Skylights in Florida: Why They Leak, When To Replace vs Reflash, and the Reroof Rule

Skylights transform Florida rooms — and every one of them is a hole in your roof wearing a promise. When they're detailed right they're no riskier than a chimney; when they're not, they're the drip over the kitchen island. Here's how they fail and what to do about each mode.

The three ways skylights 'leak'

• ▸Flashing failure (the majority): the metal-and-membrane system weaving the skylight into the shingles ages, was installed with sealant-and-hope, or was disturbed by other work. Fix: proper reflash with the manufacturer's kit — not another bead of caulk on the pile.
• ▸Unit failure: the seal between glass panes gives out (fogging between panes is the tell) or the frame/weep system cracks with UV age. Fix: replace the unit — resealing a failed insulated-glass unit isn't a thing.
• ▸Condensation impersonating a leak: Florida humidity meeting a cool glass surface drips convincingly. If 'leaking' tracks with humidity rather than rain, it's a ventilation/humidity conversation, not a roofing one — and we check before opening your roof.

The reroof rule: never reuse old skylights

When your roof gets replaced, the skylights come out of the equation for a few hundred dollars each while everything is already open — versus a full flashing surgery later on your brand-new roof when the 15-year-old unit fails. Putting aging skylights back into a new roof is the classic false economy; every reputable roofer will push back on it, and now you know why.

Florida extras worth knowing

• ▸Impact-rated units: modern skylights come hurricane-rated — required in many applications here and a wind-mitigation plus.
• ▸Solar-heat glazing: low-E and tinted options cut the greenhouse effect that made old skylights August regrets.
• ▸Curb vs deck-mounted: on Florida's low-slope sections, curb-mounted with proper height keeps sheeting rain out.