Why Skylights Leak
Most skylight leaks have nothing to do with the glass. Nine times out of ten the water is getting in around the skylight, through failed flashing, tired seals, or a curb that was never properly integrated with the roof. A skylight is a rectangle cut through the shingle field with a raised edge on all four sides. Every side is a flashing detail, and every flashing detail is two materials that have to move together through twenty Michigan winters.
Before we touch a fastener, we trace the leak to its true source, and we look for the second source, because a skylight over a bathroom can be leaking at the head flashing and getting condensation from the shower at the same time. Guessing wastes your money. If the flashing is the culprit, it's the same craft we bring to chimneys, and it's on our roof flashing repair page.
A skylight that's been leaking for months usually means the leak is much older than the stain. The sooner we look, the smaller the repair.
What Causes a Leaking Skylight
We've chased skylight leaks across every kind of West Michigan roof. These are the sources we find most.
Failed Perimeter Flashing
The step flashing that ties the skylight into the shingle courses lifts, corrodes, or was never installed as a proper system with head, sill, and step pieces working together. Or, most often, the original installer used a generic flashing kit or bent their own instead of the manufacturer's engineered kit, and it never sealed right. The single most common source we find.
Sealant Doing Metal's Job
Old caulk or roofing tar smeared over a previous leak shrinks, cracks, and separates, and gives water a fresh path in. If a skylight has been "fixed" with a bead of something, it hasn't been fixed. VELUX, the largest skylight manufacturer in the world, designs its flashing systems specifically to shed water without depending on sealants that break down over time. That's the standard.
Dried-Out Gaskets and Seals
The factory gaskets and glazing seals around the glass harden and crack after years of freeze-thaw, letting water wick past the pane.
Condensation Mistaken for a Leak
Warm indoor air meets cold glass and drips like a leak. It's worst over bathrooms and kitchens and on cold mornings. It looks the same on your ceiling. It's a different fix. We tell you which one you've got, because a real leak needs flashing work and condensation needs ventilation and insulation.
Cracked or Fogged Glass
Hail, a falling limb, or a blown thermal seal between the panes cracks the dome or fogs the unit. That's a replacement.
Ice Dams at the Curb
Snowmelt refreezes above the skylight and forces water backward under the head flashing. A recurring West Michigan winter problem, and it starts in the attic. See our ice dam page.
Learn MoreWrong Unit for the Pitch
A deck-mounted skylight installed on a roof under about 14 degrees of pitch, common on porches and additions, will leak no matter how well it's flashed, because the flashing kit isn't rated for that slope. Low-slope roofs need a curb-mounted unit. We check the pitch before we recommend anything.
How We Repair a Leaking Skylight
01. Locate the Leak
We inspect the skylight from the roof and the attic: flashing laps, seals, glazing, the curb, the surrounding decking. We check for condensation signs separately. Where needed we run a controlled water test to confirm the exact entry point, and we keep looking for a second one.
02. Repair or Rebuild the Flashing
We strip the failed flashing and any roofing cement, repair rotted decking or curb framing, lay in ice and water shield around the whole opening, and install new head, sill, and step flashing woven into the shingle courses the way it should have been done originally. On VELUX units, that means the manufacturer's engineered flashing kit with its adhesive underlayment, because that's what keeps the 10-year No Leak installation warranty valid.
03. Re-Seal Glass and Curb
Cracked glazing, hardened gaskets, and gaps at the curb are cleaned back to sound material and re-sealed with the right sealant for those materials, chosen from the forty to sixty we carry, and used where the detail calls for it and nowhere else.
04. Verify and Protect
We re-test the repair, check for hidden decking or insulation damage from the old leak, and confirm the surrounding shingles are watertight before we leave. Photos of all of it.
When Replacement Makes More Sense
A repair is often the smartest path. But some skylights have reached the end, and replacing the unit costs less over time than chasing the same leak every spring.
We'll recommend replacement when:
- The glass is fogged from a blown thermal seal
- The frame or curb is rotted or cracked
- The unit is 20 or more years old and past its service life
- It's the wrong type of unit for the roof pitch
- The dome or acrylic has hail or impact damage
- You're already re-roofing that section
That last one is worth saying twice. If your skylight is 15 to 20 years old and you're getting a new roof, replace it during the re-roof. The roof is already open. Installing a new unit with fresh flashing costs a fraction of opening the roof again in five years, and you avoid an old skylight leaking under a brand-new roof.
When we replace, we install VELUX No Leak skylights. They're built on three layers of water protection: a pre-attached deck seal, adhesive underlayment, and an engineered flashing kit, and they carry a 10-year installation warranty, 20 years on the glass, and 10 on the product. We install them to VELUX spec, with the VELUX flashing kit, so all of that coverage holds. And we rebuild the interior trim the old leak ruined while the ceiling's open.
Skylight Repair Cost in West Michigan
We price repairs in three tiers, and we'll tell you how they work.
Every repair starts at $500. That's the minimum, and it's not a number we picked. It's what it costs to put a W-2 tradesman with health insurance and a 401k, in a truck carrying tens of thousands of dollars in tools, at your house and back, with the office and equipment behind him. We pay those bills twelve months a year and can work maybe eight of them. That's what the rate is built on.
