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Add a skylight — daylight in a flat or vaulted ceiling

A skylight is a glazed opening in the ceiling, not a window in a wall. Tap the plan to drop one on a flat ceiling or on a vaulted slope, size and tint it, and watch the daylight come through in 3D.

3 min readUpdated 2026-08-26

A skylight sits in the ceiling, not in a wall. Use it for an interior room with no exterior wall, a bathroom that needs daylight without a window, or an attic where the slope is the only place light can come in.

In RoomSketch3D you tap the Skylight tile, then tap the plan. The opening lands on the ceiling under that tap — a flat ceiling, or the slope of a vaulted ceiling — at a default 36″ × 48″. You set the size, rotation, and glass in the inspector, and in 3D the opening is glazed: daylight comes through once you Show ceiling.

What you'll need

  • A room with a ceiling (a vault is optional)
  • About three minutes

Step by step

  1. 1

    Pick the Skylight tool

    In the Build Panel (on phones, the Walls, Doors & Windows sheet), tap Skylight. The canvas prompt reads Tap the ceiling — flat or vaulted — to place a skylight.

    Skylight armed — tap the ceiling, not a wall.
  2. 2

    Tap where the opening should sit

    Tap the plan. The skylight drops on the ceiling under that point. On a vaulted ceiling it sits on the slope, not on a phantom flat plane. Drag to nudge it; the inspector along the bottom has Width and Depth (the default is 36″ × 48″).

    The skylight sits in the ceiling. Width, Depth, Rotation, and Glass are in the inspector.
  3. 3

    Set size, rotation, and glass

    Width and Depth size the opening. Rotation types an exact angle; Rotate 90° snaps it square to the room. Glass is Clear (default), Tinted, or Frosted — frosted for a bathroom, tinted when the sun is harsh.

    Clear, Tinted, or Frosted — the glass you pick shows in 3D.
  4. 4

    See the daylight in 3D

    Switch to 3D. Ceilings are hidden by default, so tap Show ceiling or the skylight is invisible from above. The opening is glazed; on a vault it follows the slope. Walk mode is the honest check — stand in the room and look up.

    Show ceiling, then look up — the skylight is a real glazed opening.

Tips

Not the Window tile

A wall Window punches glass into a wall. A Skylight punches it into the ceiling. For transoms and clerestory strips, the Window tile is still right; for overhead daylight, use Skylight.

On a pyramid, a flat top is a natural home

A pyramid vault can take a flat Top — a square landing at the peak. That's a natural place for a skylight. Set Top on the vault first, then drop the skylight on that landing. See vaulted ceilings.

Hide the 2D markings while you furnish

Skylights and vaults draw on the plan. If they get in the way, Layers → Show vaulted ceilings tucks the ceiling markings without deleting anything.

Common mistakes

Looking for the skylight in 3D with the ceiling hidden

The 3D view hides ceilings until you tap Show ceiling. A missing skylight is almost always that toggle, not a failed placement.

Tapping a wall

The tool ignores walls. If nothing drops, you're still in a wall-fixture habit — tap the floor of the room, which is the ceiling in plan.

Frequently asked questions

Can I put a skylight on a vaulted ceiling?

Yes. Tap the slope. The opening sits on the vault, not on a flat plane above it, and in 3D the glass follows the roof.

What size is a skylight when I drop it?

36 inches wide by 48 inches deep. Change Width and Depth in the inspector to match a real unit (common catalog sizes run from about 22×27 up to 30×46).

Does a skylight show in exports?

Yes. It appears in 2D, in 3D, in elevation views, and in PDF, image, and CAD exports — same as any other ceiling feature.

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