Installing a DIY skylight

Do you want to make your patio brighter or add ventilation when you want to have a BBQ in the dry? It’s a great idea to install a skylight in your canopy. It’s easy to construct one yourself with crystal clear acrylic sheet or polycarbonate and the right tools! Acrylic is more convenient than standard glass, as it’s much lighter and easier to process. Read our blog for expert tips and advice.

To make a skylight roof window, you’ll need:

The basics of making your DIY shed skylight

There are endless options for making your own skylight with acrylic sheet, whether a DIY shed window or a flat roof skylight. Our demonstration shows you how to create a skylight window in your canopy roof and another on the side. Before starting your roof window, it’s first essential to determine the measurements accurately. Do you want to install a single skylight, or do you intend to construct several next to one other? Of course, it’s easiest to include a skylight when building your canopy, but retrofitting is also possible.

Step 1: Make a frame for your DIY skylight

Choose from wood, aluminium, plastic or steel for the frame. The advantage of the latter materials is that they are maintenance-free. Wood is cheaper, but you need to paint it regularly to stop it from rotting. On the other hand, wood looks beautiful and more natural. In our example, we’ve chosen a timber frame. Plastic can expand as the temperature changes, so ensure that you leave enough space around mounting holes to allow for expansion and contraction.

Step 2: Order your clear acrylic or polycarbonate

Now that you’ve worked out the measurements for your skylight, order the clear acrylic or polycarbonate sheets cut to size. Be careful to check that the thickness of your sheet matches the dimensions to prevent it from buckling. In this example, we used a 12 mm thick acrylic sheet.

Step 3: Mount the skylight in your roof

Mount the acrylic sheets on the wooden frame with screws provided with a sealing ring. Pre-drill the holes with a used metal drill. You’ll find more information about how to drill acrylic in our blog: “Drilling acrylic”. We used EPDM sealant in finishing the skylight in the canopy roof.