Skylight Flashing Guide 101

What I have noticed is many customers are unaware of the importance of the roof flashings so I will look at the topic in this basic skylight flashing guide 101. The basic job of the skylight flashing  is to seal the skylight creating a watertight barrier to prevent leaks. I believe the more educated our customers are on this topic the better decisions they make.

Over the years as a skylight specialist probably the most common question my customers ask me during a skylight consultation is “will the skylight leak?” As we specialise in tubular skylights, my answer to them is our custom-made flashings for MaxLight skylights and MaxBreeze solar roof ventilation do not leak. SolarBright produces custom made single piece flashings of several types that are designed specifically for Australian roofs.

Skylight flashings are the key to waterproofing your skylight install. As there are two main sky technologies, tubular skylights and traditional roof window style skylights, let’s take look how both types of skylights are waterproofed.

Traditional Skylight Flashing

These types of skylights involve cutting a large hole in your ceiling and roof. Depending on brand you might even have a multiple piece flashing. With these multiple piece flashings water can work its way under the seam and leak into your roof.

These types of skylights also need regular maintenance, due to the large edge at the highest point of the skylight they need to be checked regularly for leaves and other debris. A build up of debris can cause the unit to leak as organic particles will break down causing the flashing metal to rust over time. This allow water to enter.

For metal roof applications the best practice is to use a back flashing or over flashing to prevent leakage in these types of skylights. This creates a reliable water seal for the skylight. The negative implication of this type of installation is the cost. The back flashing needs to be run from the location of the skylight all the way to the highest point of the roof. These bespoke flashing need to ne fabricated individually can add hundreds of dollars to the cost of the skylight.

MaxLight Tubular Skylight Flashing

Our Australian made MaxLight Skylights utilize our exclusive Australian made and designed flashings. Our seamless flashings are designed to suit and fit most Australian roof types. They are made from one piece so there are no joins that water can work their way through.  They are included in the cost of the skylight so you do not have to pay extra for a waterproof seal on the skylight.

By their nature a tubular skylight creates a smaller penetration in your roof meaning there is less area for water to work it’s way in and due to the part of the flashing that sits above the roof line is round there is less need for maintenance as debris will wash away.

They are made from a durable injection moulded plastic so no worries about corrosion.

Avoid Budget Skylights and Flashings

Some budget brands still use the old zinc alum flashings that are one size fits all roof types. Their flashings are not specifically designed to suit Australian roofing profiles thus causing leaks. They are the skylight flashings that gave tubular skylights a bad name for leaks.

The MaxLight skylight uses our exclusive Australian designed and made injection moulded flashing. It perfectly fits your roof type whether tile or metal. For example, our concrete tile flashing for a 250mm ML250 skylight is the exact size of one tile. So the installer simply replaces 1 tile with the flashing and it works exactly like a new tile. The only difference is a raised opening in the middle for the skylight dome dome to fit over and seal the unit.

With thousands of installed thousands flashings in the field we are proud to state they are leak proof. They do not leak when fitted by competent installer.

In summary, choose a MaxLight tubular skylight to take advantage of a skylight technology with a proven, leak proof flashing system. You will enjoy free natural light in your home with no worries about leaks in the future.

Don’t hesitate to call SolarBright today and chat to one of our skylight experts to discuss a skylight solution to brighten any dark areas or rooms in your home.