Architects, general contractors, building owners and institutions use us as both the supplier and the installation subcontractor. These are the kinds of jobs we actually run, with what each one involved, so you can see whether yours looks like one of them before you call.
Every price we publish or quote is written conditional on the field measure. What sits under a roof opening is not visible from the office, and a commercial job is not the place to find that out late.
A six unit VELUX ridge system at 4 East 67th Street in Manhattan. The units could not go through the building, so they were hoisted over the parapet by boom truck. We handled the boom truck, the street permits and the flagging, and the whole thing went in as one submittal package with one named contact on our side.
That is the pattern on most Manhattan institutional work. The skylight is the easy part. The access, the permits and the street closure are what decide the schedule, and they are what a contractor who only does roofs will hand back to you. Our NYC permits and landmark rules page sets out what gets filed and when.
A commercial ridge run set on metal deck rather than on wood framing. Metal deck changes the curb detail, the fastening and the sequence with the roofer, and it is worth saying out loud on a bid rather than discovering it on the morning of the install.
A large share of New York's commercial skylights are still the original galvanized steel pyramids and wire glass units. Wire glass is the old standard and a current sloped glazing assembly wants laminated glass in the inboard lite instead. If the unit you are replacing is a vented hood over a stair shaft, it may be the required smoke vent, and that is not an ordinary repair. We ask what is under it before anybody quotes anything.
The detail on these replacements lives on our wire glass and steel pyramid replacement page.
Where there is no catalog unit, the job starts with a fabrication drawing rather than a price. Curved glass systems, long sloped glazing runs, custom hip and pyramid units in copper, terne coated stainless or stainless. We work these out with the fabricator and bring you a number that is based on a real quote, not an estimate dressed up as one.
These are our own standards, set at or above the manufacturer minimums. They are the same on a six unit ridge as on a single replacement.
Drawings in, submittal package out. Dimensions, glazing makeup, U factor, finishes and weights, ready to go into your submittal rather than sent back for a rewrite. Lead time in writing. One named contact for the job.
If the skylight sits over a common element in a co-op or a condo, the job starts with the board and the alteration agreement rather than with the roof. What the managing agent needs from us is listed on the co-op and condo boards page. If you are a roofer or a GC who wants the skylight taken off your plate entirely, that is the trade page.
More of the finished work is in the gallery.
Yes. Commercial skylight work is our specialty rather than a sideline. We run multi unit ridge systems, long span daylighting, metal deck installs, curved glass and sloped glazing, and the replacement of old steel pyramid and wire glass units on schools, factories, lofts and stair bulkheads.
However the building allows. Through the building when the size allows, or hoisted over the parapet with a boom truck and street permits when that is the only way. The six unit VELUX ridge system at the Japanese Consulate on East 67th Street went in that way, with the boom truck, the permits and the flagging handled by us.
Yes. We quote per unit labor only pricing where curbs, hoisting and scaffolding are by others, or turnkey supply and install where you want one point of responsibility. Either way you get one named contact for the job and the lead time in writing.
Our standard flat roof curb stands 5-1/2 inches above the roof, which is above the 4 inch code minimum. The curb is built sloped, with a minimum slope of 15 degrees, from regular framing lumber, with a 4 inch standard overlap. Curb flashing is Karnak Karna-Flex with reinforcing fabric.
No, and we will tell you why rather than quietly skip it. Straight after an install the sealants and the flashing cement are too fresh for a hose test to mean anything, and the test itself can disturb them. The curb detail is what keeps the water out, so we build the curb to our own standard and inspect the work rather than wet it down on day one.
The roof plan or the skylight schedule is usually enough to start. Tell us whether you want supply only, labor only, or both, and whether curbs and hoisting are by others. Every price is written conditional on the field measure, because what sits under a roof opening is not visible from the office.