Repair of skylight curbs, flashing and seals, and installation of new units, for houses in Fairfield County and lower Westchester.
Fastest: call (833) 751-2102. Or send this and we call you back.
A skylight is an opening cut through the roof and sealed with a curb, flashing and a glazing unit, and each of those seals ages on its own schedule. Leaks usually start where the flashing meets the curb or the frame, not through the glass. A repair identifies which seal has failed, then resets or replaces the flashing and seals rather than only caulking the outside edge.
A skylight leaks in a different way from a roof. The glass itself rarely fails.
On this coast the thaw is the real test. Snow sitting against the uphill side of a skylight melts through a warm spell and can run under the flashing, where a summer rain would not drive it.
A visit the same day is possible only when a technician is free, and no arrival time is promised, but phones are answered around the clock. Call (833) 751-2102 and say whether the leak follows snowmelt, rain or wind, and whether the stain is near the frame or further out.
Do not walk on or stand near a skylight. The glazing can break under a body's weight, and some older units are not built to take one. Do not put a sealant bead over a failed frame as a permanent fix, because it hides the failure.
The technician looks at the frame, the glazing seal and the ceiling around the unit, and tells a leak from condensation by where and when the water shows. Staining at the top of the frame and on the ceiling beyond it is noted with its position. The frame is checked for soft wood where the water has been running.
The curb and the flashing laps are examined from the roof, with particular attention to the uphill side where snow sits. Lifted edges, gaps at the corners and sealant that has dried or split are noted. The position of the curb relative to the slope is checked for water paths.
On a flat or low-slope roof, the membrane around the curb and the drains are checked for ponding and for seams that have opened. Water that stands near the unit can find its way under the flashing, so the drainage path is treated as part of the repair.
Flashing that has lifted is reset, and damaged pieces are replaced in metal that matches the roof. Failed sealant is removed and replaced, since a sealant bead on its own is a temporary measure. If the frame or the glazing has failed, the technician says so and explains the options.
Water is run from the uphill side while a second person watches the frame and the ceiling below. The test is repeated at the points that were identified during the inspection. The result is explained before the repair is closed out, so the homeowner knows what was checked.
A skylight is a frame set in a curb, sealed to the roof covering with flashing and a glazing seal. Each of those seals is a separate place where water can get in, and each ages on its own schedule.
The curb is the raised frame that the unit sits on, built into the roof opening. The flashing laps the curb and ties it into the roof covering, so that water runs over the flashing rather than under it.
When a skylight leaks, the first question is which of those seals has failed. A seal at the glass shows on the frame and the ceiling below the unit.
Snow sitting against the uphill side of a skylight melts through a thaw, and the meltwater runs toward the curb while the flashing is cold and tight. Water can be pushed under the laps by the slow, steady flow of melt in a way a brief rain would not manage.
Snow on the uphill side is a load that stays in place for days. When it melts, the water runs in a steady sheet toward the curb, and a lifted lap or a dried seal can let it in.
An ice dam can add to the problem. When melt backs up behind a dam at the eave, the water can reach the curb from below, where the flashing is weakest.
It is both, in the sense that the glass unit and the roof seals are separate things that meet at the curb. The leak usually sits in the seal between them, and the repair is decided by which seal has failed.
The glass itself rarely fails in a way that lets water in, so a leak through the glass is less common than a leak at the frame or the flashing. A glazing seal that has failed is usually visible as condensation between the panes or as water running down the inside of the frame.
The technician decides which trade the repair belongs to. A roof seal is a roofing task, and a glazing seal is usually a unit task.
A flat or low-slope roof carries water more slowly, so drainage and membrane detail matter more than the flashing alone. Standing water around the curb pushes against the seal and can find its way under the membrane.
The modernist houses of New Canaan, from the era of the Harvard Five, are the clearest local example. Their flat roofs cover heated, fully glazed rooms, so the skylight detail is part of the roof, not an addition to it.
A flat-roof repair checks the membrane around the curb, the turn-up, the drains and the seams that run near the unit. The technician looks for ponding after rain and for seams that have opened, because water that stands for long periods is harder on any seal.
