Shared Knowledge
“Skylights - Owner Review”
Summary: think twice. A Skylight is a hole in your roof and sooner or later going to leak water into your home.
You would not be reading this
if you were not considering installing one or more skylights in your home or in
someone else’s home. Have to admit they do look cool from the inside but I do
not recommend installing them.
Why?
- Have had them, installed new, as part of new construction and after several years they began to leak water. Upon examination flashing, caulking, around each skylight had cracked open. All caulk and/or flashing was removed and replaced and 5 years later, same thing happened again.
-
Experience
defined above has happened to every single homeowner I have known that had a
skylight.
If you think about it, a
skylight is a hole in the roof and is purposefully placing a hole in a roof a
good idea? And although you would not think it but the heating of the sun and
then cooling at night, i.e., thermal stress is just too much for any kind of
sealant, caulk.
So, if you must install
skylights, just beware they will need regular caulk/or flashing maintenance.
As for me, don’t have any in my home now and never again.