Skylight Leak Repair | RayAccess, Inc.

Proudly Serving Los Angeles And The Surrounding Areas

RayAccess is your go-to-shop for exterior building maintenance and skylight leak repair. Skylights are an awesome design feature that literally bring lots of light into our lives but they do have a downside. Skylights have excessive exposure to direct sunlight, UV rays, and temperature changes. This constant exposure damages sealants on window joints much quicker than other areas of your home or building. 

Hence, skylights will leak!

RayAccess technicians are here to diagnose and fix skylight leaks. Skylight caulking is much less expensive than replacement. Since skylights are generally out of reach, it pays to hire someone skilled in fall protection and rope access techniques.

A fall from height can result in serious injury or even death. The World Health Organization claims the number of people who have died from falls from ladders has tripled over the past decade. So please contact RayAccess if you are not equipped for the job. Please find our complete guide below on skylight leak repair, and read with great caution, as fall protection techniques are essential.

Skylight Caulking Service Area:

Are you having trouble finding a professional skylight caulking contractor in the Los Angeles area? Skylight caulking is especially difficult when your roof is sloped with difficult access points. Fortunately, RayAccess can access the most difficult to reach skylights on your residential home or office building.

RayAccess primarily works on the Westside but our team will travel for select jobs throughout the greater Los Angeles area. We employ industrial rope access technicians which means we put safety first.

Anatomy of a Skylight 

A roof window or skylight’s most common form is the fixed skylight. It does not open and is usually out-of-reach on a very high ceiling to bring in light. There are different types of skylight shafting which expose how the light is delivered beneath. Perpendicular shafting will deliver light straight below, whereas flared shafting on all sides deliver light over a much wider area. A fixed skylight consists of the following components:

Lens or Glazing: The transparent surface that is made of acrylic or glass. There are many types of window lens that offer various features which help control noise, UV light, and insulation. 

Frame: The skeleton which gives the skylight it’s basic shape.It can be seen from the interior. Commonly made of wood metal or synthetic materials. 

Sash: The part of the skylight seen from the outside. It’s purpose is to protect and hold the glazing and frame. 

Weather stripping: The layer of insulation between the frame and sash. It reduces condensation and helps with energy conservation.

Flashing: Connects skylight with surrounding roof that should be airtight with the purpose of weatherproofing. Skylight flashing is most often a metal material.

In addition to fixed, there are tubular skylights and vented skylights. Tubular skylights or sun tunnels are less costly to install and maintain. Tubular skylights are commonly found in hallways, pantries, foyers and closets. Vented skylights are great for rooms with excess moisture like kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms. Vented skylights allow ventilation and can be opened manually or by remote control.  

Caulk vs Silicone (Skylight Caulking Sealants) 

Caulk: A polyurethane sealant primarily used as a filler. An organic material, waterproof, expands with temperature changes, more rigid than silicone sealants when dry, seals joints with cracks between building materials

Silicone: A type of sealant commonly used to bind materials together made of glass, plastic or metal. An inorganic material, better in spaces prone to expansion and contraction, it can be used in areas with higher moisture level, provides high UV resistance, paint can not be applied over silicon

How to Fix a Leaky Skylight 

How to fix a leaky skylight or how to seal a skylight is a 4 step process which includes a leak inspection, cleaning skylight joints, surface preparation, and application of sealant. 

4 step process: Inspection, Cleaning, Surface Preparation, Application

1. Inspection: The first step is to diagnose the leak and rule out skylight condensation. It could also be an unrelated roof leak above the skylight that has found a conduit and is coming out through an opening where the ceiling meets the skylight. If you believe it is indeed a skylight leak, a visual inspection is needed to find any gaps in the exterior or skylight flashing. Gaps can appear from a design malfunction or worn sealant due to direct exposure to sun and rain.
2. Cleaning: The second step includes examining the old skylight caulking for cracks or delamination. If there are issues, the old caulk must be removed completely. Clean the joint from any dirt, oil or debris.
3.  Surface Preparation: The third step is to consider the thickness of the sealant application – If the window sealant is too thick, it has much less flexibility resulting in cracks and failure. In this case, a backers rod should be used on joints deeper than 0.5 inch.
4. Application: Finally, it is now time to apply the new sealant with a pressure gun. The sealant should be applied and tooled in a concave shape. Tooling is critically important to ensure adhesion. 

What is Skylight Condensation?

Skylight condensation is not due to leaks but a result of the environmental conditions inside and outside your home or building. Most frequently, it occurs in bathrooms or when warm/moist air rises and meets much colder glass that is influenced by outside weather. It results in water droplets that appear as leaks. 

A fast and easy cure for skylight condensation is to reduce humidity in the room. Skylight condensation can also be impacted by poor design and thickness of glass. 

Alternative Services:

Rain Leak Detection:

Rain leak detection is a thorough process of investigation work to find the source of rain leaks. Hire an experienced rain leak inspector to quickly find the issue using non-invasive diagnostic techniques. 

Roof Cleaning:

Roof cleaning is the quickest way to improve your properties appearance. It is even known by real estate professionals to increase property value. Just make sure you have an expert roof cleaning service that is both licensed and insured.

Skylight Cleaning:

Cleaning skylights is not a DIY job. Amateurs can harm themselves or easily scratch or cause permanent damage to the lens or glazing which is very expensive to repair. Certified rope access professionals are best to complete the process of cleaning or washing skylights. 

Avoid the hottest part of the day. The skylight cleaning process is best to be done in the morning to prevent quick drying from the sun which results in hard water glass stains. 

RayAccess technicians will remove all debris and rinse, apply cleaning solution with scrubber, remove solution with abrasive pad to eliminate all contaminants such as bird droppings, and dry with squeegee.

Skylight Leak Repair Highlights:

Due to our deep experience in working on all kinds of buildings across Los Angeles we know the appropriate sealant to use for each individual project. As a result, we furnish 12-24 month warranties for labor and 5-10 year manufacturer warranties.

RayAccess technicians receive professional training that translates to happy clients with properties that are resilient, secure, and environmentally healthy. The quality of workmanship saves our clients money down the road for more costly repairs. 

Skylight caulking is the quickest and most cost-effective way to fix skylight leaks.  Simply call RayAccess, you can expect fantastic customer service with super fast estimating and scheduling to stop leaks and seal skylights. We don’t invoice until the job is completed. 

RayAccess, Inc. provides Window Caulking & Waterproofing Services at following areas: Los Angeles County (including Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Downtown Los Angeles, Glendale, Santa Clarita, Burbank, San Fernando, Pasadena, Culver City, Marina del Rey, Playa del Rey, El Segundo, Long Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, City of Commerce), Orange County (including Anaheim, Santa Ana, Fullerton), Riverside County (including Ontario, Riverside, Cabazon, Palm Springs), San Bernardino County (including Fontana, San Bernardino), San Diego County.