Skylights have traditionally been a point of weakness in the roof. Traditional skylights can break when they’re impacted by heavyweights, whether that’s from a falling tree, a wind-borne object, or a falling person who is working on the roof. A skylight that cracks and breaks must be fixed at great expense, but what’s worse, a skylight that breaks can be a hazard that can cause a serious injury or even a fatality.
Any and all skylights should come with fall protection as part of the skylight product. A well-constructed skylight should be able to withstand a high impact, a blow from a falling person, or a sudden high gust of wind from a hurricane. Now, thanks to new technology, VTECH skylights can. Our skylights are the safest in the business, meeting and exceeding expectations for safety standards and building codes. Here’s what you need to know.
No Maintenance
The only reason to perform maintenance on a skylight is if it’s deteriorating over time. Maintenance stops the slow, steady deterioration and restores a skylight to its former condition. While it’s always good to perform maintenance on a skylight that needs it, even better is to own a skylight that needs no maintenance.
VTECH skylights require no maintenance. Our skylights are solid-state, which means they’re leak-proof no matter what they’re exposed to. They don’t deteriorate the way traditional skylights do, and thus they don’t need to be brought back to a former state with regular maintenance. You can expect them to last.
This is good for safety because deterioration causes skylights to develop weaknesses, and those weaknesses can lead to accidents and damage during storms.
Meets and Exceeds Certifications
Skylights must meet a variety of building codes in order to be safe enough to use. VTECH skylights meet all those building code expectations – and exceed them. You can see what we mean on our certifications page, but to give you some idea of how well VTECH skylights perform:
- We dropped a 600 pound bag on our skylights and though the glass cracked, the laminate seal held the weight.
- We shot the skylight with balls of solid ice weighing 64 grams each at speeds of 75 mph, and the skylight was unscathed.
- We subjected the skylight to 250 mile per hour winds, and the seal around the glass held.
- We shot the skylight with an eight-foot wooden 2×4 traveling at 50 feet per second, and the glass cracked, but the laminate seal held.
We’ve posted videos of our tests on our skylight certifications page, so you can see them for yourself. The videos are fun to watch and also impressive – take a look!
RIM Technology Makes It All Possible
RIM technology is what makes VTECH skylights possible. RIM stands for reaction injection molding. This is the same process that allows car manufacturers to create a skylight that never leaks for vehicles. Polyurethane and Isocyanate is injected into a mold and then cured and bonded to a glaze, making the skylight one big piece.
This is why they won’t break. This is why, when our skylights are subjected to some of the toughest, harshest conditions, they continue to hold. Our skylights can hold the weight of the 600-pound bag, can withstand being shot by a 64-gram ball of ice, and can be subjected to 250 miles per hour winds. They can be subjected to years of heat and cold, ice and freezing temperatures, and they’ll never deteriorate like traditional skylights. They simply keep going and hold up.
Safer for You, Your Property
All of this amounts to safety. VTECH skylights are safe during storms. They’re safe during high wind events, during unexpected falls on the roof, during times of high pressure and when they’re covered in snow, and when a branch falls on your roof.
They’re just safe, by design.
Want Safe Skylights? Contact VTECH
VTECH proudly creates some of the toughest, most durable skylights available. If you’re hoping to install safe skylights in your home, contact VTECH to learn more about our revolutionary solid-state RIM technology skylights.