How to Install a Skylight Frame

You may decide to install a skylight in your roof to give your room a bigger, more airy look. A window in the roof will enhance your interior design while saving the cost of using artificial light during daylight hours. Skylights also adds a very fresh and open look to your house especially if the size of the house is small. Despite the apparent difficulty of working on a roof, you can install the skylight with comparative ease given proper guidance.

 Step 1: Choose a Location for your Skylight

Choose a location in your roof where you would like to install the skylight while considering the electrical wiring and plumbing pipes that may also be running along the roof. Determine your preferred size of the window and trace its outline with a pencil on the inside wall. An ideal window size is considered to be at least 10 percent of the total size of the room in square feet.

Step 2: Make the Opening in the Roof

Use a drill machine to make a hole in the approximate centre of the window tracing you drew earlier. Now go on the rooftop and use a roof saw to expand the hole into a window opening with respect to the dimensions of the window you determined earlier. Use the hole you made with a drill as the reference point to work with the roof saw. 

 Step 3: Fit in the Skylight

Use the angle brackets to form a frame of the 2x4s that complements the size of your window. Place the skylight into the frame and attach it there with nails and screws. Use a knife to neatly trim the edges of the roof and expand the opening to 3 inches more than the initial size to allow for the frame to fit. Place the frame and the skylight into the opening and fix it in its position using nails. Ensure the alignment of the skylight during installation. A skylight which is not leveled evenly won’t seal properly, leading to the risk of leakage later.

Step 4: Seal the Boundaries

Use a rubber tape seal to outline the boundaries of the window and press the rubber sealing into the boundary to seal the edges. Most skylights come with flashings that are used to seal the window properly to avoid leakage. Spread bottom flashing around the edges of the window and screw in side and top flashing in its position to completely seal the window. Make sure that the screws firmly attach the flashings to the skylight.

Step 5: Check for Leakage

Take a bucket of water on the rooftop and throw it on your newly attached skylight. Go inside to check for any leakage or drippings due to misaligned fittings. In case of leakage, go outside and loosen the flashings to readjust the skylight. Check the seal and re-attach the flashings to ensure your roof does not drip during storms.