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I just moved into a condo and on the top floor there is a skylight window. The room gets pretty hot during the day, I have friends coming in town this weekend and I would like a cheap and quick fix to reduce the heat coming from the skylight. If I had more time I would order shades. I will do that in the future but I do not have enough time now. The inside mount of the window is about 30 x 53 inches (W x H).

By looking around, so far the main option I have found is to buy some landscaping fabric and pin it (or nail it) there. This is cheap, I can easily get the material and, importantly, it is temporary as the fabric is easy to remove at the end of the week-end. The nail holes, if needed, can be patched up and so that is not a big issue either. Obviously there will be no light coming into the room but we have lamps and my friends will mainly use the room to sleep at night.

Does this make sense? Any alternative suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

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  • Just a heads up, most landscape fabric (that you can get at a big box store) is not UV resistant and will degrade in a couple of days in direct sunlight.
    – diceless
    Aug 12 '14 at 4:57
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Why not use a sheet of rigid foam insulation? It will block light and heat.

You can cut it to size and, depending on the frame of the skylight, you may be able to wedge it in the frame without attachment devices.

If you need to use something to hold it up, double faced tape on the glass will be fairly easy to remove without permanent damage to the skylight.

To make it attractive, cover in cloth, paint or attach adhesive backed plastic covering.

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Why not use bubble insulation wrap? It is a reflective thin material that comes in 10', 25', or 50' roles and can be anywhere from 24" to 48" wide. It is very light weight like a curtain, but does a much better job than just a fabric. The average role costs around $25,& you can put it up with painters tape. It is sold at building supply stores like Lowes or Home Depot.

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  • You can also get rigid panels of reflective insulating foam, which you could cut to size and tack up there (no sag like fabric or bubble stuff). You can paint it to match the ceiling too.
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Aug 12 '14 at 3:19
  • @JimmyFix-it I didn't see your comment until after I posted an answer. If you move this to an answer (easier for viewers to find) I will delete mine.
    – bib
    Aug 12 '14 at 12:48
  • @bib, no worries; more info for tt1977 ! :)
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Aug 13 '14 at 5:02

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