I am building a small 6 1/2' x 12' lean-to shed. The one long wall has storage & built-in workbench on the outside, & one short wall has a door, so the only place for a window will be the other short side. Also, there will not be access to electricity. So I am thinking of adding skylights to add more light. I have a limited amount of cash, but access to reclaimed windows. Will using regular windows work, or is there a good reason why they are not used as skylights?

Welcome to our poor of friends. Hope you like it and will stay around.

I see one obvious reason. I would not want glass over my head in case it broke. This could happen if a tree branch broke and hit the roof or just from snow loading or just the building settling and putting a strain on one side.

For a shed, I would roof it with corrugated ~~~~~ white fiberglass panels. When I built one, I roof the whole shed with those. They let plenty of light in, weather proof and strong. You would only need one panel every 4 or 5 feet.

they don't let in as much ligth as a clear window but a lot asafer. check out you nearest building supply store for them. They also have the corrugated end pieces to weather proof the ends.

A regular window is designed to shed water down and out of the parts of the window. A window sill is always designed to allow water to escape and therefore has small "weep" holes in it. The seals are also designed differently than a skylight and would not function well in any other position than vertical.

So the answer is that you can't use regular windows as skylights...(you really shouldn't even turn windows sideways for installation) definitely not a good idea. Especially because you live in Washington with a lot of rainfall.

Some other things to consider:
Use a door with a clear glass pane
The lucite panels that Walksonwater mentions might work if you install them properly.

Do you mind me asking how useful a workbench will be if there is no electricity? Running electric doesn't seem like it should be eliminated from the equation completely unless there are factors other than cost that you haven't explained. Running a small line out to a shed is something that could be done on your own... IMO.

aminator2002 -

I don't mind you asking about the electicity situation. Actually, I'm renting a single trailer on a teeny-tiny lot with my son & have no storage shed, so I am extrememly short on storage. I can't modify the trailer to electrify the shed, so I'll need to run an extension cord to the shed when I use my tools. That won't be a problem. As it is, I run an extension cord outside now to use my tools, & I don't have a workbench yet. I would gladly put up with the inconvenience of an extension cord for a workbench, & storage for our household & yard stuff.

The Lucite & window in door sound like good ideas. I should have thought of them myself. :-P They also sound alot easier to install than modified window skylights that would probably end up leaking.

Thanks guys.

You're welcome. Also consider putting an outdoor appropriate lamp in the shed that can be plugged in when you bring the cord out to work with the tools. You wouldn't want to work without enough light and I'm sure you could work it out so there isn't much set up each time you want to work out there. Hang the fixture up and then run the plug down to a convenient location or a power strip to plug in the extension cord.

Be sure to get a quality extension cord that is appropriate for outdoor use.

Good luck!