Skylight Installation and Replacement in Beverly, MA
Beverly has a lot of roofs where the attic got finished off at some point between 1975 and 1995, and whoever did it cut in a plastic bubble skylight that has been fogging up and yellowing ever since. Between the tight lots near downtown, the salt air off the harbor, and the mature tree canopy over a lot of the side streets and side yards, skylights in this city take a beating from three directions at once. If yours is original to the house, there is a decent chance it is past its working life whether it is leaking yet or not.
Skylight Installation and Replacement in Beverly
There are two different jobs that fall under this page and they are not the same decision. The first is replacing a skylight that is already there. That is almost always tied to a reroof, because once the shingles come off around the curb, swapping the unit itself is a small add to the job instead of a project on its own. That is the volume half of this work and it is where most Beverly calls land.
The second is a new cut-in. Nobody asks for a skylight over a bathroom that already gets enough light. They ask for one over a dark north-facing kitchen, a stairwell with no window, or a converted attic bedroom that feels like a cave. That is a bigger decision. It means opening roof that has never been opened, framing a hole in the rafters, running a light shaft down through the ceiling, and coordinating interior finish work that is a separate conversation from the roofing itself. We will tell you honestly which situation you are in before we talk numbers.
Deck-mounted
units fasten straight to the roof deck and use a matched step-flashing kit. This is what goes on most pitched roofs now. It sits low, looks clean and handles snow well.
Curb-mounted
units sit on a raised wood frame built on the roof. They are the right call on low-slope sections, generally below about 3 in 12, and a lot of older installs already have them.
Fixed
units let in light and nothing else. Fine over a high cathedral ceiling you will never reach.
Manual or electric venting
units open to let heat and steam out. They earn their keep in kitchens and bathrooms.
Solar-powered venting
units run off a small panel, need no wiring to the house, and close on their own when the rain sensor gets wet.
What Beverly roofs and homes are working with
Beverly sits in the denser, more built-up part of our territory, closer in character to Salem and Peabody than to the estate lots further inland. That means smaller roof footprints but often more complex ones, hips and dormers and additions bolted onto older frames, which changes where a skylight can go and what flashing detail it needs. A fair amount of the housing stock here has cathedral ceilings in an addition or a finished attic bedroom, both of which are the natural candidates for a new cut-in because there is already living space right under the roof deck.
Tree cover is heavy on a lot of the older streets, which means skylight glass collects debris and shade year-round, and it also means more granule wear on the shingle courses right around the curb from branches and needles sitting there wet. Being close to open water adds wind and salt exposure that inland towns in our footprint do not deal with, which matters for flashing material and fastener choice. And because a lot of Beverly’s housing went up in the same postwar and 1970s-80s waves, whole streets tend to have the same original skylight, from the same era, failing at close to the same time. If your neighbor just had theirs done, that is not a coincidence.
How we assess it
Before we recommend anything we get on the roof and look at four things. First, the flashing at the curb, whether it is a proper step-and-counter detail or whether someone caulked around the edges years ago as a shortcut. Second, the shingle course immediately around the unit, because that tells us how the water has actually been moving, or not moving, for the last decade. Third, the underside from the attic or the finished ceiling below, looking for staining, soft wood, or daylight that should not be visible. Fourth, ventilation, because a skylight in a poorly vented attic runs hot in summer and condensates in winter no matter how good the unit is.
For a new cut-in we also check rafter spacing and span to confirm the opening can be framed without an engineered header, and we check roof pitch and orientation, because a skylight facing due north behaves very differently than one facing south with full sun. None of this is guesswork and none of it is a sales pitch. You get a straight answer on condition before you get a number.
What the job involves
Replacement
We strip the shingles around the unit, pull the old skylight and flashing, repair the deck at the opening if it needs it, and set the new unit. Ice and water shield wraps up the sides and across the top, the step-flashing kit goes on, and we shingle back in. If the new unit matches the rough opening, the interior usually stays as it is. On a full roof replacement in Beverly, all of this fits inside the reroof. The shingles are already off, the deck is exposed, and the new underlayment and flashing tie in as one system.
New cut-in
We lay out the opening from inside and out, cut the deck, and frame headers between the rafters. Ventilation gets rerouted so the bays above and below the opening still breathe. Then the unit, ice and water shield, flashing and shingles. Inside, a new opening means a light shaft through the attic, drywall and paint. That interior work is part of the conversation at the estimate, and we settle who handles what before anything is scheduled.
