Orange County Skylight Company

South County Roofing inspects dozens of leaking skylights and replacement jobs all over Orange County every year.  If you live anywhere near Lake Forest, Irvine, Foothill Ranch, Rancho Santa Margarita, or San Clemente and you are experiencing a problem with your roof, then give us a call.

We have been repairing and replacing skylights all over Orange County for over 25 years.  You can have peace of mind with knowing that we are completely licensed bonded and insured with the Contractors State License Board. 

We can dispatch one of our trained technicians to replace a cracked skylight or find a fix a skylight that has been leaking.  If your skylight does need to be replaced we will go up on the roof and make exact measurement.  This allows us to give you an exact price on your skylight replacement that we can guarantee.

skylight replacement

A typical skylight service call is for a leaking skylight where the interior ceiling directly under the skylight itself is getting water damage near the edges of his skylight or just below.

One would assume right off the bat that the skylight needs to be replaced.  But, when your ceiling get wet or damaged under your skylight that usually means the waterproofing or flashing is not stopping the water from getting under your roof.  Replacing your skylight will do nothing to remedy this problem.

Every skylight will leak eventually and we know whether to recommend a replacement or repair.  We accomplish this by closing listing to what your problem is and making a free in home estimate.  This allows us to see for ourselves what needs to be done in order to solve this problem.

In most cases of water damage to the interior of the ceiling just below a skylight does not indicate the skylight itself is leaking.  Something else has failed.  It is usually that the roof flashing needs to be replaced or the roofing underlayment that is used to water proof the skylight has failed and needs to be replaced.

One can not simple assume that this is the case and that is why it is so important the person estimating the leak should go up on the roof with weather permitting and inspect the skylight and the flashing around it.

Getting a quote from someone who does not got up the roof when it is safe is a red flag in my mind.  There are so many things that could be causing the skylight to leak we believe it deserves a close look.  Plus, without measuring the exact size could lead to a under quoting the project.

When one of our trained Orange County Skylight repair technicians go up on your roof to perform an inspection for a roof leak around a skylight we check:

• The flashing system used to wrap the skylight.
• The skylight itself for obvious cracks.
• Look for broken roofing tiles or other obvious cause for the roof leak.
• Sometimes it is not easy to tell what is causing the leak.  That is because it could be any one of a dozen things such as missing roof flashing.
• Checking for a hairline cracks in the skylight itself.
• Sloppy roof installation in general could be a contributing factor.

It is so important to be as thorough is so important when it comes to skylight repair.  The last thing you want to do is spend money to replace a skylight only to find the flashing also needs to be replaced.

And, if the skylight is not cracked or worn out then you do not need to change that either.  A well-built skylight can last at least 20 years or more, so you do not want to throw away a skylight with a lot of life left in it.

What happen if the inspector goes up on the roof and everything checks out?  Meaning, the area around the skylight had no visible signs of roof damage. Furthermore, there were not any broken tiles or missing shingles, and the skylight itself was in good shape.

Lastly, all the flashing around the skylight was there and seems to be sufficient.

This may be an indicator that the leak source may be under the roofing tiles or shingles.  To confirm this, we will need to perform a roof leak detection service.

This involves removing the roofing from around the skylight itself to find the roof leak source and repair it for good.

This process must include removing all the roofing tiles and skylight flashing down to the deck.

When the deck is exposed a trained eye will be able to see sign of water damage and use this to find where the leak source us coming from.

Is Caulking a Good Skylight Repair

The simple answer to this common question is typically no.  I will not say that this is not possible it is just not likely, almost ever.  One of the most common requests we get from a customer regarding a skylight leak is “can’t you just caulk it”?  “Another roofer told me that’s all I have to do”.

When I hear this, it means I must inform the customer that the solution to this problem is usually not that simple to solve.  Furthermore, caulking a skylight dome that is not leaking will not ever fix the problem.  It is a quick fix that usually does not fix anything and typically a waste money.

Orange County leaking skylights

The first thing a trained roofer does to repair a leaking skylight is remove all the roofing tiles and safely stack them aside for later use.  The next step in this process is to carefully remove the roof flashing from around the skylight and any remaining water proofing.

