Project · Skylight Removal · Oradell, NJ

Skylight Removal and Roof Closure in Oradell, NJ

We took out the unit and its curb, framed the opening with new 2x6 rafters, decked it, waterproofed it and shingled it back in with GAF.

The project

This homeowner in Oradell wanted an existing skylight taken out and the roof closed up for good, not swapped for a new unit. That decision usually comes down to one of four things: the unit leaks when the rain blows in from one direction, the seals on an older skylight have given out and the glass fogs, the room bakes under it in July and gives the heat back through it in January, or the room below is being redone and the skylight is not part of the new plan. The question is always the same: can you just close the hole up?

You can, but not by covering it over. A skylight is a hole cut clean through the roof: through the shingles, through the underlayment, through the plywood deck, and through the framing, because a skylight opening interrupts the rafters that would otherwise run straight through it. Closing it means rebuilding all of that, in the same order the roof was built the first time. Framing, decking, waterproofing, shingles.

The other honest half of this is that removal is not always the right answer. If the skylight is the only real daylight in that room and the unit is simply old, a new one with a proper flashing kit often stops the leak and keeps the light. The room does get darker when a skylight comes out, and that is worth sitting with before you decide. We install skylights as well as remove them, including four new VELUX units on a recent Fort Lee roof replacement, so we have no reason to push you either way. When replacing the skylight is the better call, we say so.

What we did

Removed the skylight and its curb. The unit came off first, then the crew cut the old wooden curb free from the deck with a reciprocating saw. The curb is the raised wooden frame the skylight sat on, and it is the part people forget. Leave it buried under new shingles and you have old, weathered framing sitting in the middle of the new assembly, a pocket that holds water and a bump that telegraphs through the shingles.
Framed the opening with new 2×6 rafters. With the curb gone, we framed the opening with new 2x6s tied into the existing rafters, so the closed-up section is carried by framing instead of by plywood spanning open air. This is the step that separates a real closure from a patch. Cover a hole without framing it and you get a soft spot you can feel underfoot and eventually see as a dip in the roof.
Decked the opening with new plywood. New plywood went down over the new framing. A solid, supported deck is what keeps that area flat years from now instead of dishing in and holding water, and it is what lets the finished shingles lie flat instead of outlining the old opening.
Sealed the patched area with new ice-and-water shield. Ice-and-water shield is a self-adhering membrane that bonds to the deck and self-seals around the fasteners driven through it. It went over the patched area, because where new deck meets old is the most likely place on this roof for water to find a way in, and it gets a full layer of membrane before a single shingle goes down.
Shingled it back in with new GAF shingles. New GAF shingles went on and were blended into the surrounding courses rather than stopping at a square edge, so the area reads as part of the roof. The rest of the roof was left alone. This was a targeted repair, not a re-roof. We finished by blowing the roof clean.

The result

The skylight is gone. No curb, no flashing, no glass. What is up there now is roof: framed, decked, sealed and shingled into what surrounds it. One thing we tell every homeowner before they look, though. New shingles on an older roof are not an invisible match. A fresh bundle reads slightly brighter than shingles that have been weathering for years, and it settles in over a season or two. Blending the new courses into the old is what keeps it looking like a roof instead of a square patch, and the after photo is right there in the gallery so you can judge it yourself. Our scope on a skylight removal is the roof side, so ask us at the estimate how the ceiling below gets finished and who does it, and you will know before anyone starts rather than after.

It is worth knowing what the shortcut version of this job looks like, because homeowners get offered it. Someone screws a sheet of plywood over the old curb, tars the edges and shingles across the top. In September it looks fine. Then the unsupported plywood sags into the opening, the low spot holds water, ice backs up in it through a Bergen County winter, and the tar joint splits. A couple of seasons later there is a leak in the exact spot that was paid to be closed. Framing the opening properly costs more on day one and then stops being a problem.

A few things homeowners ask before they book this work. Price: we will not put a number on a web page for a roof we have not looked at, and you should be careful with anyone who does. What moves it is the size of the opening and how much framing it takes to tie back in, the pitch of the roof and how easy that area is to reach, how much blending the surrounding shingles need, and what the deck looks like around the opening once the curb comes off. If we find rot there, you hear about it before we close it up, not after. Permits: framing work can raise a permit question and requirements vary from borough to borough, so ask about it when you get your estimate. And if the reason you want the skylight out is a leak you have been chasing for a while, have someone confirm the skylight was the only source before the ceiling gets patched. That is a roof repair conversation, and it is cheaper to have it now. If the roof around it is genuinely at the end of its life, we will tell you that too, and it becomes a roof replacement conversation instead. If you are still weighing repair, replacement or removal, our skylight repair, replacement and removal page walks through all four options and how to tell them apart.

Before, during and after

Thinking about skylight removal in Oradell?

Top Roof LLC is a GAF Certified, licensed and insured roofing contractor in Englewood, about 20 to 25 minutes from Oradell. Whether you want skylight removal, a replacement unit, or just an honest read on flashing that keeps leaking, we will get on the roof, tell you what we actually see, and price the option that solves it.

NJ Home Improvement Contractor Registration #13VH11535000. Rated 5.0 stars across 115 Google reviews.

Or call 201-989-0999 · Roofing in Oradell, NJ · River Edge · More projects