Skylight Installation & Leak Repair in East Georgia
A skylight is a hole in your roof that has to be flashed right. We install, replace, and re-flash skylights the roofing way, and we fix the leaks other crews caulked over.
A Skylight Is a Roof Penetration First, a Window Second
You want more daylight, or you have a skylight that drips every time it rains hard, and either way it comes down to one thing: a skylight is a hole cut through your roof, and it lives or dies on the flashing around it. That is roofing work, not window work, and it is squarely inside what our crew does every day across Augusta, Martinez, Evans, Grovetown, and North Augusta. Davis Construction & Roofing Co installs and replaces skylights, integrates and re-flashes them during a roof tear-off, and tracks down skylight leaks that are almost always a flashing failure rather than the glass. We are a family-run roofer, licensed in Georgia, fully insured, and honest about it: if your skylight is old and clouded but the flashing is sound, we will tell you. If a builder set it in a bed of caulk with no step flashing, we will tell you that too, and then we will fix it right.
The Skylight Work We Handle Most
Almost every skylight call we run in the CSRA falls into one of these four. Three of them are flashing jobs, and the fourth is a full replacement.
New Skylight Installation
Adding a fixed or vented skylight to bring daylight into a dark kitchen, bath, or hallway. We handle the roof side, cut and frame the opening, set the unit, and build the flashing so the penetration sheds water for the life of the roof.
Skylight Replacement & Re-Flashing
Swapping a clouded, cracked, or leaking skylight for a new curb-mount or deck-mount unit, ideally during a roof job. We pull the old unit, set the new one, and install a full flashing kit while the shingles are already off.
Skylight Leak & Flashing Repair
A stain on the ceiling below a skylight, or an active drip in heavy rain. Nine times out of ten it is failed step flashing or a caulk-only detail, not the glass. We strip the failed flashing and rebuild the transition so it stops.
Storm-Damaged Skylights
A cracked dome or shattered glass after a fallen oak or pine limb, or wind-driven hail. We tarp it to stop the water, document the damage for your insurance claim, and replace the unit and its flashing.
How a Skylight Job Actually Goes
No mystery, no caulk-and-pray. Here is exactly what happens from the first call to the last check, whether it is a new install or a leak.
We Look at the Roof, Not Just the Skylight
On a leak, we trace where water actually gets in, because a skylight stain on the ceiling often starts uphill of the unit. On a new install, we check the roof slope, the framing, and where a skylight will land inside before quoting anything.
Set or Reset the Unit
For a new install we cut and frame the opening and set the skylight to the manufacturer's spec. For a replacement we pull the old unit and set the new curb-mount or deck-mount one, matched to your roof pitch.
Build the Flashing Kit Right
This is the whole job. We install head, sill, and step flashing with the manufacturer's flashing kit, woven into the shingle courses and the underlayment, so water is turned away from the opening instead of relying on sealant.
Water-Test & Walk It With You
We run water over the finished skylight, confirm it stays dry inside, clean up, and walk the work with you. On storm-cause leaks, we hand you photos that go straight into your insurance claim.
Skylight Installation, Straight Answer
Skylight installation is roofing work because a skylight is a penetration cut through your roof, and the flashing around it is what keeps it dry, not the glass. When we add a new skylight we cut and frame the opening to fit the unit, set the skylight to the manufacturer's spec for your roof pitch, and then build the flashing: head flashing at the top, sill flashing at the bottom, and step flashing woven up both sides into the shingle courses and the underlayment. That woven, manufacturer-approved flashing kit is the difference between a skylight that stays dry for the life of the roof and one that leaks in three years. The best time to add or replace a skylight is during a roof replacement, when the shingles are already off and we can integrate the flashing into the new roof from the deck up, so if you are already planning a tear-off, that is the moment to do it. Skylights come as fixed, which are sealed and just bring in daylight, or vented, which open to let hot air out, and both are a roof-penetration and flashing job the same way. If you are unsure whether your framing and roof slope suit a skylight, call 762-477-3858 and we will come look before quoting anything.
Skylight Replacement and Re-Flashing During a Roof Job
If your roof is getting replaced and you have a skylight, replace or re-flash the skylight at the same time, because doing it later means cutting back into a brand-new roof. When we tear off a roof we pull the old skylight, and this is the point where an old, clouded, or foggy-sealed unit should be swapped for a new one rather than reset, because the labor to remove and re-flash it is already being spent. We set the new curb-mount or deck-mount unit and build a complete flashing kit that is woven into the new shingle courses and the fresh underlayment, exactly the way the manufacturer requires to keep the material warranty valid. This is also the honest reason we push people to decide about skylights before a replacement starts. An old skylight left in place under a new roof is the single most common future leak we come back to, because the old flashing and the old seals are now the weakest point on an otherwise new roof. Adding or re-flashing a skylight is best done during a tear-off, and our roof replacement page walks through how that whole day goes.
Skylight Leak Repair and Flashing Failure
A leaking skylight is almost always a flashing failure, not a failure of the glass, and that distinction is the whole repair. When water shows up on the ceiling or the drywall below a skylight, the instinct is to blame the seal around the glass, but on the roof the real culprit is usually failed or missing step flashing, a head flashing that was never woven in, or a builder who set the whole unit in a bed of caulk instead of metal flashing. In the humid Piedmont around Augusta, that caulk dries out, cracks, and lets water in within a few years, and once it does the water travels down the rafters and shows up well away from the skylight, so the stain on your ceiling is rarely directly under the leak. We trace the true source rather than caulking the visible spot, then strip the failed flashing back and rebuild the head, sill, and step flashing so the transition sheds water the way it was designed to. One honest note: condensation is not a leak. A skylight that drips only on cold mornings in a steamy bathroom is shedding interior humidity, not roof water, and that is a ventilation conversation, not a flashing repair. If you are not sure which one you have, a leaking skylight is a flashing problem far more often than not, and our roof leak repair crew traces it to the real source.