Removing the tile and then the flashing will leave the roofer with a exposed deck.  This is where the full extent of any water damage will be accessed.  It is crucial that the roofer takes the time to remove any water damaged plywood.  He will not get another chance.  This is also the time to add some nails to loose decking and hammer any nails back down that are backing out.  These small details will ensure that your repair will last.

At this time, your repair is ready for the new water proofing and your roofer should consider doing a cleanup of the old and removed pieces of roofing.  We like to stuff the trash and into re-usable bags. We use recyclable bags that can be used many times over. We try to be as clean and green as possible when working on your roof.

Ice and Water Shield Around Your Skylight

Because of the occasional high winds we experience in Orange County we like to wrap skylights with a layer of premium water proofing called ice and water shield.  This is an expensive material but well worth it. Water can not penetrate the ice and water shield and will not soak through like regular or thin synthetic roofing felt.

Then we apply a layer of roofing felt that matches what was already installed on your roof.  It is important not to mix and match materials here.  Your roofer should use the same type of felt and same number of layers as was originally used.

Orange County Skylight Flashing

South County Roofing takes the time and does the necessary steps needed to give you a long-term roof repair and extended “No Leak” warranty. We remove a very large area around the skylight for extra precautions.

When we remove tile from around your skylight, we make sure to carefully stacked it aside for later re-use.  Any debris we find under your roof is cleaned and put into a re-useable bag instead of blowing it into your backyard.

We standardly remove and replace all the leaking flashing around your skylight.  We make sure to take the time to repair the deck and pound down all nails and loose decking edges. This is how we prepare your roof for a layer of premium water shield, new ASTM roofing felt, and custom fabricated skylight flashing to fit around your skylight curb.

Orange County Skylight Curb Height

Most Orange County skylights are sitting on what is called a curb.  That is why they are called curb mounted skylights.  The curb is a simple construction of either 2×4 or 2×6 wood cut to form a square or rectangle configuration.

A skylight that sits to low in relation to the roof deck will be susceptible to leaking during windblown rain weather.  This can be avoided if your roofer knows this and knows how to fix this without going through the hassle and cost of making a brand new curb.

If your existing curb height is just a little low then you can add a 2×2 or 2×3 piece of wood to the top of the curb to increase the height.  You don’t want to make it to high or you may be able to see the new wood from the inside of the skylight shaft itself.

Typically, you just need to raise it about two inches if needed at all.

The combination of removing the felt, replacing the dry rot or termite damaged wood and following these steps insure a quality skylight repair:

1. pounding down all popped up nails
2. making any necessary decking repair to get the deck as flat and smooth as possible
3. removing the dome and fabricating new skylight and roof flashing,
4. picking up the height of the curb will allow us to warranty this area of the roof for years and years to come.

When your roofer follows these steps this area of the roof will be the last area of your roof to ever leak again.

Throw in a simple tune up of replacing the broken roof tiles, cleaning behind the chimney, repairing slipped or displace roof tiles, and the life expectancy of this roof can go up 10-20 years from what it was before the roofer started working.

If you live in Orange County, Ca and you are experiencing some damaged or a wet ceiling around your skylights then give us a call and we will come out and do the repair work as described above and your skylight leaks will be gone.

We are a good option for any Orange County skylight repair or replacement.

We are a small roofing company that focuses on quality not quantity and offer the best possible prices we can with the maximum amount of professional service and attention the detail.  We have the experience of over 25 years repairing and replacing skylights near you.  We are completely licensed and bonded.  We are good people to work with.

Orange County Home Owners Contact South County Roofing Directly

If you have a quick question about your Orange County skylight repair, then send us a picture and email it directly to us at customerservivce@southcountyroofing.com and our office manager will get back to you right away.

If you have a specific concern and need it taken care of right away, then please fill out our contact form.  Filling out the form allows us to quickly know where you are, what you need, and allow us to sometimes immediately dispatch a repair technician or sales rep. to your home.

Lastly, if it is raining you must fill out the form.  Rather than us calling you back, leaving messages, returning your message, playing phone tag, and then getting all your info over the telephone.

The contact form cuts straight to that and you will get scheduled much more quickly.