By I’ve spent over ten years working as a roofing contractor in Middle Tennessee, and a surprising amount of that time has involved skylights. Early in my career, I didn’t fully appreciate how much trust homeowners place in a skylight installation and repair contractor in murfreesboro until I started getting the repair calls—often for work someone else had done. Skylights tend to expose shortcuts faster than almost anything else on a roof.
One repair job that stuck with me involved a family who loved natural light but dreaded rainstorms. Their skylight didn’t leak constantly, only during long, steady rains. Another contractor had already blamed the unit itself. When I inspected it, the skylight was solid, but the flashing had been installed as if it were a standard roof vent. Water was slowly working its way behind it, soaking insulation before ever becoming visible inside. Fixing it meant undoing a lot of finished work, which could have been avoided with a few extra steps during installation.
Installation jobs are where I see the biggest gap between “looks fine” and “will last.” I remember installing a pair of skylights in a bonus room that felt dim no matter how many lights were on. The homeowner initially wanted the largest units available. Based on the roof orientation and ceiling depth, I advised against that and recommended slightly smaller, well-placed units instead. Months later, they told me the room felt brighter and more comfortable than they’d expected, without the heat buildup they were worried about. Skylights don’t need to dominate a roof to do their job well.
Repair work has made me especially cautious about older skylight styles. Acrylic domes are common in Murfreesboro homes built years ago, and I’ve worked on plenty of them. Some can be repaired effectively, but others are nearing the end of their usable life. I’ve had to tell homeowners that another round of sealant or patching would just delay the inevitable. That’s not always an easy conversation, but repeated small repairs often end up costing more than a clean replacement.
One mistake I see often is relying on caulk as a solution. Caulk ages, cracks, and fails, especially under Tennessee sun and storms. Proper underlayment and flashing do far more than any sealant ever will. Another issue is ignoring ventilation. Skylights change how air and moisture move through a roof system. If that’s not considered, condensation problems can show up even when there’s no leak.
After years of installing new skylights and fixing failed ones, I’ve come to a steady viewpoint. Skylights can be a genuine upgrade to a home, but only when they’re treated as part of the entire roof system, not as an afterthought. The best skylight work I’ve done blends in quietly—no stains, no drafts, no callbacks—just steady light where it belongs. Those are the jobs that remind me why careful judgment matters more than speed or shortcuts.
