without any complications, takes about 2-3 hours for each unit.

A VELUX skylight installation (1 to 2 windows) with a plaster shaft, excluding any complications, is 4 days of work plus drying time non consecutive. An indicative install would look like:
 – DAY 1: for the window(s) to be installed with the shaft framed out ready to be plastered & painted. Our team would be there for a full day.
 – DAY 2: Plastering of the shaft commences on a scheduled day/date confirmed with the client and plasterer. This stage is to hang the plaster & stop up (½ to 1 day). It takes approx. 3 days for the plaster to set before it can be sanded.
 – DAY 3: Plasterer returns to sand and applies the undercoat (½ to 1 day).
 – DAY 4: Final top coats to be applied (4-6hrs) includes drying time between coats.
The size of the shaft will determine the time the Plasterer/Painter will be on-site.

Factors such as difficult roofs, multiple skylights, electrical wiring or water pipes can increase the installation time.

How does a skylight work?

A skylight is similar to a regular vertical window except that it usually needs to pass through the building’s roof cavity (the space between the roof and the ceiling), either by a reflective shaft or a white plaster shaft also known as a light well.

A standard skylight is composed of five components. A dome, flashing, shaft, surround and a diffuser.

The top most part of a skylight is called the dome; it’s dome shape helps to capture as much light/suns rays as possible.
A weatherproof flashing is installed at the roof level to ensure no water penetrates the roof.
The shaft passes through the roof cavity and allows natural light to be funneled into the room, the shaft is made of highly reflective material to increase the light levels coming down the shaft.
The surround is fixed at the ceiling level similar to a window frame and allows the diffuser to sit within the surround.
The diffuser distributes the captured light more evenly throughout the room.

Does the ceiling surround come in different colours?

No. To blend with the majority of ceilings we use a white powder-coated ceiling frame.

What type of diffuser should I choose?

A diffuser is the panel located at your ceiling generally installed on a ceiling surround to assist in diffusing the light coming in from the skylight. Some diffusers assist in spreading the light around the room. All diffusers assist in softening the light so it’s not direct sunlight beaming down.

The 2 diffusers offered by Supreme Skylight are the same price so it just depends on the look you want inside the room. Both provide the same amount of light into the room.

1. Plain Opal Diffuser – Looks like frosted glass (plain opaque).
2. Prismatic Diffuser – Is a clearer diffuser with raised prisms all over. The prisms obscure any viewing up the shaft. The prisms do provide 5% more light spread around the room when compared to the Plain Opal.

What is a BAL rating and do I need to consider it?

The BAL rating is the Australian standard for measuring the risk of a home’s exposure to ember attack, radiant heat & direct flame contact The BAL rating determines the construction & building requirements necessary to protect homes in bushfire prone areas.

Generally homes in a built up area/township will not need to comply with a BAL rating. Please check with your local council if you are unsure. It is the customers responsibility to ensure any skylight installed will meet minimum standards for their area.

VELUX BAL rating = 40
Supreme skylight BAL rating = zero

If you are in a bushfire prone area and your original building permit required you meet a BAL rating then YES you will need to consider the type of skylight installed.

Supreme Skylights do offer a polycarbonate dome in lieu of our standard dome which provides a 12 BAL rating. Please let our team know if you need to have a certain rating to ensure the correct skylight is installed to your building.

Will installing a skylight result in any heat loss or gain?

A properly designed skylight will not cause any significant increase or decrease of heat. Light coming down the Light Shaft will always generate some kind of heat however depending on the skylight type and which way the skylight is facing to the sun will depend on how much.

Heat loss – With a hard shaft/plaster shaft it is a matter of physics…heat rises. During the winter months and at night if you have a blind fitted, close the blind to give added protection of heat loss up the shaft.

VELUX skylights are five star energy rated. Their double glazing keeps out 80% of heat and 99% of UV rays. Adding a blind will provide nearly 100% blockout of sun when closed. The honeycomb blind will provide an additional 60% heat reduction and the blockout blind will provide a 40% heat reduction.

Our standard skylights feature a closed shaft that insulates the internal room from the outside environment. An optional heat-shield can be added to the skylight to further improve it’s insulation factor, providing 99.9% protection from UV radiation. The heat shield is installed under the dome and traps hot or cold air between the dome and shield.

Should I get a heat shield with my skylight?

Where the roof cavity is minimal, e.g. under 1m, it’s recommended to install a heat shield. The larger the skylight the more it would be recommended a Heat Shield be installed to reduce heat/cold loss/gain.

Will the heat shield reduce light?

No. The heat shield is clear allowing all the light the dome lets in to pass through.

Which VELUX blind is best?

Not all of the VELUX windows offer both types of blinds however when there is a choice, Supreme Skylights recommends the honeycomb blind over the blockout blind. The honeycomb blind provides better protection against heat loss of 60% compared to 40% with the blockout blind. The honeycomb blind also sits better against the glass over the long term.

Do I need to have the blind installed at the same time of the skylight installation?

A VELUX blind or Supreme manual blind can be added any time.

VELUX provides a ‘Click & Install’ option with their blinds. This means that you do not need to have a degree to put them in but you will need a ladder that will reach safely to the window and a cordless drill to pre drill the screw holes. A complete installation guide comes with your blind should you wish to install them yourself.

A Supreme manual blind is best installed by Supreme Skylights as it does require a slight modification to the ceiling surround.

Do blinds come in any other colours?

No. There is no selection of colours available. All blinds are made to integrate/blend with white ceilings. VELUX Europe does have colour blinds but these are not available in Australia.

VELUX blinds are surrounded by a powder-coated white aluminium frame. The honeycomb blind (fully pleated) is silver & white. The blockout blind is white.

A Supreme manual blind has a powder-coated white frame, a silver fully pleated blind with a white powder-coated handle.

Can I install the skylight myself?

Supreme Flexishaft Skylights are available in a kit form as a DIY option. One person can install this type of skylight however two people are recommended.

VELUX Skylights can be purchased on a supply only basis for you or others to install. There are many VELUX YouTube installation guides available to assist with installing a VELUX window. Minimum two people required to complete the installation.

Supreme Skylights recommends that you, or the person installing the skylight, have basic carpentry skills, experience with power tools and be comfortable working at heights.

Any resources that are in the way e.g.: electrical wires, pipes, etc. must be attended to by a qualified professional.

Can I supply the skylight and have you install it for me?

Short answer…. Yes.
Long answer…. Yes, but…The skylight must be NEW and still in the box to ensure there is no time wasting collecting parts that should have been supplied.
Supreme Skylight will not install skylight brands not stocked by us, or 2nd hand skylights.