For a replacement during a reroof, the sequence is simple. The old unit comes out, the opening gets checked and squared up if the decking around it has softened, new ice and water shield goes down around the curb, and the new unit gets set with fresh step flashing tied into the new shingle courses. Because the roof is already stripped, this adds relatively little labor to a job that is already happening.
A standalone replacement, unit only, no reroof, means removing shingles in a wider radius than you would think just to get clean flashing back down, so it costs more than the reroof version even though it is the same unit.
A new cut-in is a different scope. It means cutting the roof deck and rafters, framing the opening, setting the curb or deck-mounted unit, flashing it into existing shingles that were not designed around it, and building a light shaft down to the ceiling below if there is finished space underneath. The drywall, shaft finishing, and paint on the interior side is part of the conversation we have with you, and we will tell you plainly whether that is something we are coordinating or something you are lining up separately.
On unit choice: curb-mounted units sit up on a raised wood curb and are the standard, most repairable option. Deck-mounted units sit flush with the roof plane, which some homeowners prefer visually, but they demand a cleaner original install because there is less room for error at the flashing. Fixed units are glass only, no moving parts, lowest cost and lowest failure risk. Venting units open manually or by remote and help pull heat and moisture out of a room, which matters over a kitchen or bath. Solar-powered venting units add a small panel that runs the vent motor without any wiring into the house, which is often the easiest venting option for a retrofit.
What it costs
A straightforward skylight replacement done as part of a reroof, same size and same location, typically runs {PRICE_LOW} to {PRICE_HIGH} because the roof is already open and the crew is already up there. Done as a standalone job outside of a reroof, expect to pay more for the same unit, since removing and reflashing shingles around an existing opening on its own takes more labor per unit than doing it mid-reroof.
A new cut-in costs more again, and the range widens because there are more variables: unit size, fixed versus venting versus solar-powered venting, curb-mounted versus deck-mounted, how steep and how accessible the roof is, whether the rafters need any reinforcement to frame the opening, and whether the decking around the new opening turns out to be sound or needs replacement once we get into it. Interior finish work, if you want it coordinated as part of the same project, is priced separately once the shaft dimensions are set. We will not give you a number until we have actually been on the roof, but we will give you a real range before we leave your driveway.
How long it takes
A skylight swapped during a reroof does not add measurable time to the schedule. A standalone unit replacement on an existing opening is usually a one-day job. A new cut-in, roof side only, typically runs one to two days depending on pitch, access, and whether the decking around the opening needs any repair. If interior finish work is part of the plan, that runs on its own separate timeline after the roof side is closed up and weathertight.
Get an estimate
If you have a skylight that is fogging, yellowing, or just old, or a room in your Beverly home that could use one, get us on the roof before you decide anything. Derek will walk the roof, look at the flashing and the deck, and give you a straight read on whether you are looking at a reroof-timed swap or a bigger cut-in decision. Call Couture’s Construction at {PHONE} to set up a time.
Should I replace my skylight now or wait until I reroof?
If your roof has more than a few years of life left and the skylight itself is leaking or failing, replace it now rather than living with water damage. But if a reroof is coming up in the next year or two, it almost always makes sense to hold the skylight swap until then, since the labor to reflash it is largely covered by the reroof work already happening.
Can you cut in a new skylight without a reroof?
Yes. A new cut-in is done on the existing roof and does not require replacing the whole roof. We do need to open a section of shingles and decking around the new opening regardless of the roof's age or condition.
What is the difference between curb-mounted and deck-mounted skylights?
Curb-mounted units sit on a raised wood frame above the roof deck and are the more common, easier-to-reflash option. Deck-mounted units sit flush with the roofline for a lower profile look but require a more precise original installation since there is less margin at the flashing.
Do venting skylights actually help with moisture?
Yes, particularly over kitchens and bathrooms. A venting unit lets warm, moist air escape instead of condensing on the glass and dripping back down, which is a common complaint with old fixed acrylic bubble units.
Will a new skylight need drywall and paint work inside?
Does Beverly have any restrictions on skylight placement?
Ready to talk skylights?
Reach out to Couture’s Construction and let us know if you’re swapping an old, leaky skylight or adding a brand new one to a Beverly home. Share the room, the roof pitch if you know it, and how much light you’re after.
We’ll schedule a visit to check the roof and attic before quoting the work.