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cannesdo's avatar
cannesdo
Explorer
Jul 09, 2022

Acrylic sheet to replace skylight bubble?

I'm selling my Alpenlite 5th wheel. I can't find a replacement skylight bubble for it and the old one is on its last legs so I had the idea to replace it with just a flat sheet of acrylic. That would work, wouldn't it? It's 30x38". How thick would you want the acrylic to be? I'm thinking at least 1/4". And acrylic or polycarbonate?

Thanks much...
  • wildtoad wrote:
    As I recall they had build a frame to raise the sheet off the roof just a bit.


    That is the curb and it's purpose is to raise the seal off the roof to prevent water puddling on top of the seal and working it's way thru the seal eventually.
  • Will this work? not cheap and a little bit larger. But if the inner dome hides that it's larger I would think it would not matter.
    Link
    The measurements on the picture don't match the measurements in the description so you might need to reach out to them and ask which is correct.

    They also seem to offer a custom skylight creation for $239 if you have to go that route.
    Custom
  • I used butyl tape as the first layer of sealant, then screw it down, and then seal the edges with self leveling sealant!
  • Once I bought a used MH and the po had replaced bathroom skylight with a flat piece of plastic/acrylic. As I recall they had build a frame to raise the sheet off the roof just a bit. I think the reason was to allow for the headroom lost when you remove the inner and outer bubble. May not be a problem if skylight is not in the shower. What are your plans to dress up the hole on the inside.

    I think “curb” should read “curve”. I’m not sure it matters as I don’t believe the bubbles have a curved bottom.
  • agesilaus wrote:
    Make sure you get the sealant problem fixed.
    ..... And if there is a curb above the roof surface, preserve that.


    Thanks for the input. I have the self-settling sealant which works well. If there's a curb? What do you mean by that? The frame that was around the old bubble? Yes, I'm going to replace that. But I may need a machine shop to router the edges of the acrylic so they are thinner and can accommodate the frame then caulk around it as usual. It just won't be a bubble window like before.
  • Make sure you get the sealant problem fixed. We went thru this on a house skylight and never got it sealed and it always leaked. Finally covered it over with roofing.
    So look at how it is sealed now and duplicate that, don't spare the sealant. I'd use at least 0.25in lexan. And if there is a curb above the roof surface, preserve that.
    Our two skylights are hazed over but we aren't looking out of them and they aren't leaking. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Engineering law.