It could cause leaks which is why my husband refuses to do anything that involves the roof.

The newer lights and tubes are much better and less leak prone than ones of old.

Thanks all! The fear of leak keep me away from install as well..

I installed 3 skylights in my last house, and I never had a leak - and I had a flat roof. It all depends on the installers and their installation techniques. Talk to as many as you can but don't let the fear of leaks put you off.

I just loved my skylights (in 2 bathrooms and the kitchen) and two of them were "operable" for hot days (the top opened to let the hot air out). Solar tubes have a hot blue glare that I personally don't like.

I have never had a skylight leak and have lived in multiple houses with them.

I had a beautiful skylight in a master bath. Loved the light. BUT it was on a 4/12 sloped roof that faced west. During heavy rainstorms it sounded like a tin roof. Has anyone else had this problem?

catlady I'm guessing it might have to do with the used material? I don't recall hearing too loud noises but it's been a while since I lived in that house.

Install venting skylight. Double glazed Lami unit for sound proof.

I have known skylights to leak but then again, I'm talking older ones. They do make a lot of noise during rain storms and I've noticed they look a little dingy. The whole thing is much more visible from inside. I've never had skylights for these reasons however in a newer house (3-4 years old?), the builder recommended solar tubes for the stairs going down to the finished walk out basement and in the laundry room that has no windows. I can tell you, SO FAR, the solar tubes have been wonderful. I keep wanting to turn the light out in the laundry when I close the door only to realize that's natural light ; ) It keeps stairwell lit up nicely. It's my understanding the hole in the roof is much smaller and that mirrors are used in the tube to intensify and direct the light coming through. Don't quote me on that. The light is quite bright though.It's just something I was told or read and I can not remember the source. May not have been a reliable one. The contractor that built the house is Mennonite and has high standards and a good reputation. So far, he's proven to be so.

I vote for SOLAR TUBES.

We have had both in house (Solatube installed in windowless bathroom and in north facing small kitchen) and have to agree that the solar tubes, were the best solution for us. While I loved the skylights over the dining area, the solar tubes were easy and quick to install.

I vote for solar tubes too for all the reasons edithsmom and bsellers mention. :)

Hopefully these comments help OP to decide. Most definitely proper installation of either is key along with good quality product to install and last.

A Solar tube has a smaller footprint than a traditional skylight and therefore less likely to leak. Of course as stated a good installation is key. Always following the manufactures recommended instructions will make most units leak-proof. Stay away from plastic flashing's used by Solatube and ODL, they tend to warp and do not have a fire rating. So its better to find a good product and contractor to install than to just discount them and say that they will leak. Below i have attached two pictures. One of a plastic flashing by ODL and one of a metal flashing by Sun Glo. Both were about 4 years old when pics were taken. The plastic flashing has pretty much disintegrated. Opt for metal when you want longevity.

A plastic flashing ? Ididn't even know one existed. Geez. How cheap is that??? What's wrong with copper flashing. i know copper is expensive, but come on...using plastic instead of copper in a small area to try to save lil bit of money is insane

“I am the Customer Service Manager for ODL, and I happened to stumble upon this thread. Since our product was mentioned, I hope you all don’t mind me weighing in. First, I’m certainly not unbiased when it comes to recommending Tubular Skylights – we’re very proud of our product, and have sold millions of them over the past 14 years. We think they’re an excellent option for bringing in natural light to a home, and thousands of homeowners agree. Our quality record over this time has been exceptional, with very few product complaints or product failures. That said, I was distressed to see the pictures posted of what I believe is our product, posted by Solarise. I noticed a few things. First, the flashing appears to be painted beige – normally it’s black. Paint can attack the integrity of the resin we use, which is why we don’t recommend painting or coating our flashings. In fact, we consider this something that invalidates our warranty. Second, the flashing appears to be disintegrating, which is abnormal. Our resins have UV inhibitors loaded into them to prevent this kind of degradation, again leading me to believe something was done to this flashing outside of our normal recommendations to cause it to become brittle. I understand why Solarise would recommend against a resin or composite flashing – they market the Sun Glo product, with a metal flashing – but we are more than confident in its’ performance. If installed correctly, it will seal out leaks, will not warp, and does meet all rating requirements of multiple ASTM tests and the Universal Building Code all while offering a Limited Lifetime Warranty.” In addition to our Asphalt Flashing ODL does offer an aluminum flashing kit for both our 10 and 14" Tube Light. Our full product offering can be viewed at www.odl.com.

