Internal perspex glass for atrium.

[almostthere]

I have an internal Atrium about 8' x 8'. This leads to a skylight type dome on the roof of our home. The atrium is about 30' from top to bottom.

I am convinced that all the heat from our home is just escaping through this "chimney" space or at least collecting in this huge well.

I was thinking of putting a simple piece of perspex type glass at the base of this atrium to stop the heat from escaping upwards. (Basically a false glass/perspex ceiling).


It would need to be of good quality clear glass type that would allow the natural light to shine through but we would also need to be able to take this off every couple of years to give it a good clean, so probably would need to be bendable.

Has anyone done this or can anyone offer any solutions or thoughts and maybe recommend an installer?

or something like this.

Concealed Blinds for Windows and Doors

www.blindspace.com

 

[Leo]

Perspex doesn't have good thermal insulation properties. You should consider a double glazed unit fitted in an appropriate frame.

 

[newirishman]

Or maybe just a ceiling fan?

 

[Buddyboy]

30' is a very tall chimney. Is it all going through attic space? The first thing I 'd do (and have done with our one, which is smaller/shallower), is to ensure it is completely insulated in the attic space. I surrounded it with Aeroboard in the attic to ensure minimal heat loss.

What Leo is saying makes sense, but an 8' x 8' double glazed window is going to possibly be excessively heavy (and costly).

 

[almostthere]

Thanks. Yes it goes through the attic and is fully insulated. I am not sure how good the roof skylight is though. When it's windy out you can see the cobwebs blowing about, so there must be some sort of gap at the top/skylight.

I am just trying to stop the heat from our hall and landing disappear up the funnel type space. It is too costly to be heating a large void area.

 

[Leo]

What Leo is saying makes sense, but an 8' x 8' double glazed window is going to possibly be excessively heavy (and costly).

Yeah, a standard uPVC double glazed window without openings would weigh less than 100kg all in and cost ~€1,000, but laying one of that size on its side at height would likely mean toughened glass and some thought into securing it very well!