Looks great Staceyneil!

We installed two smaller Solatubes in an interior upstairs hallway during our renovation, and when the city's electrical inspector came out, he demanded to know why we had installed those lights and covered them in without allowing him to inspect them first. He was amazed to find out there were no lights in them --

OH stacey... I'm so glad you posted this as my kitchen is in the middle of the house. I hope to eventually install a solartube. What diameter is yours?

Stacey, it looks fantastic! I'm so jealous! I really wanted a solatube, but DH was hesitant to cut into the roof. I'll make him read this post.

I get so excited when I log in and see you've posted a new pic. Everything is coming along so nicely.

What color are your walls? On my monitor they look like pale purple and so does the ceiling. I read another post that said the tubes give off a bluish cast which has me just a bit concerned. I have one tube ready to go into a yellow hallway and another into a teal green bathroom. I'm hoping for lots of light but not color changing light.

Thanks!!

remodelfla- It's the basic 10". I got the light kit (not yet installed) and the "warm" lens. the light was most definitely bluer before we swapped out the lens!

laxsupermom- tell your DH my husband said it was WAY easier than the instructions made it seem. Like I said, DH was really nervous about it, and he said it was very simple. If your DH wants to chat with mine about it, I am sure he'd be happy to!

mileaday- Our walls are totally plain white right now. Ceiling, too. We bought the optional warm lens which definitely is the way to go. Before we put it in, the light was quite blue.

We had a Velux one installed about 2 weeks ago. The amount of light that comes into the kitchen is incredible. For the first day or so, I was actually looking for the off switch thinking I had the light on! It does feel a little unnatural (almost like fluorescent light), but you will get used to it soon!

(You are so lucky that your DH is so talented. I wish DH installed ours. That would have saved us quite a few $$$!)

Very nice!

I just read this informative post on light tubes. A Solatube rep stopped by and gave further info about different options you can get for these (not sure if it's just for Solatube or light tubes in general).

Here is a link that might be useful: Home trends to watch: sun tunnels

I just got mine installed as well by a company in Pleasanton ( SolaBrite). Kitchen looks great. I didnt notice a bluish light. I am very very happy with mine. Cant say enough about how great their installers were. Very clean professional and courteous.

Janna

PS. My neighbor put in the Velux and I its amazing how much more light mine puts out than hers. She is very jealous (lol). She actually may end up pulling the Velux out and replacing with a Solatube.

Oh yea.. I got the optiview lens. Looks beautiful.

amazing amount of light coming in! i have a skylight in my 'future' kitchen - i love it! i also have a window over the sink, but the skylight lets in so much more light!

That really IS amazing! I have two questions about the tubes. First, is there an issue with heat coming in, along with the light? Second, is there a way to "turn them off" if I didn't want the light? I can turn off an electric light or close blinds or curtains, but what about the tubes?

holligator-

I don't think heat is an issue... I didn't read about that in all the research I did. Then again up here in Maine we generally take all the free heat we can get :)

About turning it off: there IS an optional feature you can buy. It's actually a dimmer switch-- basically a shutter/damper thing inside the tube that is operated by a remote switch (lightswitch on the wall someplace). I would have gotten it, but it was like $225 for the aparatus plus switch, I think! I CAN see that possibly being an issue sometimes, like if we're eating or watching a movie in the adjascent LR or DR and want to turn it off. Hopefully, if it becomes really that important, it won't be too difficult to retrofit!

Stacy, thanks for the offer. I told my DH how easy you said it was and he kind of snorted at me. He says he's done on the roof until September. We just opened our pool a couple of weeks ago and he's been up on the roof tinkering with the solar heat panels for the pool.(They wouldn't interfere with placement of my solatube) I had him take care of any mold and loose shingles on the roof while he was up there. He didn't completely shoot me down this time, though. I expect to get the tube eventually.

Oh I can relate. Dh was really procrastinating doing the roof work!! He thought it was going to be a huge ordeal.... worked himself up to it by installing two PVC DWv vent pipes a few days earlier (which he thought would be way easier). But seriously, the entire solatub install -start to finish- took him only a few hours. He was thrilled.

I've had a Solatube in my interior hallway for about 9 years. Best $700 I ever spent. I still reach for the light switch at times. As far as I can tell there's zero heat gain from it...I don't have A/C and my hallway is the coolest part of my house in the summer. I hate bluish light and I'd say the light from mine is quite close to natural daylight.

I could really use more light in one half of my living room. However, I have a sloped ceiling and am afraid that the round Solatube "eye" will look odd and out of place.

Make sure you get the 30% tax CREDIT. Unfortunately the tax credit stopped jun 1st, and I didn't get mine in time as the only local company who does them was backed up.

Glad I was told about this site also. I posted one on the lighting forum in May of 2008 (under "luv them...") & am still getting messages posted on that one! We have two of the 14 inch ones that come down from a 10 ft. high attic. Since we had solarpanels installed years ago (luv them also!), the light in the den had to be placed beside them & we also have vigas in our rooms so the light source is somewhat impeded by them but anyway we couldn't have asked for such a dramatic change! Don't know about the other brands (Lowe's & Home Depot carry some of them) but we sure are sold on the Solatube brand & the local installer for them. Friend has had 7 Solatubes for many years & we felt her love of them & experience was what sold us on that brand.

One other vote of confidence for these solatubes. We installed one in a bathroom that was a combination with a fan. It solved several design dilemnas and one of the best things we did for that particular remodel.

Now I regret getting the Velux version! I did not realize that the Solatube brand was that much better. Oh well...live and learn, right?

I will consider getting a Solatube for my upstairs hallway.

Would anyone be willing to share what their solatube looks like from the roof? Is it a large bubble or fairly unobtrusive?

Our neighborhood has strict covenants regarding sky lights and I'm not sure we could get it approved, but I desperately want one in our upstairs hall/stairwell area.

The solatube's roof dome is DEFINTELY more noticeable than one of the Velux models (their "low-profile" one is pretty unobtrusive). If mine had been on the front of the house I might have gone for the Velux, despite my research indicating that the Solatube was a better unit (and offered more options like the warm effect lens).

I'll try to get a pic tomorrow-- I'm driving to Boston for my marble counter patterning today!

There is a new Solatube product line that just came out and qualifies for the 30% tax credit. It's called eChoice and I know it's on their website under the homeowners section.

Here is a link that might be useful: Solatube website

beth2002, thanks for pointing that out. I am so excited to get some of these...perfect for our small interior bathrooms, especially with the fan! And awesome for our kitchen, which will have no windows at either end, but not in the heart of the cooking/prep/cleanup area.

Thanks all for sharing pics and experiences with these!

Nice!

I want some in my kitchen...Do you think my boys will notice if we punch them up through the middle of their bedroom...? LOL

Enjoy!

We have three of the Velux tubess

Two above our stairs to the basement, and one above our shower in the bathroom. I cannot say enough good things about them. They sure do brighten up a dark area.

I am so curious about the glare. I am thinking of installing some in my kitchen and dining area which are both north facing. I was going to add the light bulb kit so i could use them as actual lights at night. I'm talking the real light bulb...not to he solar powered night light. Please let me know about the glare! Below is a pic of my kitchen. This is with no lights on. As you ca see it's quite darjer than the living room on the left.