It Pays to Think About Skylights!

For many of us in the roofing and home renovation industry, Charles Otis needs no introduction. A Residential Roofing Specialist at VELUX Skylights, Charles has a national platform encompassing the U.S. From his instructional videos to his emails/newsletters to his prompt response to inquiries, Charles is passionate about educating others about skylights. (If you can’t tell, we are big fans of Charles’ expertise!)
 
Expert Advice about Skylights from VELUX Professional Charles Otis
 
We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Charles for an interview. The first thing we asked him was to share the #1 thing that most roofers don’t realize about skylights.
 
Charles responded that skylights (just like shingles, felt, box vents, etc.) are part of the roofing system. He noticed, though, that many roofers treat skylights as a separate item from the roof and/or try to avoid dealing with skylights. He strongly believes that if you are replacing the roof, you should replace the skylights at the same time. The reason? There are risks to ignoring the homeowners’ skylights.
 
Risks of Ignoring Skylights During Roof Repairs
 
In his experience, Charles has found that most skylights, if not replaced, will leak at some point after the repairs. In some cases, the leaking began just a few weeks after the job was complete. Even if the leak occurs a year or two after the repairs, however, it is likely that the homeowner will believe that you (the roofer) are responsible—which is understandable. After all, the skylights didn’t leak prior to your roof repairs.
 
What the homeowner may not realize is that some slight shifting may have occurred during the roof repairs, which could result in tiny gaps and leaks. In addition, because you didn’t install the existing skylights, you cannot guarantee the skylight, the workmanship, or the quality of the prior installation.
 
Discuss Replacing Skylights With Homeowners When Making Roof Repairs
 
Thus, whenever you repair a roof with skylights, Charles recommends the following:
 

• Talk to the homeowner about replacing the skylights when they replace the roof.
  • Include skylights as part of your complete roof package.
  • Don’t treat it as a separate item!
• Add skylights as a line item in your work contract.
  • Include the cost of replacing the skylights in your roof package.
• Make sure the homeowner understands that there is no new warranty on a re-flashed skylight (so the homeowner will need to assume responsibility for leaving their old skylights on the roof).
  • Also, remind your clients that the cheapest time to replace their skylights is when they replace their roof.
• Take steps to protect yourself if the homeowner doesn’t want to replace their skylights.
  • Ask the homeowner to sign an addendum stating that the homeowner accepts responsibility for any issues that might arise due to leaving the existing skylights in place.  (Click the file at the bottom of this page for a template addendum.)

 
One final note: Even if the homeowners sign the addendum, they may still believe your roofers are to blame for the leaking skylight. Although they may not seek you out for monetary damages, they will certainly be unhappy. So take a hard look at how you are managing skylights today and see if any improvements are needed!
 
If you have any questions and would like to speak to Charles, feel free to contact him at [email protected] or 864-941-4796.  Drop us a comment below to share your experience with skylights!

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