What does it take to add a skylight to a house?
Short answer. Adding a skylight means cutting an opening in the roof between or through rafters, framing headers around it, installing and flashing the unit into the shingles, and building a drywall light shaft down to the ceiling. Placement, glazing and a proper flashing kit decide whether it brightens the room for decades or becomes a leak and heat problem.
Planning
- Location: above the room that needs light, ideally on a north or east slope to limit summer heat in Georgia. Avoid valleys and spots just below a taller roof that dumps water.
- Size and framing: many skylights come in widths that fit between standard rafter spacing, which avoids cutting framing. Wider units require cutting rafters and adding headers, and roof trusses generally should not be cut without an engineer's design.
- Shaft: a straight, angled or flared shaft changes how much light spreads into the room.
- Type: fixed, venting (manual, electric or solar powered), or a tubular daylighting device for small spaces.
Installation steps
- Mark and cut the ceiling and roof openings.
- Frame headers and the light shaft.
- Mount the unit to the deck and wrap it with self-adhered membrane.
- Flash it with the manufacturer's kit: apron at the bottom, step flashing woven with the shingles on each side, and head flashing on top.
- Insulate the shaft walls, then drywall and paint.
Permits and cost
Cutting structural framing typically requires a building permit, so check with your city or county. Cost depends on the unit, the shaft length and the finish work. Adding a skylight during a roof replacement avoids cutting into new shingles later. See skylights and roof replacement and roofing permits in Georgia.