Skylight installation is more than cutting a hole in your roof. It's a careful sequence of framing, flashing, and sealing that keeps water out while letting light in. On a Novato home, where foggy mornings give way to afternoon sun and winter storms roll in off the Pacific, a skylight that's not installed right will leak — and a leak that seeps into your ceiling wicks along the sheathing, rotting the roof deck before you even see a stain.
We've replaced skylights on houses in Ignacio, Black Point, and Bel Marin Keys where the old unit was leaking for years. The flashing was cracked, the sealant had flaked off, and water had eroded the wood underneath. That's the kind of damage skylight installation is meant to prevent from day one.
What Does Skylight Installation Involve?
Skylight installation starts with a design consultation. We look at your roofline, your ceiling joists, and the insulation in your attic to find the best spot for light without compromising structure. Then we prep the opening — cutting the roof deck, framing the rough opening to meet building code, and checking that the surrounding shingles are sound.
The critical part is flashing. We use step flashing and counter-flashing to weave the skylight into the shingle courses above it, so water runs over the unit, not under it. A self-adhered underlayment goes down first, then the flashing, then the skylight itself. We seal every exposed fastener with a high-grade sealant. This isn't a job for caulk and hope.
We install fixed skylights, vented skylights, and sun tunnels. Fixed units are for light only. Vented ones open to let out hot air — nice in Novato's dry summers. Sun tunnels are a great option for hallways or bathrooms where a full skylight won't fit. We also offer solar-powered blinds that sit inside the unit, cutting glare and heat when you want them down.
For brands, we reach for VELUX and Solatube. Both are proven, and their flashing kits integrate cleanly with the rest of your roof. We don't cut corners on the unit itself, because that's where leaks start.
When Do You Need Skylight Installation or Replacement?
You need skylight installation if you're adding natural light to a dark room, or if your current skylight is leaking, fogging, or drafty. Old units — especially ones installed 20 years ago — often have single-pane glass and aluminum frames that sweat and drip. Replacing them with a modern, double-pane unit with a low-E coating stops the condensation and the heat loss.
Signs your skylight needs attention: water stains on the ceiling below, a draft you can feel standing under it, or daylight showing around the frame. If the flashing has failed, water can seep behind the shingles and rot the sheathing without a single drip indoors. Catching it early saves you from a bigger roof repair down the road.
We also handle skylight leak repair. Sometimes it's a simple fix — resealing the flashing or replacing a cracked pane. Other times the whole unit needs to come out. We'll tell you which one it is, honestly, after we get up there and look.
How Much Does Skylight Installation Cost?
Skylight installation costs depend on the size of the unit, the pitch of your roof, and how much framing and flashing work is needed. A basic fixed skylight on a straightforward roof runs less than a large vented unit with solar-powered blinds. We give free estimates, and our price includes the tear-off of the old skylight, the new flashing, and the underlayment — no surprise charges when we find rot underneath.
We'll walk you through the line-item estimate so you know exactly what you're paying for. If the roof deck needs repair, we'll show you the damage and explain the fix before we do it. That's how we handle every job, from a simple gutter installation to a full roof replacement.
Skylight installation is a job for a roofing contractor who understands how water moves on a roof. We've been doing this in Novato long enough to know the local building codes, the weather patterns, and the kind of flashing that holds up through a wet winter. Call us at 4156875270 and we'll come take a look.
