Roofing Glossary

Skylight

A skylight is a window set into the roof plane, bringing daylight into interior rooms. They transform dark spaces — but they are also holes in your roof, and every skylight is a future leak point that demands proper flashing.

Skylights come in curb-mounted (sitting on a raised wood curb) and deck-mounted (flush to the roof) styles, in fixed and venting versions. The flashing kit — step flashing woven into the shingles plus head and sill flashing — is what keeps them watertight, and it must match both the skylight and the roofing material.

The cardinal rule of skylights: replace them when you replace the roof. A 20-year-old skylight on a new 30-year roof guarantees a mid-life skylight project that disturbs the new roofing. The incremental cost during a re-roof is a fraction of a standalone replacement later.

Why It Matters

Skylight leaks are almost always flashing or seal failures, not glass failures. And timing matters — bundling skylight replacement into a roof replacement is one of the smartest upgrades you can make.

What to Watch For

• Water stains on the ceiling below or beside a skylight
• Condensation between panes (failed seal)
• Cracked or deteriorated flashing around the frame

A Maryland Note

Maryland's driving rains test skylight flashing hard. Older bubble-style acrylic skylights common on Maryland homes are past their prime — consider upgrading to modern glass units during re-roofing.

Questions about your own roof? Request a free estimate or call Nucci Brothers Roofing at (301) 458-1003.