I have just encountered my second “sun tube” sky light that leaks and I can’t see from where.They leak mainly just during a hard rain.The first leaker I caulked and flashed to excess and it still leaks.The other day a customer called complaining of a leak.I get on the roof and lo and behold its exactly like the other one and looks like a good installation same as the first{I installed the first one}.Has anyone else dealt with this? A bad gasket?osmossis?Water trolls? I thought I would ask you guys before I goop it severely or remove the dome to look at the gasket.The one I installed has leaked since it was new or I would have already assumed the dry rotted gasket scenario.
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What pitch is the roof? (If the slope is too low, water will hang around a LOT longer, causing poroblems.)
When installed, did you follow the instructions perfectly? (If not, it's probably a flashing problem.)
Are you certain that the leak is not somewhere above the dome -- up higher on the roof?
I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone,
And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone;
I can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone,
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here. (Phil Ochs)
both pitches are 4/12.Neither one has any apparent place where water can enter above or anywhere else,but obviously its getting in somewhere.some how it has to be getting through the seal on the dome.I was hoping this was a problem others had run across and had a good fix.I may try caulking underneath the dome with some lexel or something.
look for codensation in the tube......
be real critical if they are in the bathroom ot kitche...
rain = high humidity...
also... what was the temp gradiant???
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I wish it was condensation,but its a full scale leak that leaves a puddle 2' in diameter.Thanx for the reply.
where's the puddle forming???
does the tube have a storm colar??
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
no storm collar but the joint between the dome and the roof jack part is 3" off the roof.The water puddles inside the ceiling lens and ends up on the floor.
add a storm collar...
seal exposed fasteners, lenses, seams and joints ...
seal everything.... and seal it again..
you have a condensation problem, the very high internal heat of the tube expands the air in the tube expelling it.. the rain cools the tube condensing the internal air... you now have a vacuum pullinging in very moist air that is at the same time cooling and releaseing it's water..
the give away is the puddle inside of the light... The water puddles inside the ceiling lens and ends up on the floor
nothing is sealed allowing air exchange.... if the water is getting to the floor the lens isn't sealed...
go back and RTFM... that tube has to be SEALED.. internally and externally... seal it tighter than a crab's butt... water tight...
if the light is a bathroom or kitchen... this compounds the problem...
the three or four that I serviced all had the same problem... sealing everything put and end to it... DO NOT drill a water let in the cieling lens...
I won't do anything with them any more... everytime it's been the installer took shortcuts and did't RTFM... ya gotta follow the plan...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
'Storm Collar'.
Therein lies wisdom of great ramifications.
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thank you sir...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
I was going to suggest the same. Folks would be surprised on how many "leaks" are just condensation in high-humidity conditions.
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I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish. Pete Draganic
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I had one that leaked too and I was quite puzzled by that. I dont' know that I want to install any of them anymore. I don't like service calls.
I don't like service calls.
Then you've picked the wrong new career.copper p0rn
We all have to do something and bear our crosses. Besides...when I get a service call, I call the roofer who installed it.
I call the roofer who installed it.
What if he doesn't answer?copper p0rn
I send his replacement. We will always have a roofer. Without one, we are out of business.
I thought you were the roofer."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I'm in the roofing business but I'm not a roofer. I'm the Project Manager?Actually, I don't have much of a title. I put "operations manager" on my business card. The guys call me the "inspector". I'm wearing a few hats but "roofer" isn't one of them.
make sure the cieling mounted lens is sealed/gasketed...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I had the same problem... skylight would leak sometimes, but not all the time. Heavier rains, snow melt-off, etc. I spent a long time checking flashing and sealing details. I looked around in the attic for evidence of infiltration, I used an infrared camera, I tried to replicate the leak with a garden hose.. nothing. I very first considered condensation however with a decent gasket seal, there just isn’t enough air movement up into the tube to explain the volume of leak. Also this was in a fairly low humidity environment.
So here’s what I did, and it worked. Somehow, although I could not replicate this with the water hose, I believe the leak was coming from the screw(s) that attach the dome to the tube. Whether it’s temperature changes (expansion, contraction), or just the right drain-off scenario, water must have been following the screws in somehow and trickling down the inside of the tube. So I put a little dab of sealant over those screw heads and made sure it sealed to the dome around the heads and it fixed the problem. I used silicone as it was cleaner looking, and will pull off easy enough if/when I need to remove the dome. There is another clear product I like called “through the roof” that seems to hold up well so far, which I will try on another dome skylight with this same set of suspicious behavior. Hope this helps.. I wracked my brain on this and by process of elimination, the screws were the last thing left to try. It seems doubtful when considering all the information, but I sealed them and the leak stopped and has held up that way for a couple years so far.