Skylight Replacement in Hillsborough, NJ
Hillsborough Roofing replaces skylights on Hillsborough homes, from one fogged unit over a stairwell to four on a raised ranch addition. A skylight is a deliberate hole in a roof, and it stays dry because of how the flashing kit is layered, not what was squeezed around the frame. We take the old unit out and flash the new one into the shingles.
When a skylight is worn out and when it is only dirty
Fogging between the panes is the clearest signal. An insulated glass unit that has lost its seal hazes or holds a cloud no cleaning touches, and it cannot be resealed in place. Cracked or chalky acrylic domes are the other obvious case, since the plastic goes brittle under Somerset County sun. But not every drip is a failed unit. Gasket rot, a corroded frame, and a flashing kit installed wrong all read the same from a ladder, so we look at the unit and the opening together before deciding whether you are buying glass or flashing labor.
Curb mount, deck mount, and sun tunnels
Three mounting styles cover almost every roof in Somerset County. Which one you have was set by how the original opening was framed, and switching means reworking the curb, so it is worth knowing before you shop.
Curb mount units on a built up frame
The skylight sits on a wood curb built above the deck and the flashing wraps that curb. Common on older openings and on low slope sections where height helps water get around. A curb rotted at the corners gets rebuilt before a new unit lands on it.
Deck mount units flashed into the shingles
The frame sits directly on the deck and the flashing kit layers into the shingle courses, giving a lower profile and a cleaner line from the yard. Velux deck mount units ship with a flashing kit sized to the model, and using that kit rather than improvised metal is most of what keeps it dry.
Fixed glass versus venting units
Fixed units are glass and frame with nothing to fail mechanically. Venting units open by crank or motor, which suits a bath or kitchen that runs humid. That hardware and the rain sensor can wear, so the choice is comfort against fewer moving pieces.
Sun tunnels for interior rooms
With no straight shot from roof to room, a sun tunnel drops a reflective tube through the attic to a ceiling diffuser. Hallways, closets, and windowless baths are the usual candidates. The roof side is a compact flashed dome, far less framing than a full opening.
Condensation that looks exactly like a leak
A wet skylight in January is often not a leak. Warm moist indoor air rises, meets cold glass, and runs down the frame into the drywall shaft, landing exactly where a real leak would. The tell is timing: condensation shows up on cold clear nights and after showers, while a leak shows up when it rains.
The fix is usually ventilation and air sealing, not a new unit. We would rather say the skylight is fine and the attic is not than sell glass that fogs again next winter.
Replacing skylights while the roof is already open
If your roof is due, this is the moment. The flashing kit goes into fresh shingle courses either way, so doing the units during the re roof avoids paying twice to open the same area.
New units in an old roof are fine when the shingles have life left. The reverse, old skylights under a new roof, is what we push back on, because the next failure means cutting into shingles just paid for. If the roof is at the end of its run, look at roof replacement and price the skylights inside it.
What we check on a skylight before quoting
- Whether the haze is a failed glass seal or film on the inside pane.
- Curb condition at the corners, where rot starts and hides under flashing.
- Whether the flashing is a matched kit or site bent metal and sealant.
- The drywall shaft, which shows how long water has been getting in.
- Attic ventilation around the shaft, the usual source of winter condensation.
Related roofing services
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