DIY guideRoof and gutters
Check the skylights for leaks
Look for stains round the skylight's well inside, tell a leak from condensation, and look at the metal round it from the ground with binoculars.
- 10 to 20 min
- 7 steps
- Every step animated

7 steps
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Look at the ceiling and the walls round the skylight's well for brown stains, peeling paint or bubbling.
Look along the frame where the glass meets it for drips, a cracked seal, or fog between the panes.
Drips on cold mornings that dry by noon are often condensation: run the bath fan and leave the blinds open.
Outside, with binoculars, look at the metal round the skylight for lifted edges, gaps, or leaves piled above it.
In a heavy rain, shine a flashlight up into the well and note where any drip starts.
Set a towel or a pan under any drip, and photograph the stain so you can see if it grows.
A drip in the rain, a growing stain or lifted metal outside: ask Handyman for a roofer. Stay off the roof.
What you need
- A flashlight
- Binoculars, or a phone with a zoom
- A towel or a pan
Call a pro if
- A drip in the rain
- A stain that grows
- Lifted or gapped metal round the skylight outside
- Fog between the panes

Handyman says: Stay off the roof. I'll find a roofer.
Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.
Rather have
a pro do it?







