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Q. I had a new roof put on in the early summer and now have leaking at a bottom interior corner of a skylight. I can’t see anything on the outside, except one shingle may not be snug against the frame. There is nothing above the skylight up to the ridge. The roofer is coming back this week. I don’t think I want a caulking job here.
Caulking will do no good around a skylight.
Since the leak is in the interior, there is chance that the skylight itself is leaking between the glass and the frame, or the frame and the roof. Usually the leak is due to faulty flashing. If the flashing is a thick rubber strip going under the shingles and up the sides and top of the frame, it is likely to leak, and should not be used.
The proper flashing on a framed skylight is step flashing, individual aluminum pieces shaped into an “L” shape, with each shape starting at the bottom of the frame, with one leg going up the frame and the other over a roof shingle. There is an “L”-shaped panel for each course of shingles, and they are under the shingles.
Caulking is not the answer. Any caulking used should be roofing cement in conjunction with the flashing.
Q. During our “Sandy storm” a piece of my vinyl siding was caught by the wind and the end of it popped out from the corner. Can’t quite figure out how to get the end tucked back under the corner piece again.
Vinyl siding is installed using a special tool that allows each strip of siding to be locked into its neighbor. The tool is also used to unlock the siding.
