Guttrz / Roof repair / Skylight leak repair
Skylight leak repair in Canton, OH
The owner finds the leak himself, sends a photo report the same day, and gives you one written price good for a year before any work starts.
Guttrz repairs leaking skylights in Canton, OH and the rest of Stark, Summit, and Medina counties. Skylights leak at the step flashing, the head flashing, clogged weep holes, worn glass gaskets, and the curb, and most of those are fixed by reflashing the existing unit with a new flashing kit and ice and water shield. The owner inspects the skylight himself, sends a photo report the same day, and gives one fixed written price good for a year, with a job minimum. Fog between the panes, a cracked dome, or a rotted curb means replacement instead of repair.
Skylight leak repair in Canton, OH is usually a flashing job, not a skylight job. Guttrz sends the owner, not an estimator: he climbs up, finds where the water is getting in, photographs it, and sends you the report the same day with one written price that is good for a year. If the glass and frame are sound, the fix is new flashing or a new gasket and the skylight stays. If the unit itself has failed, the report says so, and the skylight replacement page covers that path. This is one of the roof repair services Guttrz offers across Stark County.
Where do skylights leak?
Water gets past a skylight at five places. Each one leaves a different pattern in the room below.
Step flashing along the sides
Step flashing is a row of L-shaped metal pieces, one woven in with each shingle course, running up both sides of the skylight. When a piece is missing, bent, rusted through, or stuck down with caulk instead of lapped, water running down the side of the unit slips under the shingles. The stain shows up along one side of the light shaft.
Head flashing at the top
The head flashing is the piece across the uphill side. Water, leaves, and in winter a ridge of ice all collect against it. If it is too short, not tucked under the shingles above, or lifted by ice, water runs behind it and down the back of the curb. The stain lands at the top of the shaft or on the ceiling just uphill of the skylight.
Weep holes
Most glass skylights have small weep holes in the frame or the cladding that let condensation and small amounts of water drain out onto the roof. Clogged with dirt, maple seeds, or a well-meant bead of caulk, that water has nowhere to go but inside. This is the leak that shows up as a steady drip off the bottom edge of the frame.
Glass gaskets and weatherstrips
The gasket between the glass and the frame dries, shrinks, and cracks after 15 to 20 years in the sun. Water comes straight down the room side of the glass. On a venting skylight, a worn weatherstrip around the sash does the same thing when the unit is closed. Fog between the panes is a different seal, the factory one, and that means replacement.
The curb
A curb-mounted skylight sits on a wood box. If the box was never wrapped with membrane, or the corners have opened up, water sits on top of the curb and wicks into the wood.
What can you check from inside before you call?
Ten minutes with a flashlight tells you a lot and helps us arrive with the right parts. Do this on the next rainy day, then again on a cold clear morning.
- Note when it is wet. Wet during or right after rain means a leak. Wet on a cold dry morning means condensation.
- Find the highest wet point. Water travels down. Stains at the top of the shaft point to the head flashing. Stains down one side point to the step flashing. Drips off the bottom of the frame point to the weep holes or the glass gasket.
- Look at the glass. Fog or droplets you cannot wipe off from either side mean the unit has failed.
- Press the trim and the frame. Soft, swollen, or flaking wood means the curb or frame is wet inside.
- Check the attic if you can get to it. Where the shaft meets the roof deck, look for dark streaks on the plywood or rafters uphill of the skylight. A streak that starts higher up the roof is a roof leak that only shows itself at the skylight, and the roof leak repair page covers that case.
- Photograph everything. Text the photos and your address to (330) 818-5584.
| Where you see water | Most likely cause | Usual fix |
|---|---|---|
| Top of the shaft or the ceiling uphill of the skylight | Head flashing short, lifted, or iced over | Reflash with ice and water shield up the roof |
| Down one side of the shaft | Step flashing missing, bent, or caulked | Reflash |
| Drip off the bottom edge of the frame | Weep holes clogged, or glass gasket worn | Clear the weeps, new gasket, or replace |
| Wet only on cold dry mornings | Condensation | Bath fan, shaft insulation, newer glass |
| Soft wood at the curb | Curb never wrapped, corners open | New curb and flashing, often with a new unit |
| Fog between the panes | Factory seal failed | Replace the unit |
How does Guttrz reflash an existing skylight?
- The shingles around the skylight are lifted and removed, two or three courses on each side and above.
- The old flashing and every bit of caulk and roof cement come off. Rusted or bent pieces are not reused.
- Ice and water shield is run up the curb and out onto the deck on all four sides, sill first, then the sides, then the head, so every lap sheds downhill.
