Benefits of installing a skylight during a roof replacement

Installing the skylight with the roof off means you don’t have to go through an existing roof and risk damaging the roof or having seals in the skylight not fit with the roof properly, leaving defects for water to get through. Installing a skylight during the replacement of a roof will generally incur a reduced cost due to the reduced difficulty and the labour costs being merged with the with the roof replacement itself and installing a skylight with a roof replacement/installation will also reduce the risk of damaging the new roof if the skylight is installed afterwards or reduces the chance of damaging the skylight if it is installed before replacing the roof. When installing a skylight during a roof installation the life expectancy of the skylight can also be increased as the seal can be applied more effectively, and the roof can be made to fit more tightly around the skylight reducing the chances of leaks or moisture damage

Replacing a roof with an existing skylight

It is heavily recommended that should you need to replace your roof with an existing skylight to replace the skylight as well as it is very difficult to prevent damage to the skylight during the tear down phase of the roof replacement and even if the skylight survives the roof replacement, they tend to fail within 12 months of the roof being replaced.

Risks of installing a skylight after or before replacing the roof

There are various things that can go wrong with installing a skylight before or after a roof replacement as to why it is recommended to replace the skylight at the same time as the roof such as leaking, warping of materials, and rotting. Since an opening for the skylight must be made and needs to be large enough for the work to install the skylight to be done this increases the spacing around the skylight creating a larger area in which faults can occur. These possible issues with installing a skylight into an existing roof are also the reason that it’s not recommended to install a skylight after installing a new roof as this can void the warranty on the roof since it is preforming work that introduces addition failure points to an already validated roof.

It is important to think about the timing of when to install a skylight and the risks involved in the process to minimize the risks, costs and headaches that can come from this. It is always recommended to replace a skylight when getting a new roof and it is optimal to install skylights when installing a roof all of this is to prevent possible damage to the roof and the skylight which can cause either of these to need to be replace earlier then normally need. If your thinking of getting a skylight installed and having any questions or concerns, give us a call at (02) 4960 2399 or send us a message on our contact page.