I bought a wonderful bungalow a few years ago and have done a huge amount of work as it was very outdated and not suited to modern life (old and inefficient double glazing, outdated and insufficient electrics, the dreaded artex ceilings, dodgy old copper water cylinder…) and now we’re coming to the end of the hard graft I realise I should have looked into the interior darkness of the building. There’s a very large (25sq m) L-shaped hallway with only the front door side panels for light. I widened the living room doorway and added glazed panel doors for a bit of extra light but this still leaves one part of the L in darkness.
Had I thought in the beginning I would have added transom windows above the bedroom doors, which, properly - and safely - designed could have been opening lights to afford some decent air movement and improved ventilation. I also wonder, at this point, why houses no longer have these considering most modern builds have such airtight windows and doors it’s encouraging the dreaded black mould!
I suppose I could still do this but it would be undoing an awful lot of work now I’ve had replastering, new doors, architrave and carpets everywhere. The other alternative would be light tunnels/pipes, but, again, there are issues in that we’ve had new plumbing installed in the loft which may dictate where such things could be placed neatly and with consideration to the aesthetics.
Thoughts, please, fellow Houzzers? Make a whole new mess or just suck it up? In any event, which would be the better option; Light pipe/tunnel or transom windows?