Roger Bisby has seen the light with the Korniche roof lantern
I love good design, and this Korniche roof lantern from Made For Trade oozes it at every turn of the screw. In fact, it goes together so smoothly that it is almost disappointing when it is over. It just makes me want to fit another.
Even from the initial opening of the package you can see how much thought has gone into every detail. We are used to seeing such packaging on computers and phones but all too often the components in something like a roof lantern are just rattling around in the box. The amount of bubble wrap on the aluminum extrusions is also remarkable. It is a close run thing whether it took longer to unwrap than install but the packaging means that you won’t be sending scratched or damaged components back.
The lanterns are all made to measure and come in anything up to 6 metres long. For that size it would be a two-man job, but I managed this little 1,800 mm unit on my own. The frame that sits on your kerb or upstand is the only part that requires silicone, simply because there are so many different designs of kerbs it would be impossible to make a universal fit. If you bed it down on good quality silicone with tramlines, and then screw it down through the pre-drilled holes, it won’t go anywhere and it certainly won’t leak.
The corners are held together temporarily by double cable ties, which makes life easy if you are on your own but once the machine screws are tight the cable ties can be snipped off. Fitting the hip rafters and intermediate rafters (if you have any) is just a question of tightening screws and snapping on the capping pieces. The tapered bushes make sure that the screws centre on the host thread, so there is no cross threading, and it is so precisely engineered that there are no gaps in the frame components.
I had a little moment of anxiety on the glass because I am used to having to mess around with packers and a bit of silicone on most lanterns, but with the Korniche the glazing just clips into place and sits perfectly on the siliconised rubber seals. I honestly couldn’t believe it was that easy. I was aware that perhaps I had been a little too gushing and lavish with my praise on this product (hold something back I thought) but everyone who has seen it has the same reaction. It has a ‘Wow!’ factor when you fit it and, because of the minimalist frame and flat internal profiles, there is a ‘Wow!’ factor for the customer too, and no shortage of light which is, after all, why you are fitting it.
