With summer coming it is important for us to finish our skylight trim so we can make coverings to help keep the heat out. We absolutely love our skylights and the light they let in. In winter it was a great way to heat the bus up on a sunny day, but this summer we need to be able to manage it during the high points of the day to keep working comfortably in the bus.
We had 2 goals for our skylight trim: create clean white finishings that disappear into the ceiling plus make it magnetic so the covers can just click into place when needed. We wandered around the hardware store with a magnet and searched in all different departments to get creative with this one!
We ended up settling on white vinyl wall base molding for the inside rim. We used Gorilla Heavy Duty Construction Glue to adhere it to the wood frame. To cover the bottom edging of the skylight we used Duct Cleating. It is made from galvanized steel which is magnetic, it is lightweight, bent easily to the curve of the ceiling and is very affordable! These we screwed into the ceiling.
We love the end result! It’s a very clean minimalist look.
Our back ceiling hatch also needed to be finished as we are going to build the Pilates Tower for our mini-Pilates studio over it. We used the same vinyl wall base molding but with rounded corners (the skylights were square) and no need for magnetic covers we decided to use scrap wood for the edging trim.
We used ⅛ inch birch plywood along the bottom perimeter and ½ inch plywood inside the hatch perimeter. Then covered the seam of the 2 different pieces with edge banding.
It was challenging to cut the plywood to fit to size. Honestly, this isn’t our favorite outcome, but it fits our needs and we can live with it. We have found the ⅛ inch birch plywood hard to work with. Perhaps we don’t have the skills or the right blade to make clean cuts but it bends easily to the curve of the ceiling and doesn’t become a feature but creates the “disappear into the ceiling” effect that we wanted.
Up Next
We build our covers for the skylights and make some more headway on Don's desk.
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Vinyl Wall Base Molding
A product with enough muscle to tackle the most daunting applications. A product with a level of endurance that assures your creative vision will last a lifetime whether installed in an office, conference room, classroom or hallway. Superb flexibility. Scratch and scuff resistant. Meeting stringent specifications that exceed industry norms.
Gorilla Heavy Duty Ultimate Construction Adhesive
Our most durable formula. 100% Waterproof. Instant grab. Works under water. Paintable and bonds to wood, drywall, plaster, ceramic, concrete, masonry, foamboard and more!
Edge Banding
Self adhesive finishing tape from KLËARVŪE Cabinetry of Menards
Duct Cleat
This standing s cleat is generally used to join two pieces of rectangular duct together. We chose to use this product for our skylight trim as it is galvanized steel which is magnetic, lightweight and durable.
