Skylight and Chimney Flashing Repair in Hudson, Ohio
Most roof leaks in Hudson start where the shingles stop: at a skylight curb or the base of a chimney. The owner finds the gap, photographs it, and prices the fix in writing first.
Quick facts
- What is included
- Diagnosis from the roof and from the room below, new flashing or a new skylight as needed, shingles woven back in, and before and after photos.
- Typical time
- A reflash or a single skylight swap is usually a one-day job in dry weather.
- Permits in Hudson
- Inside the Historic District, check with Community Development first if the work changes how the roof looks from the street.
- How pricing works
- Each skylight or chimney gets its own line on a fixed written price, given before work starts.
Why do skylights and chimneys leak on Hudson roofs?
Because each one is a hole in the roof with metal around it, and the metal ages faster than people expect.
Hudson has more of these holes than most towns. Close to two thirds of its homes went up from 1970 through 1999, the years when builders cut skylights into vaulted family rooms, kitchens and baths. Many of those units are still in place, now 30 to 50 years old. The same houses often have a masonry fireplace chimney on an outside wall, rising through the eave or along a gable.
Trees do the rest. Leaves and twigs pile up on the uphill side of a skylight or behind a chimney and hold water against the flashing. In winter, snow drifts into the same pocket, melts from the heat coming through the glass or the brick, and refreezes at the edges.
How do you tell a flashing leak from a failed skylight?
Look at where the water shows and what the glass looks like.
- Stain on the drywall around the opening, clear glass: usually flashing. The unit can often stay and get a new flashing kit and membrane.
- Fog or droplets between the panes: the factory seal is gone. That unit is finished and no flashing work will clear it.
- Yellowed or crazed plastic dome: an older acrylic unit at the end of its life.
- Soft or dark wood at the curb: water has been getting in for a while. The curb gets rebuilt along with whatever caused it.
- Drips only on cold mornings: often condensation on the glass, not a roof leak at all. The report will say so.
The owner checks from the roof and from inside the room, then writes down which case each skylight is: keep, reflash or replace.
What does chimney flashing repair involve?
A chimney is sealed to the roof with layered metal, not caulk. Step flashing runs up each side, one piece per shingle course. An apron covers the downhill face. Counterflashing is set into the mortar joints and laps over the top of all of it. On the uphill side of a wide chimney, a small peaked saddle called a cricket splits the water so it does not pond there.
Repairs follow whatever failed:
- Counterflashing that has pulled out of a crumbling mortar joint gets reset or replaced.
- Rusted or missing step flashing is replaced course by course, with the shingles relaid over it.
- Tar smeared over old metal is removed, because tar hides the leak without stopping it for long.
Brick and mortar work on the chimney itself is a mason's job. If the photos show loose brick or a cracked crown, the report says so, and you can pass it along to a mason.
Should skylights be replaced when the roof is replaced?
In most cases, yes. A skylight installed with the last roof is as old as that roof. Putting 25-year shingles around a 30-year-old skylight means cutting into the new roof when the old unit finally fogs or leaks. Swapping it during tear-off costs less labor, since the shingles are already off and the opening is exposed.
If your roof is close to due, the skylights and chimney flashing go on the same written quote as the roof. Start with a free roof inspection in Hudson to find out which side of that line you are on. If the roof has years left, the skylight or chimney is handled alone, the same way as any other roof repair in Hudson.
Which parts of Hudson see the most skylight and chimney leaks?
Any street with custom homes from the skylight years and tall trees overhead. The acreage lots in the north end are the clearest example, and the north Hudson page covers roofs that sit in shade most of the day.
Old houses around the Green have the chimney half of the problem: tall brick stacks, soft lime mortar and flashing that has been patched many times. Details for those homes are on the Historic District page.
Skylight and chimney questions
Can a leaking skylight in Hudson be repaired, or does it need replacing?
It depends on what failed. If the glass is clear and the frame is sound, new flashing and membrane around the unit usually stops the leak. Fog between the panes, a cracked dome or a rotted frame means the skylight itself needs to be replaced.
Why does my chimney leak only in heavy rain or a thaw?
Light rain runs past small gaps. A downpour or a slow melt puts enough water against the flashing to find them. The usual culprits are counterflashing that has come loose from the mortar or debris damming water behind the chimney.
Is the price fixed before the skylight work starts?
Yes. You get one written price that covers the unit or flashing, the membrane, the shingles and cleanup, and you approve it before any work begins.
Have a skylight or chimney leak in Hudson looked at
Say which room the stain is in. The owner checks above it and below it, sends the photos that day, and gives you the price in writing.