Ottawa Skylights
Ottawa Roofing Pros installs, replaces and repairs skylights and sun tunnels on Ottawa homes. Every unit is flashed to the manufacturer's instructions so it stays dry through freeze-thaw cycles, ice dams and spring melt.
A skylight is a planned hole in your roof, and most of the leaks we trace come from how it was flashed, not from the glass. With more than 17 years of roofing-only work behind us, we treat the flashing, membrane and shingle courses around each opening as the most important part of the job.
We work on fixed, venting and solar-powered units on sloped roofs, curb-mounted skylights on flat roofs, and tubular skylights for hallways and bathrooms.
We handle three kinds of skylight work: new installations, replacement of aging units, and leak repair on skylights that are otherwise sound. Replacement is the most common call, usually for 1980s and 1990s units with fogged glass, cracked acrylic domes or flashing that has given up.
Skylights suit dark upper hallways, interior bathrooms, kitchens deep in the floor plan and rooms under north-facing roofs. Skylight work is one of the specialty residential roofing services we offer.
Because a new opening changes the roof structure, we check permit requirements with the City of Ottawa before cutting. Our Ottawa roofing permits guide explains when permits and heritage approvals apply.
Most skylight leaks come from failed or improperly installed flashing, not the skylight itself. Condensation, cracked glazing and worn-out seals account for most of the rest.
Diagnosis starts with timing. Water that appears only during rain or melt points to flashing, while water that appears on cold, clear mornings is usually condensation.
Skylights flashed with caulking, roofing cement or mismatched step flashing instead of the manufacturer's kit eventually leak. Sealants crack after a few freeze-thaw seasons and let water run behind the frame.
We replace these with the matching flashing kit and a self-adhered underlayment collar around the frame.
Warm, humid indoor air hits cold glass and frame in January and drips onto the ceiling, which looks exactly like a leak. Uninsulated light shafts and high indoor humidity make it worse.
The fix is usually inside: insulating the shaft walls, sealing air leaks around the frame, and running bathroom fans longer.
Hail, falling branches and old acrylic that has turned brittle can crack. Double-glazed units also fail at the edge seal, which shows up as fogging between the panes.
A failed seal cannot be repaired in place, so the unit or its glass is replaced.
Snow piles up on the uphill side of a skylight, and heat escaping around the shaft melts it. That water can refreeze at the frame and back up under the head flashing.
Better shaft insulation and attic air sealing reduce the melt, and our ice dam steaming clears an active dam safely.
The right skylight depends on your roof slope, the room below and whether you want fresh air as well as light. We install fixed, venting and solar-powered deck-mounted skylights, curb-mounted units for flat roofs, and tubular sun tunnels.
VELUX is the brand we name most often because its matched flashing kits are engineered for each model. VELUX ties its warranty coverage to using those matching kits, which is one reason we never improvise flashing.
Fixed deck-mounted skylights, such as the VELUX FS, sit low on the roof deck and do not open. They are the most affordable option and the most common replacement for older curb-mounted units on sloped shingle roofs.
They suit living rooms, stairwells and hallways where you want daylight without ventilation.
Venting skylights open to release heat and humidity. Manual models such as the VELUX VS open with a pole or crank, while solar-powered VSS units open by remote and need no wiring.
Solar units include a rain sensor that closes them automatically when it starts to rain. They work well in bathrooms and kitchens, where moisture otherwise feeds condensation.
A sun tunnel is a small rooftop dome connected to a reflective tube that carries daylight to a ceiling diffuser. It needs no framed light shaft, so it fits closets, hallways and bathrooms where a full skylight will not.
Rigid tubes deliver the most light over straight runs, while flexible tubes route around attic obstacles.
Flat roofs need curb-mounted skylights, such as the VELUX FCM or VCM, set on a raised curb that keeps the glazing above standing water and drifting snow. The roofing membrane wraps up and over the curb, with the skylight's flashing on top.
Getting the membrane detail right matters more than the skylight brand. We tie each curb into the roof using the same methods as our flat roofing installations.
