Replacing a Roof? Why Not Add a Skylight?

Skylights don’t just add beauty to your home; they also offer several other benefits. The exposure to natural sunlight is good for your health, supplying you with much needed vitamins. It also saves money as the natural light effectively brightens up your room without the need for lights.

You also get a nifty tax benefit from the government for this energy saving solution. Here are the benefits of skylights in detail:

• The Health Benefit- Exposure to natural sunlight is good for your health and the health of your home. Sunlight replenishes vitamins B1 and D in your body and this leads to a higher production of serotonin. Most people are aware that serotonin can fight depression and elevate energy levels.

• Benefit to Your Home- The presence of natural sunlight will also reduce dampness and combat mold. It’s one of the best ways to keep your home dry and mold free.

• Brightness- A skylight can brighten up the entire room by flooding it with natural light. It can make the room seem open and airy instead of dark and damp. This can elevate your mood too, as dark surroundings tend to contribute to depression.

• Ventilation- You can open the windows of the skylight to let the outside air in, especially during the warmer months. This would promote ventilation and improve the overall air quality of your home. You can install a skylight that would open via a remote or with the help of a crank.

• Energy –Bear in mind that the skylight needs to be properly installed and sealed to provide any energy savings. When it is installed properly, the daylight filtering in would warm your home. Moreover, the natural light would allow you to switch off the lights. You can save on your energy bills with the help of a skylight.

Why Install Skylights During Roofing Installation?

One of the best times to install a skylight is when you’re replacing your roof. There are several reasons why this is so and here are some of them.

• Convenience- There’s a simple matter of convenience to adding a skylight while you’re replacing the roof. Both projects would be handled at the same time, so you’ll only have to deal with the installers working on your home once. This saves time and effort.

• Cost- Installing the skylight and the roof together would definitely cut down the cost. That’s because all the labor would be merged together. This is assuming you use the same contractor for the entire project. Nevertheless, the cost of installing a skylight and the risk to your new roof would be greatly reduced if you install the two together.

• Quality- When the new skylight is installed along with the roof, the seal is properly applied and the roof sits tightly around the skylight. If you install the skylight after you reroof, you risk damaging the roof and might void its warranty. If you install the skylights before you reroof, the roofing process can disturb the skylight and lead to leaks.

Regardless of how you look at it, if you’re reroofing and intend to install a skylight in the future, it’s better to do it at the same time.