It was a cold February morning, one of the coldest days of the year. I dropped my daughter off to school and decided to take the day off for some spiritual healing. We had been working hard as the weather had been kind, allowing us to catch up on our winter work schedule. Then the phone rang and, as always’ I answered it. It was one of my customers in Forest Hill. “Ron , my skylights are leaking. Please come a see whats wrong“. Without hesitation I drove to my shop, warmed up a truck , put on a ladder and drove to Forest Hill. Once inside his home it took one look to figure out the issue. It was condensation dripping from the corners of the Velux skylights we had installed ,at his request, during the summer months. He asked that I go up to the roof “just to make sure”. So to keep him satisfied I went to the roof…in the freezing cold…all at no charge. I informed him of the nature of the problem and gave him the tel. number to the Velux service line. He was told by Velux that the problem was not an issue with the skylights but rather a result of the level of humidity in his home and if he reduced it the problem would go away. Once he reduced the humidity the condensation subsided. To his surprise the water stain from the condensation problem was still there on his new cedar trim. How could this be he thought, they said the problem would go away and now I have to fix my beautiful cedar trim. Frustrated, he went to bed. He faded off to sleep still perturbed by the days events. During the night he was awakened by the sound of his child coughing and his throat felt dry as well. His first thought was to crank up the humidity in the house. Then he realized that doing so on such a cold night would cause his Velux skylights to start dripping again!! ” Oh if only I had listened to Ron when he advised against installing this brand of skylight.” he thought. “Why did I not heed his warnings that this might happen . I did my homework and all roads pointed to Velux. Now I must endure more interior damage to my property or explain to my little girl, and her mom, why I cannot turn up the humidity.”

Meanwhile in Rexdale a family of six are sleeping soundly in a well humidified home as the moon drifts slowly across the pair of Columbia skylights over the central staircase. In this home there is no condensation dripping from the skylights, no dry throats interfering with a good nights sleep, Just a stairwell filled with moonlight on one of the coldest nights of the year.

Which house would you rather to be in?

Condensation has been an on going issue with Velux skylights and I can prove it. Certain models have been that way for years. Because of the lack of credible competition in the market place Velux has ruled for decades. This product has created an acceptance in the market place that skylights sometimes have condensation problems. This is of course a false perception. We have installed many brands of skylights in the last 20 years and the only ones that have a condensation issue under normal conditions is the Velux brand. It’s new “no Leak” skylight introduced this spring has an added bonus. A continuous fastening bracket, made from metal , attached directly to the base of the skylight frame. Now we all know how great of an insulator metal is don’t we. People use it to insulate such things as………ah………….ah………wait a second, metal is a conductor not an insulator. Why would anyone introduce a thermal conductor at the base of a skylight that is already having an issue with condensation or even on one that isn’t for that matter. Before you install this new “no Leak” skylight in your home call Velux (1-800-888-3589) and ask them why they would do such a thing. If you are satisfied with the answer go ahead and install it in your home. Our opinion of the new “no leak” skylight is that it will become known as the “ongoing condensation issue skylight” or maybe it will become known as the “dry throat skylight”.

My company will not be installing this product again until we have seen a noticeable change in the quality. We believe there will be either a lot of dry throats or a lot of dripping skylights come the winter of 2010-2011 as thousand of these skylights are being installed this year. Fortunately I will not be one of the people who will be needlessly driving around town, polluting the environment and contributing to road congestion just to identify a condensation problem with a skylight that should not be there. I wish all my competitors who are using this product well and truly feel sorry for those have chosen this product. My customers will enjoy a winter without any skylight concerns whatsoever and I am looking forward to a day or two of spiritual healing this winter.

I have been in the skylight business for 20 years now and it still puzzles me how plastic dome style skylights ever became introduced into the market place. When my company installs a skylight in a commercial or residential property the minimum requirement is tempered glass over tempered glass. This make a lot of sense since falling objects (ice , hail, tree branches etc.) could enter the home and cause property damage or in a worst case scenario injure the occupants.

With tempered and laminated glass there is protection against this happening. With an acrylic (plastic) dome style skylight there is very little protection against this type of damage. We have seen numerous situations where an acrylic dome style skylight was installed on a first story roof below the eave of a second or even third story roof. There have been instances where huge pieces if ice have fallen from the eave above such skylights and entered the living space below. There exists a possibility of extensive property damage, personal injury or even death as long as plastic dome skylights are still used in such situations.

Plastic dome style skylights are also about 58% less thermally efficient than glass skylights. Unlike glass they fade quickly and there is usually seal failure withinin 5 years. Let’s face it, no one would install plastic windows in their home regardless of the discount. So why then is it acceptable to install plastic skylights when they are exposed to all the rain, snow and UV rays more so than any window ever is?
Please check your home and make sure that your family is not exposed to this unnecessary risk.