The skylight has supplied daylight for years without asking for much. Now the glass is marked, the timber has a tired corner and nobody can remember where the instructions went. Start with identification and a condition check, then choose the care the actual unit needs. Cleaning the glass does not service every part around it.
Dave resists the urge to put replace skylight at the top of the list. He also resists the opposite promise that a tube of sealant and a heroic polish can cure everything. First find out what is there.
The instructions emerge from a drawer with a remote for a television the family no longer owns. Pat identifies the skylight paperwork and leaves the remote mystery alone. The owner thought the annual job was glass cleaning. The stained timber corner adds a condition question to the appointment.
Make a Small Inventory From the Room
Record the brand and model from safely accessible paperwork or labels. Note whether it is fixed, manually opening, electrically powered or solar powered. Photograph the frame, visible finish and any stain in relation to the room.
If it opens normally, note stiff movement, unusual sounds or a closure that no longer feels consistent. Do not force a mechanism, lean through the opening or dismantle it for inspection. If it has powered controls, keep electrical work with the appropriate service provider.
Separate a mark on the room-facing glass from moisture between glazing layers or wetness around the frame. Those observations lead to different questions. A cleaner cannot remove condensation sealed between panes, and painting a damp timber corner does not establish where the moisture came from.
The Glass Is Only the Easy-to-See Part
VELUX Canada's maintenance guidance includes cleaning and product-specific care for finishes, gaskets and filters where fitted. It also calls for debris removal around flashing so water can drain. Follow the instructions for the installed unit; a feature shown for one roof window may not exist on a fixed skylight.
Ask the service contractor to show which parts are being cleaned, which are inspected and which need repair. A quote for glass washing should not silently stand in for an exterior flashing review.
Mike's practical question is what the maintenance visit will tell you afterward. Glass is cleaner is a perfectly good result when that is the job. It is not the same result as the operating seal was checked, the exterior water route was cleared and the frame condition was documented.
Dave separates the routine care from that corner. The frame can be cleaned and inspected, but its old mark needs a moisture history before refinishing. The owner remembers condensation during a very cold spell, then a different drip during rain. One photograph had hidden two stories.
Four Parts of a Useful Service
A complete service records more than clean glass.
Identification
Record the unit, controls and installed options.
Room-side condition
Separate glazing marks, finish damage and operating symptoms.
Exterior route
Inspect and clear the actual flashing drainage arrangement safely.
Handover
Keep findings, care instructions and any repair priorities.
Plan Exterior Access Once
If roof access is needed, coordinate tasks. Have the contractor check the surrounding covering, accessible flashing condition and accumulated debris during the same properly planned visit. Do not ask someone to walk on the skylight or reach it from an improvised ladder position.
A leaf-filled pocket above the unit deserves attention even when the room is dry. The inspection should show the cleared water route and any damage uncovered. Existing sealant patches should be recorded before another layer is added.
Where an active leak exists, book diagnosis rather than routine maintenance alone. Describe when the water appears and where it first becomes visible. A service visit can include investigation, but the scope should say so.
Treat Finishes Without Gluing the Moving Parts
Interior timber may need suitable finish maintenance. Protect the gaskets and moving connections according to the manufacturer's instructions. Paint on a seal is not extra weatherproofing.
Pat's version is shorter: paint the timber, not everything that stopped moving long enough. The coating, cleaner and method should suit the material, and damaged or damp timber needs assessment before refinishing.
Do not lubricate every hinge or motor connection with the same spray. Ask which points, if any, the manufacturer intends to be serviced and with what product. Keep the instructions with the unit's identification.
Mike writes the completed work and the unresolved question on separate lines. The glass looks better, which everyone can enjoy immediately. The remaining investigation stays visible in the record instead of disappearing behind the nice view.
Leave With a Useful Record
Ask for the model, work performed, condition findings and any recommended follow-up. If parts are becoming difficult to obtain or the surrounding roof is approaching replacement, discuss that timing without treating age alone as proof of failure. Our replacement-timing guide helps with that decision.
For an automated unit, confirm ordinary operation and any relevant rain-control function through the approved procedure. See rain-sensor troubleshooting if that is the actual complaint.
The aim is a skylight you understand well enough to maintain, with a record that saves the next service visit from starting at which one is this again.