LaFayette Roof & Leak
LaFayette, Georgia

Skylight leaks in LaFayette

Skylights leak at the flashing kit or the perimeter seal far more often than through the glass itself. The unit sits proud of the roof plane and interrupts the water path, so everything depends on how the flashing was stepped into the surrounding courses. Water showing at the corners of the opening inside is the classic sign. Condensation on the inside of the pane is a different problem entirely — that is ventilation, not a leak, and sealing the outside will not touch it.

What the job involves

  • Inspection of the flashing kit, head, sill and side step flashing
  • Assessment of the perimeter seal and any sealant previously applied
  • Check of the glazing unit seal where condensation is suspected
  • Reflashing rather than resealing where the kit has failed

Signs you need it

  • Drips at the corners of the skylight opening
  • Staining on the plasterboard reveal around the window
  • Moisture between the panes of the glazing unit

Why roofs fail in LaFayette and Walker County

LaFayette sits in the Blue Ridge foothills, which puts it in a different roofing climate from most of Georgia. The mountains get real freeze-thaw cycling: water works into a hairline gap in flashing during the day, freezes overnight, expands, and opens the gap a little wider. Repeat that through a Walker County winter and a joint that was watertight in October is leaking by March. Ice at the eaves is the other one — meltwater running down a warm roof refreezes over the cold overhang and backs up under the shingle course, which is how water ends up inside a roof with no visible damage at all. Steep pitches shed snow well but make access harder, and older stock here runs to standing-seam and pressed metal, which fails at the fastener rather than the panel.

LaFayette has a population of about 6,888, and the housing stock here sets the pattern for what fails first on a roof.

Questions about skylight leaks in LaFayette

Is condensation on my skylight a leak?

No. Moisture on the room-side face of the glass is warm damp air meeting a cold surface, and it is a ventilation problem. Moisture trapped between the panes means the sealed unit has failed and the glazing needs replacing. Neither is fixed by working on the roof.

Can an old skylight be reflashed, or does it need replacing?

If the unit itself is sound it can be reflashed, which is far cheaper. Replacement makes sense when the frame has rotted, the seal between panes has gone, or the unit is old enough that matching flashing is no longer available.

Other roofing work in LaFayette

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You will get a straight answer on whether LaFayette needs someone out today or whether it can wait — before anyone quotes you for anything.

Call (706) 696-1888
Call (706) 696-1888