For many homeowners, having a skylight installed in your residence can help instill a sense of luxury, in addition to bathing the room that it’s in with attractive, natural light. Skylights can give you a front row seat to a raging thunderstorm or a gorgeous star-filled evening, and while the idea of having one installed may sound like a no-brainer if it’s within your budget, these additions to your home do require maintenance and can come with their own share of issues – such as leaks – that can lead to costly repairs if you’re not careful.
That being said, if you are interested in having a skylight installed – or have a preexisting one that is giving you problems fixed – there’s no company more qualified to do so than Clearview Roofing and Construction.
Clearview Roofing and Construction specializes in residential roofing, construction, and restoration, and they've been steadfastly earning the sentiment behind their well-known tagline – “Trust Clearview” – since they first opened their doors for business in 1961.
The company has offices in Port Washington, Huntington and Rockville Centre, and services all of Nassau, Suffolk and Queens counties. And when it comes to residential repair, construction, and skylight installation and repair – especially when it comes to those aforementioned pesky leaks that can wreak havoc upon your home – no company on Long Island can compete, according to managing partner Chris Feniello.
Feniello notes that the number one cause of skylight leaks is surprisingly not due to the elements, but instead by home improvements that are not properly performed by hired contractors.
“It’s roofers. It’s not the skylight, It’s not the roof, shingles or the rain. The fact is we are fixing skylights constantly that were done incorrectly by roofers,” he said. “From our experience we have seen skylights done multiple ways, none of which are correct- using tons of tar, improper waterproofing application, shingles roofed incorrectly around the unit, and some are even installed crooked. We truly believe that the installer was just taught incorrectly or the job was simply rushed. There are many certified roofers certified in roofing that are botching skylights constantly. An improper skylight can leak immediately after it was installed or it can leak a few years after the install. Both are unacceptable. A properly installed skylight should be leak free for 20 years or more.”
When the time comes that a skylight needs to either be repaired or replaced, obviously there can be significant costs associated with doing so, but Clearview Roofing endeavors to always carry out top-notch work at a price their customers can afford.
If a skylight needs to be reset and resealed, it can cost anywhere between $800-$1,000 to take shingles out and redo it correctly. However, if the only avenue is a full replacement, that can be a bit more work, and the associated costs, of course, go up.
“It is always most cost-effective to replace a skylight while replacing a roof,” Feniello said. “An average cost with interior trim is usually around $1,300-$1,600 if not an overly large unit. Solar units are also more. If you are not doing a new roof and just replacing one, it is usually $2,500 or more, and if you have to cut a new hole and frame a new one it can be over $4,000.”
Feniello said that, when properly installed by an experienced professional, a skylight can last up to 30 years. It is important however, that the flashing and rubber gasket around the glass is checked on a regular basis; if you notice the glass is foggy or holding moisture, it’s a sign to replace the skylight. You can caulk the gasket temporarily, but once the glass is damaged, you will need to replace the unit or the top.
If the glass is not an issue when it comes to an issue with a skylight, there are many different approaches that Clearview Roofing takes to make an effective repair, depending on the cause of the leak.
“If it is an installation error, then we can reset and reinstall the skylight,” Feniello said. “This does involve removing and replacing roof shingles and waterproofing. Sometimes you can also replace just the top of a skylight, which is the frame and glass of the unit. However, it does not address the flashing, and many times it is best to change the whole unit which has the flashing and top.”
One question that Feniello says he gets asked often is if it is necessary for a homeowner who is having a new roof installed to have pre-existing skylights replaced, or if it is possible to keep the original units intact.
“That question depends on the year and condition of the skylight. If the skylights are 20+ years old, I would definitely say yes,” he said. “You are putting a 30- or 50-year roof on a home and you would want the skylights to last as long as the roof. If the skylights are newer, they can be properly sealed when a new roof is installed. It is important that the flashing is in good condition or replaceable. A skylight that is not leaking can leak after a new roof is installed due to improper manipulation of flashing open shingle removal.”
One way NOT to go about repairing a leaky skylight, Feniello pointed out, is using tar to seal it, as while it may temporarily address the issue at hand, it could lead to more serious problems down the road.
“If a roofer decides to smear a bucket of tar around a skylight it may temporarily stop water from entering the skylight, but it also prevents water from coming out,” he said. “We have seen instances where this has been done and now a homeowner might experience a leak three feet over and be told ‘it’s a new leak’ when really the water trapped in the unit had to find a path of least resistance.”
New technology advancement has led to the advent of what is known as Solar Skylights, which is essentially a skylight that can open and close with the help of a motor and remote control, powered by a very small solar panel installed on the unit in question. Feniello noted that his company specializes in installing Solar Skylights for a cost of approximately $3,500 if there is an existing opening; that price can go up upwards of $5,000 if a new hole has to be cut and framed in.
When it comes to replacing a skylight, you not only have to deal with making it fit properly on the roof that it’s inhabiting, Feniello said, but also that it fits your home’s interior properly as well; to that end, some additional work on the inside will be required as well as the outside.
“If you are replacing a skylight and you get the exact same size, there is still a small gap when dropped into the existing opening that may need trim, a trim kit, molding or a sheetrock repair,” Feniello said. “This all depends on the interior construction, and we will always advise a homeowner of the situation before we start. Often, homeowners are left with an interior bill and a roofer not willing to execute the interior. We handle both aspects from start to finish. We will even paint and repair any ceiling stains if needed.”
And finally, Feniello addressed the fact that not all roofs are created equal, and if you want a skylight installed in an unconventional setting – for example, flat roofs and shingles roofs – Clearview Roofing can certainly accommodate you when other companies cannot.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a shingle roof skylight on a flat roof and a competitor quoting the wrong type of skylight,” he said. “It is a completely different design and flashing detail.”
To find out more about Clearview Roofing and Construction, please call 631-262-7663 or visit their website at https://longislandroofs.com.
To find out more information from Clearview Roofing and Construction about Long Island skylights, please visit https://longislandroofs.com/skylight-installation-repair-long-island-suffolk-nassau.