Skylight roofing is a detail inside the roof, which is why a leak at a skylight gets blamed on the glass. Water runs off the pane, hits the flashing, and enters where the flashing meets the shingles, tile, or membrane. Condensation on the glass in winter can also drip and imitate a leak. The repair starts by separating those two. If the glass and the frame are intact and the ceiling is wet after rain, the curb, the step flashing, or the underlayment around the opening is the suspect.
This page owns skylight repair, roof skylight installation, and replacement of the unit when the frame or the glazing is finished. General leak tracing, when the skylight may not be the entry at all, stays on roof leak repair. A full reroof that happens to include a skylight is coordinated with roof replacement so the unit is not flashed twice.
Deck-mounted and curb-mounted
Deck-mounted skylights sit close to the roof plane and use a flange that weaves into the covering. Curb-mounted units sit on a raised curb, which is the usual detail on low-slope roofs and on some steep roofs that need the opening higher. Flat roof skylights need a curb and a membrane flashing that does not pond against the glass. We do not set a steep-slope flange skylight into a membrane and call it finished.
Metal roofs need a flashing kit that matches the panel, not a shingle flange forced over ribs. That coordination is with metal roofing. Tile roofs need the tile cut back and the underlayment detailed before the tile returns around the curb. See tile roofing for why the underlayment matters more than the visible tile.
Repair, reflash, or replace the unit
Reflashing is the right scope when the unit is sound and the metal or the integration with the covering has failed. Replacement of the skylight is the right scope when the frame is cracked, the seal between panes has failed and the glass is fogged, or the unit is an obsolete size we cannot flash honestly. Roof skylight installation on a roof that never had one means cutting the deck, framing the opening, and tying the new flashing into the existing covering. That is a structural opening as well as a roof detail. We say so before we cut.
During a reroof and after
The cheapest time to replace a marginal skylight is when the covering is already off. Leaving a tired unit in a new shingle or metal roof means the next leak starts at the one old detail. If you are staying in the house, interior protection under the shaft matters. Residential sequencing is on the residential page. After the work, the same flashing should be watched through the next wind-driven rain. Service area: Denver, Colorado and surrounding areas.
Skylight questions
Why does it leak only in wind-driven rain?
Wind pushes water uphill under a flange or a step flashing that sheds ordinary runoff. That pattern points at the integration, not at a hole in the glass.
The glass looks fine. Can it still be the skylight?
Yes. The flashing can fail while the pane is perfect. It can also be condensation. We check both before we replace a unit you could have kept.
Can you add a skylight during a repair?
Yes, if the framing and the interior shaft are part of the scope. It is not a same-hour add-on to a small shingle patch.
Do you service flat-roof skylights?
Yes, as curb-mounted units flashed into the membrane. The membrane rules are on the flat roofing page.
Will you name a specific skylight brand as the only option?
No. We specify a unit that can be flashed to the roof you have. Brand requirements you already have can be written into the scope if you provide them.
How do I start?
Use contact and say whether the glass is cracked, fogged, or intact, and when the drip appears.