When people are building their dream home or renovating an older home into their dream home, you’d be shocked and hard-pressed to find that they aren’t planning to install a skylight somewhere in the home. Typically, you find builders or renovators dreaming of a skylight in their bathroom or bedroom so they can wake up to birds peaking through the window or so they can take a nice bath looking at a sky of stars.
Not only does having a skylight sound ideal for these scenarios (and many more we can think of), but having one can also serve other benefits: they bring in natural light, have the potential to help with energy savings, and provide a unique design element that many buyers will love when it comes time to sell. Although so far installing a skylight or two seems like a no-brainer, Red Hawk Roofing is here to tell you to think again. All good things typically have a drawback or two and unfortunately, skylights are no exception.
Why Red Hawk Roofing Says “No” to Skylights
As you may have guessed by the opening of this article, we do not think skylights are a great idea for your home or commercial property. No matter how gorgeous and dreamy they seem, in the long run, there can be a lot of negative impacts. Let’s get into the drawbacks/negatives of installing skylights:
Overheating Your Space: The point of a skylight is to bring in natural light however, too much light peaking through the window can quickly become an issue. With too much light comes too much heat so you may have an issue with overheating your room. You’ll have to combat this with blasting the AC which could lead to the rest of your home being at an uncomfortable temperature. Talk about your electric bill skyrocketing!
Loss of Heat: During cool months, like the cold winters we experience here in Denver and Colorado Springs, you risk losing heat through your skylight. Glass is the ultimate conductor of heat and allows for some of it to escape to the outside. If you live in an area that experiences a few cold months, it may be wise to skip the skylight, unless you’re willing to pay for one that is thermally broken.
Issues with Installation: Like any window in your home, you run the risk of improper installation, but with a skylight the long term risk is even higher since it sits on your roof. If a skylight isn’t installed or sealed properly, moisture problems could occur as well as leaks that could affect the interior of your home/spaces below. Not only can they create leaks to below spaces, skylights can also aid in spreading leaks to other parts of the roof that were previously not impacted. Can you see how this can become a large issue over time? Hello roof replacement!
Hard to Clean: Windows around your home are already bothersome enough to have to clean, can you imagine having to get to one in your ceiling? If you are a clean freak and can’t go a few days without washing your windows, a skylight is most definitely not for you.
Skylights add a beautiful design element – we can’t deny this – but based on our roofing and construction expertise, Red Hawk Roofing has to give them a big “no-go”. The risk of long term issues including leaking, roof damage, and more are too big. You’d be shocked at how many calls we get about roof damage or leaking where the cause is a skylight that was installed improperly or just got damaged over time.
Even if it never creates a leak or roof damage, think about where you live and what that means when heat escapes or when too much heat comes in. Remember, there is a reason we put blinds and curtains on our windows.
All this being said, if you ever run into an issue with a skylight or roof damage in general, Red Hawk Roofing has your back! By offering both environmental and roof restoration/repair services, we’ll be able to put a plan in place for your repairs no matter what the issue. We ARE the trusted roofing and restoration company in Denver and Colorado Springs.
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