Design Skylights

We just had 2 solar tubes installed by Design Skylights, and I am thrilled with the difference it instantly made in one windowless bathroom, and in one vanity area so dark in the day that auto sensing nighlights lit themselves 24 – 7. Nice guy, good work, and a dramatic Before and After for something that took just about 2 hours.
Now I am eyeing our dark closets…

Price is great, service is abysmal (poor communication, very rude, refused to install the product I wanted).
Rodney is the only certified Velux installer in Austin, so if you want Velux skylights, he can get them at a much cheaper than a roofer, since they won’t get the dealer discount. Two roofers quoted me $ 1200 each to install two 2×4 skylights, Rodney was just $ 600 each. He put them in and that was fine. Then later when I tried to get him to put in a tubular skylight, things went south quickly.
I texted and asked if he could put in a tubular skylight for me which is level on top. (The level ones bring in light more consistently throughout the day, vs. the angled ones that follow the slope of the roof. My roof faces west, and I wanted the level version so I could catch more morning light.) So I texted and asked if he’d put in a level light, but he said the angled version would «work better for you». I asked why, but he sidestepped the question. I asked again, and he said, «There is a pitch adapter inside each unit that will allow us to keep the tube straight it will perform exactly the same.» Since that still didn’t answer my question and I could see we were getting nowhere by text, I asked him to call me on my landline, and gave him the number. Instead he called my cell. (ugh) Again I asked why he thought the angled version would be better, but he repeatedly sidestepped the question, instead telling me that they’d both produce the same amount of light (which isn’t true, but even if it were, that doesn’t tell me why the angled version would be BETTER). Finally he said that he’s been doing this for years and I ought to just listen to him, and if I wouldn’t then I should find another installer because it’s a hassle to work with customers like me. THEN he said that the level version is harder to install and more prone to leaking. He might have just said that one of the first several times I asked him. But in any event, I was skeptical of that, so I said I’d check it out and call back.
I called the manufacturer and they said that the level version is NOT harder to install or more prone to leaking (which makes perfect sense, since the only difference is the angle of the dome).
About his claim that both level and pitched models deliver the same amount of light: First, the manufacturer says otherwise: their brochure says the level version «provides optimum angle for gathering light from all roof directions». Second, I called them, and they said the same thing. They also sent me a spreadsheet showing lumens at different angles. And finally, it makes sense that you’ll get less light if the dome is pointing *away* from the sun for most of the day, as it does with the angled version on a west-​facing roof.
So I texted him back, told him I’d talked to Velux, and asked if he’d install the level version for me. He refused. I asked if he’d install the angled version for me. He never replied.
By the way, before the 2×4 install, I asked about the U-​factor of the product he was installing, and he said 0.27, which is great. After the install I looked it up and found that he actually gave me the SHGC; the real U-​factor is much higher, 0.48. I texted him to let him know, in case any other customer asked, but he didn’t reply, much less apologize for giving me the wrong information.
Anyway, the silver lining is that since he abandoned me and he’s the only Velux installer in town, I then looked at Solatube, which I found is a much better product anyway. I’m scheduled for an install with SolarTexOnline (which has great Unilocal reviews).

Design Skylights installed two 4×2 skylights in my home turning our cave into a cheerfully lit abode!