Skylight Replacement

[OldDutch]

So the skylight in my house started leaking last week, causing a part of my master bathroom ceiling to cave in. We managed to get the ceiling opened up before it caused any more damage to the rest of the bathroom.

Anyways, I need to replace the skylight in my house. It is a custom size (41" I believe).

Does anyone here have a skylight installer that they have used, or know of one they would highly recommend?

[Frank MetaMusil]

My friend went with these guys, I haven't heard back if they did a good job or not though....

http://www.skylightconcepts.ca/

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Frank MetaMusil

My friend went with these guys, I haven't heard back if they did a good job or not though....

http://www.skylightconcepts.ca/

Great thank you. I had them in for a quote last night. Given how many skylights you see in Calgary, I am surprised how few companies I can find that specialize in this. Cheers!

[postman56]

I need two replaced as well from last years hail,a 2X4 and a 4X4 thriple glaze but Skylight Concepts wants a fortune for this!! Any other qualified installers?
Much Appreciated

[Northendzone]

insert standard CP joke about going to the skylight district down on X st and Y ave......

[speede5]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

Great thank you. I had them in for a quote last night. Given how many skylights you see in Calgary, I am surprised how few companies I can find that specialize in this. Cheers!

Skylights are a pita, and the risk/reward ratio is quite low so no one wants to do them. They are ok in new construction but retrofitting can be a nightmare.

[OldDutch]

I ended up going with Cossins. They installed Velux brand with a blind on a remote. It has worked really well for 3 years now. They also were able to open up the hole to fit a larger size. I can't remember price though.

[J Diddy]

Skylight concepts did mine a couple years ago. The skylight looks great and looks like it was installed well but they installed the wrong shingles around it. Waited a good 3 or 4 months before they got around to fixing them because they said you can't buy them anymore. I walked into Home Depot and found them in 30 seconds. In the end I think one of the sales guys ended up replacing the shingles as they didn't seem to give a crap to give good service after they had my money. I should have held back money but I didn't realize the shingles were wrong until a few days later.

[REDVAN]

We're building a new house... should we go for a skylight or no?

I've never heard anything good about them, so not sure I want to spend extra to have them installed.

[OldDutch]

Ya they never matched my shingles either. They installed a total mismatch, and never told me until I saw my house at an off angle a year later and noticed. Funny part is I had extra shingles from the new roof in my basement.

So ya on a reno skylight make sure they include in the quote same color shingles.

As for on a new home. I would suggest it. Our bathroom has one massive skylight and it looks fantastic, lets tons of natural light in. Also, if it is an option get Velux or other name brand. They are designed to last 20 years, by then you should probably be long gone. The down side is if you are still there when it leaks, they tend to be slow leaks that rot out your ceiling, and like us, eventually the bathroom ceiling warps and needs replacing.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

We're building a new house... should we go for a skylight or no?

I've never heard anything good about them, so not sure I want to spend extra to have them installed.

I put three in an old house, never had a problem but won't do a retrofit again.

The only way I would consider them is in a new build, If you have a good contractor do it they should last as long as the shingles, which would be a convinient time to change it.

Most of the issues aren't so much with the window unit leaking, but with the flashing and roof tie in portion. in a new build this should never be an issue, but you need a good window installer and roofer that work together. With the membranes available these days, and a proper flashing kit you should never see a problem. If that side of the job is done right, changing the window unit is a half hour non intrusive job.

Another issue is condensation. Condensation on the inside, which runs down the window and into your drywall can be a killer.Talk to your window guy about this and see what they recommend.