Skylight Leak Repair in St. Louis, at a glance
Nine times out of ten a leaking skylight in St. Louis is a flashing failure at the head or the sides of the unit, not a failure of the glass or the frame. That matters because the fix is a day of roofing work rather than a new skylight. Call (314) 429-6000 for a free look.
Where the water is really getting in
Four places, in the order we find them.
The head flashing above the unit is first. It has to be lapped under the shingle course above and over the skylight apron. Reversed, and every rain sends water straight down the shaft. Second is the step flashing along the sides, which fails when someone caulked it instead of weaving it into each course. Third is the apron at the bottom, usually bent or short. Fourth, and least common, is the unit itself, where a failed seal shows as fog between the panes or a cracked gasket you can lift with a fingernail.
Condensation gets blamed for a lot of skylight leaks and occasionally deserves it. A bathroom or kitchen skylight in an under-ventilated attic will run with water on cold mornings and stay bone dry during rain. We check the attic side for that pattern before selling anyone a repair they do not need.
How we repair a leaking skylight
Inspect both sides
Roof surface, flashing, shingle courses above the unit, and the attic or shaft interior where the staining starts.
Find the entry point
Staining travels along framing before it appears on drywall, so the wet spot on the ceiling is rarely under the hole.
Strip and reflash
Courses removed around the unit, new flashing kit installed to the manufacturer detail, shingles woven back in.
Test it
Water tested before we call it finished, so you are not waiting on the next storm to find out.
Repair, reflash or replace
Reflash the existing unit
The right call when the skylight is sound and reasonably new. New flashing kit, new courses around it, unit stays.
Replace the unit and flash it
For units past twenty years or showing seal failure. The labor overlaps almost completely with reflashing, so combining them saves a second job.
Close it up
Some St. Louis homeowners want the skylight gone. We frame it in, deck it, insulate and shingle over, and finish the ceiling side separately.
Whichever way it goes, the price is written down first. Skylight work priced by the hour on the day is how small leaks turn into large invoices.
What a skylight leak does if you leave it
- Insulation in the shaft compresses and stops working, then holds moisture against the framing
- Drywall on the shaft walls softens, stains and eventually needs replacement
- Decking around the opening rots, which turns a flashing repair into a framing repair
- Mold gets a permanently damp, dark cavity to live in
- Ceiling paint blisters well away from the actual entry point, hiding the source
A flashing repair caught early is one of the cheapest jobs we do. The same leak found two winters later is a carpentry job with a roofing component.
Skylight leak questions
Is the leak the skylight or the roof around it?
Usually the flashing kit around it. A skylight that is genuinely failing shows condensation between the glass panes or a cracked seal at the frame. Water running down the shaft wall almost always entered at the head flashing or the step flashing beside it.
Can you reflash a skylight without replacing it?
Yes, when the unit itself is sound. We strip the courses around it, install a new flashing kit sized to the unit, and shingle back into it. That is a normal repair and it does not require a new skylight.
Should I replace the skylight while the roof is off?
If the unit is more than twenty years old, yes. Reflashing an old skylight costs nearly the same in labor as flashing a new one, and doing it twice is the expensive path.
Do you work on curb-mounted and deck-mounted units?
Both, plus tubular daylight devices. Each type has its own flashing detail and using the wrong one is a common cause of the leak we are called out to fix.
What does a skylight leak inspection cost in St. Louis?
Nothing. We inspect the unit, the flashing, the surrounding field and the attic side underneath it, then give you the written finding and the price to fix it.
Free skylight leak inspection
Tell us where the water shows up inside and we will call to schedule. Actively dripping? Phone us instead.
Skylight Leaking In St. Louis?
Free inspection of the unit, the flashing and the attic side, then a written price to fix it properly.