- New sill flashing goes on, then step flashing woven with each course, then head flashing tucked under the shingles above.
- The shingles are relaid. Where ice has lifted the head flashing before, the courses above get membrane too.
- Photos of each layer go into your report.
Sealant is used only where the manufacturer specifies it. A smear of roof cement over a flashing joint is how the last person made the leak stop for one season, and it is usually what we are scraping off.
What does skylight leak repair in Canton, OH cost?
You get a fixed written price before any work starts, and a job minimum applies. The price depends on the size of the skylight, the pitch of the roof, whether the head flashing needs membrane run up the slope, and whether the curb is sound. It is good for a year.
When is a skylight leak repair a waste?
Reflashing a skylight that has already failed is paying twice. Skip the repair and go straight to skylight replacement when any of these is true:
- There is fog or moisture between the panes.
- The acrylic dome is cracked, chalky, or yellow.
- The curb or frame is soft when you press it.
- The unit is more than 20 years old and the roof is due for replacement.
- It has been reflashed once already and leaks again in the same place.
A repair is also a waste when the roof around the skylight is finished. If the shingles are bald and brittle, the skylight flashing is the first of many leaks, and the money belongs in a full tear-off, which reflashes every skylight as part of the job. The Roofing by Guttrz page covers what that includes, and the roof repair vs replacement page explains how the inspection report draws the line. Now booking spring 2027 roof replacements. Free roof inspections now.
Which Canton homes get skylight leaks?
Canton's older houses were built before residential skylights were common, so a skylight in Ridgewood, Harter Heights, or Colonial Heights is nearly always a later addition cut into a steep roof, and the flashing was done by whoever did the kitchen or bath remodel. Steep pitch moves water fast, which helps, but it also means the head flashing takes the full flow of the slope above. The postwar ranches and Cape Cods off Fulton Road NW and Whipple Avenue NW have the opposite problem: low 4/12 to 6/12 pitches where water lingers against the head flashing and ice backs up in February.
Inside the city limits, roofing work falls under the City of Canton Building Department at 424 Market Avenue N, and we check with them whether a flashing repair needs a permit before the job. If the inspection finds the whole roof is due, the roof replacement in Canton page covers the houses and the ranges.
The owner looks at every skylight leak himself, you get a photo report the same day, and one written price good for a year. Get a fixed written price for skylight leak repair in Canton, or text your address and a photo of the stain to (330) 818-5584 and we text or call you within the hour.
Questions
Can I fix a leaking skylight with caulk?
For a season, sometimes. Caulk over a flashing joint cracks with the first freeze and thaw, and a bead across the weep holes traps water inside the frame, so the leak often gets worse. Sealant belongs only where the skylight maker specifies it, usually at the top edge of the head flashing and the glass gasket. If you must stop a drip before we arrive, use a small amount, note where you put it, and tell us, because it will come off during the repair.
Why does my skylight only leak in winter?
Two reasons, and they look alike. Snow melting from the bottom backs up against the head flashing and freezes into a small dam, and the next thaw pushes water under it. Or it is not a leak at all: cold glass pulls moisture out of warm house air and it drips off the frame on dry mornings. Mark the wet spot and watch whether it comes back after a thaw or after a cold clear night. The first is a flashing repair, the second is a bath fan and insulation.
Why does my skylight leak only in heavy rain with wind?
Wind-driven rain climbs the roof instead of running down it, and it finds gaps that gravity never tests: a short head flashing, a step flashing piece that has slid down, or a worn weatherstrip on a venting sash. A skylight that is dry in a steady rain and wet in a storm from the west is almost always a flashing lap problem rather than a failed unit, and it is one of the cheaper repairs to make.
How long does a skylight reflash take?
Most single-skylight reflashes are done in one visit of a few hours on a walkable roof. A steep roof, a curb that needs rebuilding, or membrane run several courses up the slope adds time. The written price gives you the expected day and how long the roof will be open, and we do not open a roof when rain is coming that afternoon.
Will you repair a skylight that someone else installed?
Yes. Most skylights were put in by a remodeler or the original builder, not by a roofer, and it makes no difference to the repair. The inspection tells us the brand and the mount type, and the flashing kit is matched to the unit. If the unit is a brand or size that no longer has a kit made for it, the report says so and prices a replacement unit alongside the repair so you can compare.
Does the repair include fixing the stained ceiling?
No. The repair stops the water. Interior finish, meaning the stained drywall in the shaft, peeling paint, or swollen trim, is not included and should wait a few weeks until the shaft has dried out completely. The report notes what we see inside so you can hand it to a painter or carpenter with the right information.
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Written by Christian Schaffner, owner of Guttrz. Updated November 8, 2026.
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