Skylight Flashing
Hi all,
I have a skylight in the master bath which has a metal flashing that is in between the "box" and the plastic skylight. The flashing keeps getting wet from condensation from heat in the house (not just from the shower), and it's constantly dripping. I've noticed that it's starting to damage the wood sides of the "box."
Any recommendations? I am thinking about using a spray on foam insulation and covering the metal flashing so it no longer drips.
Thanks,
-Allen
Do you have a fan in your bathroom already? If not, eliminating the moisture by adding a fan and running it during and after showers would help a lot.
The easiest fix would be to install a clear plastic pane flush with the ceiling wood. First a very small piece of wood trim is installed around the inside of the skylight box, flush with the existing trim. An exactly-cut piece of plastic can be angled into the opening and set on top of the trim.
The problem is that moisture-laden warm air is cycling into the skylight opening and cooling. This squeezes the moisture out of the air and onto the cold skylight frame. The plastic panel traps air in the opening so it can't cycle and pick up more moisture.
The addition of a bathroom fan is an excellent idea, and minimizes this problem. I have seen big, single-dome skylights that dripped so much off the plastic dome that it looked like it was raining indoors. Some skylights are available with a plastic cladding that covers the metal. It's normal to have beads of water on the metal skylight frame when it's cold outside and warm and moist inside.
I had this same problem and installed a very nice panasonic bathroom fan. The fan worked great but the proble still persisted.
What I did is similar to what Randy recommends but a little more permenant and a little more work. I took the skylight off (8 screws on the roof ) got a thin piece of plastic from tap to fit the opening, painted the wood and then after that dried reinstalled the skylight with a sandwhich of weather stripping, plastic, weather stripping, Skylight. I used camper shell striping for weather stripping. This made it seal very nice an no more dripping. kneal on the metal edge of the skylight when you screw it back in to get it nice an tight.
Also I noticed is much warmer under the skylight, in fact I don't notice it at all.
-- Ralph
