Skylight Installation and Repair in Sterling Heights, MI

A deck-mounted skylight has its own frame that fastens straight to the roof deck and sits low and flush with the shingles, flashed with a kit made for that unit. HomeGuide prices fixed skylights at $1,500 to $4,000 installed and notes they resist leaks better than venting models, since they don't open. Deck mounts take longer to install than curb units. The IRC limits skylight glazing to laminated, fully tempered, heat-strengthened or wired glass, or approved rigid plastics, and the unit has to carry a lab label to the AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440 standard. On a shingle roof, a fixed deck-mount over a stairwell or a dark hallway is the usual starting point.

Venting skylights open like a roof window to let out warm, damp air from a bathroom, kitchen or upstairs bedroom. HomeGuide lists manual crank models at $1,600 to $3,900 installed, electric ones at $2,500 to $4,600 and solar-powered ones at $2,400 to $4,700. Electric and solar models run from a remote, and they can be set with a rain sensor or a timer that closes the sash when weather moves in. The solar version needs no wiring run through the attic. The trade-off is more seals that can wear. A venting skylight has gaskets and a motor or crank that a fixed unit doesn't, and HomeGuide lists motor replacement at $350 to $700.

A solar tube, or tubular daylighting device, is a small acrylic dome on the roof over a reflective metal tube that carries light down to a round diffuser in the ceiling. BuildingGreen describes tubes of 8 to 22 inches that fit between rafters or trusses without reframing, which is why they install faster and cost far less: $500 to $1,000 installed in HomeGuide's figures, for roof pitches of 15 to 60 degrees. BuildingGreen also points out that light drops off as the tube gets longer, so tubes work best over a one-storey ranch or the upper floor of a colonial. It notes that some makers add an extra glazing layer for cold climates. Ask whether the model you're quoted has one.

A curb-mounted skylight sits on a box frame built up above the roof surface, so water has to climb the curb before it can reach the glass. The International Residential Code (R308.6.8) requires that curb on any unit skylight set in a roof pitched less than 3 in 12, at least 4 inches above the roof plane, unless the maker's instructions say otherwise. That covers most rear additions, porch roofs and sunrooms. On a membrane roof, the EPDM or TPO is turned up the sides of the curb. Our flat roofing page covers the membrane itself. HomeGuide notes curb units sit above the roof line and are easier to install than deck mounts.

When a skylight leaks, check the flashing before blaming the glass. The IRC requires flashing around every roof opening. Wide chimneys and penetrations over 30 inches need a cricket on the uphill side, but unit skylights flashed to the maker's instructions are exempt from that rule, which makes the flashing kit the whole defense. Re-flashing means lifting the shingles around the frame, replacing the head, step and sill flashing pieces with the correct kit, and re-shingling. HomeGuide lists flashing repair at $150 to $500, resealing at $75 to $250 and a full leak repair at $225 to $800. Caulk on top of old flashing is a resealing job and buys time at best. The rules for replacing worn flashing at a reroof are on our chimney flashing repair page.