Leaking, fogged, cracked, or stuck shut. We have been diagnosing skylights across New York since 2005, and we will tell you straight whether yours is worth repairing, including when the answer is that it isn't. Free assessment, active leaks get priority.
Not sure what is wrong yet? Six questions on our skylight leak diagnostic will tell you the most likely cause, whether it is usually a repair or a replacement, and which photos to send.
| The symptom | What is usually going on, and what it takes to fix |
|---|---|
| Water dripping during rain | Nine times out of ten the unit is fine and the flashing failed, the metal that ties the skylight into the roof. Reflashing is a real repair with a real fix. If the surrounding roof has aged out too, patching around it just moves the leak a foot to the left. |
| Wet ceiling but no rain | Condensation, not a leak. Warm humid air hits cold glass and runs down the frame. The fix is usually ventilation or an upgraded insulated unit, not sealant. |
| Fogged or cloudy between the panes | The seal on the insulated glass has failed. There is no repair for this; the glass unit is done. On most units that means replacement. |
| Cracked or yellowed acrylic dome | Common on older flat-roof domes. See the note below, this is where we differ from most of the industry. |
| Venting unit stuck open or shut | Motor, chain, control or rain sensor. Often genuinely repairable, and worth doing on a newer unit. |
| Shade or blind not working | Usually the motor or the remote pairing. Small fix, and we carry the parts for VELUX units. |
| Draft, whistling, or a cold spot | Failed weatherstripping or an under-insulated curb. Fixable, and it shows up on your heating bill. |
| Stains around the opening, no active drip | An old leak that was patched, or one that only shows in wind-driven rain. Worth looking at before it becomes framing rot. |
Here is the honest test we use on site.
| Repair makes sense when… | Replace makes sense when… |
|---|---|
| The unit is under roughly 15 years old and the glass is clear | The glass is fogged between the panes, the seal is gone and cannot be restored |
| The flashing failed but the surrounding roof is sound | The roof around it is at the end of its life anyway, do both at once and only pay for access once |
| A motor, remote, shade or weatherstrip is the only problem | The frame is rotted, the curb is soft, or the unit is an old acrylic dome |
| It is a single small issue on an otherwise good unit | You have paid for the same patch more than once |
Repairs throughout New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, plus Long Island and Westchester. Residential and commercial, including ridge systems, roof-access units and smoke hatches on commercial buildings.
Water coming in right now? Our skylight leak repair page walks through what actually failed and what it takes to fix it.
Usually the skylight is not what failed. The flashing is. Flashing is the metal that ties the unit into the roof, and when it was installed wrong, or the roof around it has aged out, water finds that seam. That is why sealing around the frame from inside almost never works. Condensation is the other common cause and it looks identical from the ceiling.
Condensation. Warm humid air inside the room hits cold glass, turns to water and runs down the frame. Bathrooms and kitchens are the usual spots. The fix is ventilation or a better insulated unit, not caulk.
No. That haze means the seal on the insulated glass has failed and the space between the panes is no longer sealed. There is no repair for it. On most units the answer is a new unit.
Sometimes, yes. If the curb and the flashing under it are sound, a dome or glass swap is a real option and we will price it. What we will not do is quietly put a new dome over framing and flashing that already failed, because that leaks again within a season. We look at the whole opening first and tell you which situation you have. If it is a straight swap we will put the glass option next to the acrylic one, because glass stays clear and acrylic yellows.
If the unit is sound and the flashing failed, reflashing is cheaper and it is the correct fix. If the unit is past roughly twenty years, fogged, or cracked, replacement is the honest answer. One thing nobody mentions: on most New York buildings a large share of the cost of any roof work is just getting a crew and materials up there safely. If you are already paying for that access, replacing a marginal unit usually costs less over five years than patching it twice.
Call 718-646-7053. Active leaks get priority over everything else on the schedule and the assessment visit is free. If you cannot reach us right away, send photos through the contact form and we can usually tell you what you are looking at before anyone comes out.
Yes, and most of what we repair is somebody else's work. We will tell you what was done wrong without making a speech about it.
It depends on what is being done. Putting a new unit into an existing opening is treated differently than cutting a new opening in the roof, and commercial buildings have their own requirements. We have been filing this work in the city since 2005 and we will tell you which category your job falls into before you commit to anything.
It can. Landmark review generally cares about what can be seen from the street, so a skylight on a rear slope or set back on a flat roof is treated differently from one on a visible facade. Brownstones come up constantly for us. Ask us early rather than after the unit is ordered.
Most of our work is on flat roofs. Flat roofs need a curb mounted unit sitting on a built up curb, not a deck mounted unit laid into the roof surface. Getting that wrong is one of the most common reasons a newer skylight leaks.
Usually yes. Motors, chains, controls, rain sensors and shade pairing are all real repairs and worth doing on a newer unit. We carry parts for VELUX units.
Replacements carry a ten year No Leak Warranty on the installation and a five year labor warranty. We are licensed and insured, LIC# 2084179.
Yes. Ridge systems, roof access units, smoke hatches, structural and walkable glass. See the commercial page for how that works.
For the assessment it helps, because most of what we need to see is the ceiling from inside and the roof from above. For the work itself it depends on the building and the access.