If your skylights are more than 15 to 20 years old, replace them during your roof replacement. The old flashing has to come off anyway, the crew is already on the roof, and you avoid cutting into brand-new shingles in a few years when the old unit fails.
Reinstalling an old skylight into a new roof still needs a new flashing kit and the same labour as a replacement. Spending a little more for a new unit with fresh glass seals usually makes sense, since the skylight would otherwise fail years before the shingles.
We see this decision constantly. Many 1990s homes in Bridlewood in Kanata and in Orléans are on their second roof with their original skylights, and older curb-mounted acrylic domes are common on 1980s homes in Nepean. Our roof replacement crews price skylight replacement as a separate line on the same quote.
Skylight replacement in Ottawa typically costs $1,500 to $4,000 per unit in 2026, including the skylight, flashing kit and installation. New openings cost more because they add framing, a light shaft and interior finishing, so they are quoted individually after we see the attic.
What moves the price:
| Factor | Effect on cost |
|---|---|
| Skylight type | Fixed units cost least; venting and solar-powered units cost more |
| Size | Larger units need larger flashing kits and more interior finishing |
| Curb to deck-mount conversion | Rebuilding the opening adds framing and roofing time |
| Roof material | Metal roofs need a different flashing kit than shingles |
| Light shaft work | Insulating, drywalling and painting a new or enlarged shaft |
| Flat roof curb | Building and membrane-wrapping a new curb |
| Pitch and height | Steep or tall roofs need more setup and safety equipment |
Flashing-only leak repairs usually fall within standard repair pricing: $350 to $1,200 for minor work. Sun tunnels typically cost less than a full skylight because they need no framed shaft.
Our 1-year written labour warranty covers the installation. VELUX Canada lists 10 years on parts for skylights and flashings and 20 years on glass seal failure, subject to its current terms and proper installation with matching flashing.
These are the questions we answer most often when homeowners show us a stained ceiling around a skylight or ask about adding one. Each answer reflects how skylights behave through a full Ottawa year, from -25°C nights to humid July afternoons.
It can, if it faces south or west with clear glass and no shading. Modern units use low-emissivity coated glass that blocks much of the solar heat, and venting models let hot air escape at the highest point of the room.
Light-filtering or blackout blinds, including solar-powered blinds on VELUX units, handle the rest. In bedrooms and rooms that already run hot, we often suggest a north-facing slope or a sun tunnel instead.
A modern double-glazed skylight loses more heat than the insulated ceiling it replaces, but far less than older single-pane or acrylic units. Insulating the light shaft walls to attic levels keeps the difference small.
Sun tunnels lose the least heat because the opening is small.
If the glass is clear and the frame is sound, re-flashing usually fixes the leak. If the glass is fogged, cracked or the unit is more than 20 years old, replacement is usually the better value.
Our roof leak repair team can inspect the unit and tell you which applies.
Replacing a skylight in the same opening is a like-for-like swap. Cutting a new opening through rafters or trusses changes the roof structure, so we confirm permit requirements with the City first.
Homes in heritage conservation districts may also need heritage approval for skylights visible from the street.
Yes, on dry days, and we do it often. We open the roof only as far as we can close it the same day, and self-adhered membranes are warmed before use in cold weather.
Replacing a skylight in an existing opening usually takes half a day to a full day. A new skylight with a framed opening and light shaft takes 1 to 2 days on the roof, plus time for drywall finishing inside.
That pattern almost always points to condensation, not a roof leak. Warm, moist air from the room condenses on the cold glass and frame overnight.
Insulating the shaft, sealing air gaps around the frame and running bathroom or kitchen fans usually solves it. Damp around the shaft can also point to attic air leakage, which our attic insulation work addresses.
Our crews dispatch from Centretown to every Ottawa community and anywhere within about 30 minutes of the city.
Free roofing estimate
Call (343) 504-9753 or send the form with the number and approximate age of your skylights. We will inspect them from the roof and the inside, then give you a written quote that separates the skylight, flashing and interior finishing costs.