The price depends on the number and size of the units, the height and access, the roof type, and whether the work is a reseal or a new unit. It is explained and approved on site before any work starts, and no figure is given here.
A single unit on an accessible pitched roof is a much smaller job than several units on a tall flat roof where the membrane has to be worked around each curb. A new unit adds the cost of the unit itself and the framing work to set it, while a reseal of an existing curb is usually a shorter job.
What is found once the flashing is lifted, such as rotted sheathing around the curb, a damaged frame or a membrane that has failed beyond the detail, is the usual reason a skylight job grows. A technician reports what was found and what it changes, and gets approval before the next step is taken.
On a pitched roof, the curb sits in the covering and the flashing laps under the shingles or tile up the slope and over them down the slope. Water is meant to run over the top of the flashing, which is why the uphill edge is the critical detail. A repair checks that the laps are in the right order and that the curb is set square to the roof plane.
On a flat roof the skylight sits in a membrane, with the membrane turned up the curb and sealed. Drainage is the key question, because standing water near the unit pushes against the seal. The repair checks the membrane, the turn-up at the curb and the drains, and it is treated as membrane work rather than as a shingle repair.
A new unit is set in a new or existing curb with its own flashing kit, and the manufacturer's instructions govern the seal and the fixings. The roof framing decides where the unit can go, and the technician checks the framing before the opening is cut. The new flashing is lapped into the existing covering so that water runs off the uphill side.
New Canaan's modernist stock is one of the most distinctive roofing settings in this part of the state. The Harvard Five settled in the town in the 1940s, and the flat roofs over glazed rooms they left behind are the reason a skylight detail there is structural.
On the inland rows of Greenwich and Stamford, snow stays on the roof longer under heavier tree cover, so the snow against a skylight can sit for longer before it melts. That makes the uphill seal more important on those roofs than on a shore house, and it is checked with the snow pattern in mind.
Connecticut and New York have different rules for contractors and different permit offices. A skylight added to a house in Westchester is work in another state's and county's system, and the building department for the address confirms what needs a permit before the work begins.
Tell us what's happening and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a quick fix, and what skylight installation and leak repair should cost.
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Membrane, drainage and detailing repair for flat and low-slope roofs on downtown decks, multifamily buildings and New Canaan's modernist houses.
Repair and replacement of the metal at roof-to-wall joints, valleys and openings on older houses across Fairfield County and lower Westchester.
Tracing where water enters a roof, whether it came in with wind-driven rain or meltwater backing up in winter, and repairing that point.
A written look at covering, flashing, decking and ventilation, used to decide between repair and replacement on Fairfield County roofs.
New Canaan has roughly 80 to 100 modern houses from the 1940s into the 1960s, many with flat roofs over full-height glass.
A caulk bead can slow a leak at the frame for a while, but it cannot correct a lifted flashing, a failed membrane or a glazing seal that has let go. Caulk spread over a bad seal also hides the failure. The technician decides whether a reseal is enough or whether the flashing has to be reset, and says so before any work is done.
Snow on the uphill side melts in a steady flow, and that flow can get under a lap or a dried seal in a way a short rain does not. An ice dam at the eave can also back water up to the curb from below. The technician checks the uphill flashing and the eave, since both feed the same leak.
Not usually. Many leaks are at the flashing or the seal rather than the glass or the frame, and those can be repaired without replacing the unit. A failed glazing seal or a frame that has moved may change the answer, and the technician explains which applies before any unit is ordered.
A reseal or a flashing reset is usually ordinary repair work. A new unit that changes the roof opening or the framing is a different question. Stamford's building department publishes guidance on what is exempt, and the building department for your city or town confirms the rule at your address.
Yes, when the membrane or the drainage around it is the cause. Water that stands near the curb can push past new flashing if the membrane is failing or the drains are blocked. The flat roof repair work covers that side of the detail, and the New Canaan guide explains the modernist roofs.
Yes, installation is part of this service. The placement depends on the roof framing and on the unit's own instructions, and the new flashing is lapped into the existing covering so that water runs off the uphill side. The technician checks the framing before the opening is cut.