Structural Glass Roof Light Designs

The first, and simplest, design option is a single fixed rooflight, this can be installed upon an upstand with the external panel of glass stepped over the edges of the upstand and back painted, hiding all fixings and construction.There is also the option to install these single pane fixed rooflights into a pitched roof with a flush external finish for a smooth sloped roof design.Longer, thinner rooflights, or strip roof lights, consist of multiple panels of glass silicone jointed together to form a longer glass construction.Externally the frameless roof light can be finished in exactly the same way as a single pane roof light; on an upstand with the external pane stepped and back painted to hide all construction.

If you opt for a larger roof light, or glass roof, where the glass joints are longer than 1.5m, you will need to consider an internal supporting structure for the silicone joints. The design options here will depend on your preferred interior design and other feasibility considerations.

A glass beam supported roof will create a clearer, frameless glass roof light design. Here opt for low iron glass in the glass beams to reduce green tints to these thick structural glass components.

Alternatively you could create a slim framed internal design to your glass roof by using slim steel supports under the silicone joints of the glass roof construction.

Frameless 3D glass roof lights can be created by using various structural glass construction methods such as strengthening interlayers and shaped glass beams, depending on the roof light shape and size.

A boxed roof light, or eaves roof light, normally consists of a horizontal roof pane with a supporting vertical pane of frameless glass, creating a two sided glass box construction to the roof. Using strengthening interlayers within the glass construction will allow these eaves roof lights to be installed framelessly.

For a more complex glass structure you could opt for a frameless lantern rooflight. Silicone joints can seal the frameless glass units together in a traditional lantern shape whilst using frameless beams instead of framing support creates a more contemporary roof light design.