- Minor repairs: $500 to about $1,500. Re-sealing gaskets and glazing, resealing a curb, small flashing repairs on an otherwise sound skylight.
- Moderate repairs: about $1,500 to $4,000. This is where skylights usually land. A full flashing rebuild, stripping and re-flashing the unit into the shingle courses with new head, sill, and step flashing and ice and water shield, runs toward the low end. A full skylight replacement typically runs $2,000 to $3,000 per skylight, depending on the size of the unit, the roof pitch, how many layers of roofing, and whether the interior trim needs to be rebuilt. Our gallery has one at $3,800 that included the interior trim and repairing damage from a leak that other companies had failed to fix several times.
- Major repairs: $4,000 and up. Multiple skylights, structural curb rebuilds, extensive deck rot under a long-running leak, or a skylight tied into a section that needs re-roofing.
Those are ranges. We can't tell you what your skylight is going to cost until we've seen it, because pitch, size, layers, and interior damage all move the number and none of it shows in a phone call. Get us out for a free inspection, or send photos and get one of our inspectors on the line. Either way you get a firm written price before anyone touches the roof.
Why West Michigan Trusts Stellar for Skylight Leaks
Skylight leaks are a flashing problem, and flashing is a craft. There's no manual for it, so it gets passed down. Get the flashing right and the leak is gone. Get it wrong, or hide it under caulk, and you're back under the same stain next season.
We spent years as the company builders and other roofers called when the leak wouldn't stop. Skylights that had been "fixed" three times. That's where you learn what actually holds.
What you get with Stellar:
- Leak traced to its true source, and the second one, with water testing when it takes that
- Flashing rebuilt as a system, head, sill, and step, woven into the courses, not caulked over
- VELUX No Leak skylights on replacements, installed with the VELUX flashing kit so the warranty holds
- Interior trim rebuilt while the ceiling's open
- The right sealant for each material, from the forty to sixty we carry
- A repair-or-replace answer, and a 10 to 15 year warranty on most skylight work
Our goal is simple: stop the water, protect your ceiling, and give you a skylight you can forget about again.
Skylight Leaking Right Now?
An active leak spreads fast, into insulation, framing, and drywall. Call or text us any hour. If it goes to voicemail, leave a message or a text and we'll get back to you. For an active leak we usually get out within 24 hours, weather and safety permitting, to stop the water and then repair the skylight properly.
Call or text (616) 840-1927Skylight Leak Repair Questions
Is my skylight leaking, or is it just condensation?
Both look the same on your ceiling. Condensation forms when warm indoor air hits cold glass, and it usually shows up on cold mornings around the frame, worst over bathrooms and kitchens. A true leak tracks water in during rain or snowmelt. We diagnose which one it is. A real leak needs flashing or seal repair. Condensation is fixed with attic ventilation and insulation, and sometimes a better bath fan.
Can you fix the leak without replacing the whole skylight?
Usually, yes. Most skylight leaks come from failed flashing or dried-out seals, not the glass, so re-flashing and re-sealing solves it on a sound unit. We recommend replacement when the frame is rotted, the glass is fogged from a blown seal, it's the wrong unit for the roof pitch, or the skylight is past its service life.
How much does skylight leak repair cost in West Michigan?
Every repair starts at $500. Re-sealing and minor flashing work runs $500 to about $1,500. A full flashing rebuild or a skylight replacement typically runs $1,500 to $4,000, with replacements usually landing at $2,000 to $3,000 per skylight depending on size, pitch, layers, and interior trim. Multiple skylights or structural work runs higher. We give you a firm written price after inspecting it.
What skylights do you install?
VELUX No Leak skylights, deck-mounted or curb-mounted depending on your roof pitch. They carry a 10-year installation warranty, 20 years on the glass, and 10 on the product, and that coverage depends on the skylight being installed with the VELUX flashing kit and adhesive underlayment. We install to VELUX spec so it holds.
Why do skylights leak more in the winter here?
Freeze-thaw and ice dams. Snowmelt refreezes above the curb and forces water backward under the head flashing, and repeated freezing cracks hardened seals. Proper flashing, the right sealant, and good attic ventilation keep winter leaks from coming back.
Should I replace my skylight when I get a new roof?
If it's 15 to 20 years old, almost always yes. The roof is already open. A new unit with fresh flashing costs a fraction of opening the roof again later, and you avoid an old skylight leaking under a new roof.
How fast can you respond to an active skylight leak?
Call or text (616) 840-1927 any hour. If it goes to voicemail, leave a message or a text. For an active leak we usually get out within 24 hours, weather and safety permitting, to get the water stopped, then come back for the permanent repair.
What This Page Cites
- VELUX USA, "What is the No Leak Skylight?" and "The VELUX No Leak Promise," three-layer water protection and warranty terms. veluxusa.com
- VELUX EDL deck-mount flashing kit specifications, pitch range 14 to 85 degrees, flashing kit required for 10-year installation warranty