Skylights are leak machines after 15 to 20 years. The seal fails, the flashing corrodes, the gasket dries out, and water finds the path of least resistance straight onto your hallway ceiling. Sarge replaces and reflashes skylights right, with the engineered curb and flashing kit the manufacturer specifies.
Almost every skylight in a Central Florida home over 15 years old is at or past the end of its useful life. Three things fail in order:
If the skylight is under 12 years old and the leak is at the flashing, we can often reflash and reseal. If the unit is over 15 years old, replacement almost always wins. Here is the reality: pulling a skylight apart and going back in just to replace flashing costs nearly as much as installing a brand-new sealed unit with a fresh flashing kit and another 20-plus year service life.
Older skylights are usually curb-mounted: there is a wood frame on the roof and the skylight sits on top of it. Newer units come in both curb-mounted and deck-mounted (no curb, lower profile). On a Florida replacement, we usually go curb-mounted because the curb gets all the flashing detail done above the roof plane, which sheds water better in heavy rain and resists wind-driven leaks.
Solar tubes (Solatube and similar) are a different animal. The dome on the roof has its own flashing kit. The shaft runs through the attic. The diffuser sits in the ceiling. Failures usually happen at the roof dome or at the ceiling diffuser gasket. We service both.
If you are getting a new roof and your skylights are over 12 years old, replace them at the same time. The labor to integrate a new skylight flashing kit into a new roof is a small fraction of what it costs to do a standalone skylight replacement later, when the new roof has to get cut open.
Skylight replacements in HOA communities sometimes require ARC approval, especially if the new unit is a different size, shape, or profile than the original. We handle the ARC submittal when needed. Marion, Lake, Sumter, and Citrus County permits get pulled for any structural curb work.
Marion, Lake, Sumter, and Citrus counties. Specifically Ocala, Belleview, Silver Springs, The Villages, Leesburg, Lady Lake, Summerfield, Wildwood, Bushnell, Inverness, and Beverly Hills.
15 to 20 years is realistic for the seal and flashing. The glass itself lasts much longer, but the gaskets and the flashing kit do not. Florida UV is brutal on the seals.
Yes, if we match the new unit to the existing curb cutout. The interior shaft and drywall stay intact. If the drywall is already stained or rotted from the leak, we cut out the bad section and patch.
Both possibilities are common. We inspect from the attic to trace the water path. Sometimes the skylight is fine and the flashing is the failure. Sometimes the skylight gasket itself has failed. The fix depends on which.
Yes if they are over 12 years old. The labor cost of integrating a new skylight into a new roof is a small fraction of doing the skylight work later when the roof has to be cut open.
Yes. We install Solatube and similar brands. We also service the dome flashing, shaft seal, and ceiling diffuser on existing units.
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