Annual skylight maintenance inspections should be part of your end of summer routine. While you are stowing away the inflatable toys, and covering up the pool for the season, make a call to have a professional roofing contractor come to your home and take a look at your skylight.
During the summer the blaring rays of the sun will cause the materials of your skylight and on your roof to absorb the extreme heat, which causes swelling. Your skylight is essentially a controlled hole in your roof, and so the materials around it that are in place to seal the hole, need to be inspected and maintained as they shift with the swelling and expansion.
Here are some areas of skylight maintenance that should be checked annually, if not more often:
- If you have a shade on your skylight, the motor should be checked to ensure that the shade opens and closes freely. Sometimes debris can get in the runners of the shade and that can damage or burn out the motor. The runners should be cleaned and any debris removed.
- The glass on your skylight is designed to withstand damage from flying debris and falling tree branches. However, the occasional crack or hairline fracture does occur and the glass should be thoroughly checked annually. The heat from the sun can sometimes make the glass softer, leaving it more susceptible to damage.
- Check the area around where the skylight is cut into the roof to make sure there aren’t any leaks or signs of leaks. This will come in the form of bulging drywall or, water stains. The severity of water damage that can occur inside of your house if there is a skylight leak varies. But, no one wants to deal with even a small amount of water damage
- Once the maintenance inspection has been completed and all areas of the skylight are assured to be in top working order, the entire skylight should be cleaned – including the glass. This is important for allowing as much light in as possible, improve the aesthetics, and to reduce the abrasion on the glass caused by dirt and particles.
If you have a skylight on your roof, be proactive and schedule a maintenance appointment now. These appointments are a small investment, with big payouts as they will save you the time, money, and frustration of a skylight leak.