Almost every skylight leak call starts the same way: “my skylight is leaking.” But the skylight itself is often not where the water is actually coming from. Understanding why skylights leak helps you know what you are dealing with, and whether you need a glazing company like us or a roofer.
The real sources of a skylight leak
1. A failed skylight unit
The skylight itself can be the problem. A cracked dome, a broken pane, or a unit so old its seals have given out will let water in. This is genuinely the skylight, and it is our wheelhouse, we replace the failed unit or glass.
2. The seal between the glass panes
If you are seeing fog or moisture trapped between two panes rather than dripping into the room, that is a failed insulated glass seal, not a roof leak. The fix is new glass, not roofing. More on that here.
3. The flashing and the roof around the skylight
Here is the one people get wrong. A great many “skylight leaks” are not the skylight at all, they are the flashing, the roofing, or the seal where the roof meets the curb. Water gets in around the skylight and shows up at the ceiling, so it looks like the skylight. But the skylight is fine.
This matters because it determines who you need. We are a glazing company. We replace skylights and glass. We do not reroof, and we are not the right call to chase down a roofing or flashing failure, that is a roofer’s job. When we come look and find the skylight is sound but the roof around it is the problem, we will tell you straight, so you do not pay to replace a skylight that was never the issue.
4. Condensation that is not a leak at all
Sometimes “leaking” is condensation. A skylight over a bathroom or kitchen can drip with moisture from steam in the room, especially on cold mornings. That is a ventilation question, and sometimes a venting skylight is the answer.
Why we lead with this: A lot of companies will happily replace a skylight that was not leaking and let you discover later that the roof was the problem. We would rather diagnose it honestly. Sometimes that means telling you the job belongs to your roofer, not us.
How to tell what you are dealing with
If the water shows up only in heavy rain and runs down from the ceiling around the skylight, it is often the flashing or roof. If you see fog between the panes, it is the glass seal. If the dome is visibly cracked or yellowed and crumbling, it is the unit. When in doubt, we will come look and tell you which it is.
What to do next
Call us with what you are seeing, and photos if you have them. We will come look, figure out whether it is the skylight or the roof, and tell you honestly. If it is the skylight, we will fix it. If it is not, we will point you in the right direction. See repair vs. replace if it does turn out to be the unit.