Skylights in the Augusta, Martinez, and Evans Housing Stock
The right skylight and the right flashing depend a lot on which house you own, and the housing stock across Richmond and Columbia County varies. The early-1900s Summerville and Olde Town bungalows have steep original hip framing where a skylight has to be sized and flashed carefully around old rafters, and any historic-overlay district can restrict what is visible from the street, so those get a conversation about placement before anything is cut. The 1990s and 2000s subdivisions off Walton Way Extension and out through Martinez and Evans, including Knob Hill, tend to have straightforward truss framing and moderate shingle pitches that take a standard deck-mount skylight well. Newer builds around Evans and Grovetown near Fort Eisenhower often already have skylights or solar tubes that are now aging into their first re-flash. Whatever the house, the humid summers and the spring and summer thunderstorms mean the flashing detail has to be right, because a skylight sees more standing and wind-driven water than almost any other spot on a Georgia roof. Permitting for the work runs through Augusta-Richmond County Planning and Development in Augusta and Columbia County Community Development in Martinez, Evans, and Grovetown, and we pull what the jurisdiction requires.
When a Skylight Is the Wrong Call
We would rather lose the sale than sell you a skylight you should not put in, so here is when to hold off. Do not add a skylight to a roof that is near the end of its life, because you would be cutting a new penetration and building fresh flashing into shingles that are about to be torn off, which means paying for the flashing twice. Wait and do it with the roof replacement. Do not add a skylight over a room that already runs hot in the Georgia summer without thinking through the heat gain, because a fixed skylight on a west or south face can turn a bright room into a greenhouse, and a vented unit or a lower-gain glass may be the smarter pick. And if your only problem is a foggy, condensation-filled skylight that drips on cold mornings, that is often not a flashing issue at all but interior humidity and attic ventilation, so replacing the unit may not fix it. There is also one thing a new skylight will never fix: a dark room that needs it for the wrong reason. If you are unsure whether a skylight makes sense for your house, or whether the drip you have is a leak or condensation, call 762-477-3858 and we will give you a straight answer before anyone cuts a hole in your roof.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do skylights leak in heavy Georgia rain?
A properly installed skylight with a woven, manufacturer-approved flashing kit does not leak, even in the hard spring and summer thunderstorms we get in the CSRA. The skylights that leak are the ones set in a bed of caulk with no real step flashing, or old units whose flashing has aged out. Water sitting and blowing against a skylight is exactly what the flashing is built to turn away, so a leak is almost always a flashing failure, not a fault of the glass or a sign that skylights leak in general. If yours drips in heavy rain, that is a flashing repair, and we trace the real source before fixing it.
Curb-mount vs deck-mount skylights: which is right for my roof?
Both are common and both flash reliably when installed right. A deck-mount skylight sits low against the roof deck for a lower, sleeker profile and is the usual pick on newer subdivision roofs with moderate pitch. A curb-mount skylight sits on a raised wooden curb, which lifts it above the roof plane and can make sense on lower slopes, on flat additions, or when replacing an older unit that already sat on a curb. The right choice depends on your roof pitch, whether there is an existing curb, and the unit you want, and we match it on site. What matters far more than which style you choose is that the flashing kit is the correct one for that unit and is woven into the roof, not caulked over.
Should I replace my skylight during a roof replacement?
Almost always, yes, if the skylight is more than a few years old. During a tear-off the shingles are already off and we are building fresh flashing and underlayment, so the labor to remove and re-flash the skylight is already being spent. Setting a new unit at that point costs far less than doing it as a separate job later, and it means the skylight and the roof are the same age with the same fresh flashing. Leaving an old skylight in place under a new roof is the single most common future leak we get called back for, because the old unit and its old flashing become the weakest point on an otherwise new roof. Decide before the replacement starts, and we will fold it into the job.
My skylight is leaking. Is it the glass or the flashing?
It is the flashing far more often than the glass. When water shows up on the ceiling below a skylight, the real cause is usually failed or missing step flashing, a head flashing that was never woven in, or a unit that was set in caulk instead of metal flashing that has since dried and cracked. Because water travels down the rafters, the stain on your ceiling is often not directly under the actual leak, so we trace the true source rather than caulking the visible spot. One exception: a skylight that only drips on cold mornings in a humid bathroom is shedding condensation, not roof water, and that is a ventilation issue, not a leak. We will tell you which one you have.
Do you install and repair skylights in Augusta, Martinez, Evans, and North Augusta?
Yes. We install, replace, re-flash, and repair skylights across the whole area: Augusta, Martinez, Evans, and Grovetown on the Georgia side, and North Augusta across the river in Aiken County on the South Carolina side. We are licensed in Georgia and fully insured, we pull the permit the jurisdiction requires through Augusta-Richmond County Planning and Development or Columbia County Community Development, and we handle the SC-side work as well. Call 762-477-3858 and tell us whether you want a new skylight or you have one that is leaking, and we will come look before quoting anything.
What does skylight installation cost?
We price skylight work by what the job actually involves, not by a flat number, because a leak repair, a replacement during a roof job, and a brand-new install cut into an existing roof are three very different amounts of labor. The things that move the number are whether we are cutting and framing a new opening or reusing an existing one, whether it is a fixed or vented unit, curb-mount or deck-mount, your roof pitch and how many stories up it is, whether it is being done during a roof replacement (much less labor) or as a standalone job, and whether any rotted decking around an old leaking unit has to be replaced first. After we look at your roof, you get a straight, itemized estimate that shows exactly what drives the price. Call 762-477-3858 for a free look.