Skylight Installation and Leak Repair in Jersey Village, TX
A skylight is a hole deliberately cut in the one surface of a house whose entire job is keeping water out, which is why it deserves more care than any other roof penetration. Done properly it is reliable for decades. Done as an afterthought, sealed with caulk instead of flashed correctly, it becomes the leak a homeowner chases for years. We install, replace, and repair skylights across Jersey Village and the wider Houston metro, and a large share of that work is correcting units someone else fitted.
Quick Answer: can a leaking skylight be repaired, or does it need replacing?
It depends on where it is failing. A flashing failure is repairable and often inexpensive. A failed glass seal, a cracked acrylic dome, or a unit past roughly twenty years is a replacement. We diagnose which before quoting, because the two jobs differ by an order of magnitude in cost.
What We Do
Leak Diagnosis
Finding whether the water is coming from the flashing, the seal, the surrounding roof field, or condensation, before anything is sold.
Flashing Kit Replacement
Replacing the manufacturer's step and head flashing properly, which is the fix for most leaking skylights that are otherwise sound.
Unit Replacement
Like-for-like replacement into the existing opening, typically completed in half a day per unit.
New Installation
Cutting, framing, flashing, and finishing a new skylight or sun tunnel, including the interior shaft.
Why Skylights Leak in the Houston Climate
Almost every skylight leak we are called to falls into one of four categories, and telling them apart is most of the job. The first and most common is flashing failure. A skylight should be integrated into the roof with a proper step-and-head flashing kit that weaves into the shingle courses, so water is shed around and past the unit. Where an installer has relied on sealant instead, the repair is working on a clock: sealant in Texas sun becomes brittle within a few years, cracks, and then admits water in exactly the driving rain that a Gulf Coast storm delivers. That is why so many skylights leak in a downpour and stay dry in ordinary weather.
The second is seal failure in the unit itself. A double-glazed skylight has an inert gas fill between the panes and a perimeter seal holding it; when that seal fails you get fogging, mineral staining between the panes, and eventually water. No amount of work on the roof fixes this, because the water is not coming through the roof. The third is the surrounding roof field rather than the skylight at all, which is common where a unit sits low on a slope and takes the drainage from a large area above it. The fourth is condensation, and it fools people regularly: humid Houston nights, a cool glass surface, and a bathroom or kitchen below produce water that drips exactly like a leak but appears with no rain. A competent diagnosis distinguishes these before any money is spent.
- Licensed & insured Texas roofing contractor
- Leak diagnosed before a repair or replacement is quoted
- Manufacturer flashing kits, not sealant-dependent installs
- Curb-mounted and deck-mounted units
- Skylight work coordinated with roof replacement where sensible
- 10-year workmanship warranty on installation
Replacing Skylights During a Roof Replacement
The best moment to deal with a skylight is during a roof replacement, and it is worth understanding why. During a tear-off the flashing around every penetration comes off regardless, so the labour of removing and reinstalling the unit is already in the job. Adding a new skylight at that point costs the unit and a modest amount of additional work. Doing it two years later means opening up a new roof, re-flashing into courses that are already laid, and accepting a repair in a roof that was watertight.
This is also the honest answer to a question homeowners ask us often: whether to keep an older skylight that has not yet leaked. If the roof is being replaced and the unit is fifteen years old or more, keep the labour and change the unit. If the skylight is recent and in good condition, we reflash it and leave it, and we will say so rather than selling a replacement that is not needed. The same logic applies to units damaged in a storm, where the cost may sit inside a storm damage claim rather than coming out of pocket.
Related Services
Roof Repair
Leak detection and repair across the whole roof, not only at penetrations.
Free Roof Inspection
We check every skylight, vent, and flashing point as part of a standard inspection.
Attic Ventilation
Relevant when the water at a skylight turns out to be condensation rather than a leak.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my skylight leak only during heavy Houston rain?
A skylight that stays dry in ordinary rain and leaks in a downpour is usually failing at the flashing rather than the glass seal. Gulf Coast storms drive water sideways and push it up under the head flashing, which a light shower never does. The other common cause is condensation, which looks identical from inside but appears on humid nights with no rain at all.
Should I replace my skylight when I replace the roof?
If the unit is more than about fifteen years old, yes. The flashing kit has to come off and go back on during a tear-off anyway, so the labour is already being spent, and an aged acrylic dome or a seal near the end of its life will usually fail before the new roof is halfway through its warranty. Replacing later means opening a new roof to do it.
How long does a skylight replacement take?
A straight like-for-like replacement into an existing opening is typically a half-day per unit. Changing size, moving the opening, or adding a new skylight involves cutting and framing the deck and finishing the interior shaft, which runs one to three days depending on ceiling height and whether the attic space is clear.
Are skylights a bad idea in the Texas heat?
An old single-glazed dome facing west is a genuine heat problem in a Houston summer. A modern double-glazed unit with a low-E coating and a laminated inner pane is a different product entirely, and on a north-facing slope the heat gain is modest. Orientation matters more than most homeowners expect, which is why we look at the slope before recommending a unit.
Get a Free Skylight Assessment
Call Jersey Village Roofing Pros at (281) 555-0173, book a free roof inspection, or read our guide to choosing a Houston roofing contractor.