Why It Was Time to Change Our Skylight

We have a skylight in our kitchen. One that was put in years before I got together with Gerry and we have been together for at least 15 years.

We had gone away the winter before, as we usually do, and had come home to see that it had been leaking/ dripping, and water had at some point, ran down from it and was splattering on the stove! The quick fix for us was to put some chalking up there. Gerry said the seal had let go, and we would need a new skylight. The frame had also started to rot, which was visible from the inside of our home.

                                          

Fast forward to Summer, where the weather is better to do the install, and we found a great skylight from Velux to replace the old one. Our kit from Velux included the skylight, waterproof membrane, and flashing. We did have to also spend an extra $120 for new shingles to finish it up, chalking and ice shield.

                                 

The new skylight is a  double pane glass, tempered over laminated , because  laminated glass will not shatter into the home if the skylight breaks – so it is much safer. The glass comes with a 10 year hail warranty, and their NEAT coating which is on the exterior pane,  is designed to make dust and dirt no stick to the glass – so when there is water on it the material will wash off. It also comes with argon gas in between the panes – which is a way of insulating the glass to make sure that the heat inside the home in the winter will not escape through the glass. Also, it comes with a low e3 coating. Low e3 coating serves two main purposes: it stops ultraviolet and infrared rays from entering through the skylight – so it wont change the color of anything in my kitchen. It also  helps with solar heat – so in the summer it lets all the great natural light in while keeping the heat out.

From the stand point of Gerry's install, removal of the old one took about an hour.

Prep of the roof took about another hour, and then the install took another hour, which included re-shingling the area of the roof around the skylight.

This one is better secured to the roof over the last one we had. The last one had two brackets per side to secure the skylight. The new one has a nailing flange all around the skylight. Much better.

If you currently have a skylight, in closing, it should be inspected on a regular basis, to check the seals and shingles around the area... and to consider a brand like Velux.

VELUX is the world leader in the manufacturing of skylights, Sun Tunnels and roof windows. Celebrating 75 years of innovation, daylight and fresh air. VELUX is ranked #1 among customers, installers, architects & renovators. Trust the brand who first engineered the skylight!