Best Regards,

Dan Hagger
Customer Service Manager ODL USA

So i guess the LIMITED lifetime warranty is void if the flashing is painted...REALLY! Thats pretty weak. So you are telling me you manufacture a plastic flashing that can not be painted or it will ruin the integrity of the resin. WOW that impressive... Lets be honest here. You make plastic flashings to save a buck, NOT for the customers benefit but for your own. Plastic should not be used as a roof flashing. What is your limited Lifetime Warranty? How many years is it? I see nothing that states it can not be painted. I see nothing warranting it against warpage or uv degradation. Fact is your warranty is a sham and alluding to a lifetime warranty with the words limited in my opinion is misleading.

(READ WARRANTY http://www.odl.com/downloads/warranties/tube_warranty.pdf
Basically just covers defects. Vary vague, except for exclusions, they are very detailed.


I feel sorry for the customers that end up paying us to replace your plastic flashings on a yearly basis because they have disintegrated. Just replaced another one last month. By the way, it wasn't painted. I guess alot of people are as you said

" leading me to believe something was done to this flashing outside of our normal recommendations to cause it to become brittle."

Yes ODL, your right, its the customers fault. They should have never put your plastic flashings on there roofs. Then they wouldn't have to worry about the chance of degradation. What is it with Big Corporations and all there lies. Why not just admit that you have had a problem with it. The pictures i have posted are proof positive. A good company that has had problems with this would have dropped the plastic and stayed with the aluminum. But you sale more plastic and it is cheaper for you to manufacture.

So please stop with the excuses. Solarise is not the only one that has replaced your products plastic flashings. I hear these horror stories all over the place.

Every Manufacture makes mistakes. Its not the mistakes we make but how we go about resolving the situations so that these mistake dont happen again. A good manufacture wont hide behind it but admit it fix it and move on.

Interesting. I'll be double checking the brand of the ones we have not to mention I wont be AS concerned about installation. It doesnt seem to have any bearing. Just another thing that dodges doing right.

ODL flashing is asphalt. Well I am replacing a UV ray worn one from ODL. First sign was it leaked. The flashing crumbled in my hands. This is less than five years old too. No stores sell any metal ones this size. The replacement is only about 20 dollars but you will need to replace it every two years or so. By the way, you need to order online from Home Depot, and allow a couple weeks before it comes in too. This project was on my mother in laws house as I visited out of state. She is out of luck since the proper size ODL 10" will not come in for a few weeks and I will be gone. Now I have to remove the old one, and buy a temporary flashing to cover the hole while we wait for the other one to arrive. Maybe I will replace it. I am definitely looking for alternatives. Not happy with ODL...

We recently bought a high peaked home with ODL solar tube light in the hallway upstairs. The flashing looked questionable from the outside but being 8 months pregnant i wasn't gonna tie off and hop up there to check it out. Instead i relied on my home inspector (bad idea) to check the durability. It was all a go, which he later informs me that he didn't actually go on the roof to inspect like i specified. Ugh! One month in and extreme heat from the light was too much to handle. I decided to put a temporary cover (cardboard... another bad idea) from the inside til i could find a proper cover. I got a stool & taped the board to the glass part of the window, the part you can touch from inside the home. The following day i smell something burning. The cardboard was burned through! Thats right people! These things get so hot they will start your house on FIRE!!!!! The next option was to find a non combustible material to cover the light... like before, for the glass part that attaches to the ceiling, inside the home. I couldn't find anything great so i tried using a sun visor with top rated temps. Guess what! It melted from the ODL solar tube. With no other solutions, i am left to worry about the new carpet burning or worse, a house fire. I know i didn't make the best choices/ nor did my research on this but if anyone has a solution please comment. As far as i knew it was just another window in the house, not a magnifying glass!

For upstairs hallway you better off with a solar tube, like others mentioned it's less intrusive and it could be placed anywhere on the roof over the hallway area no matter on the roof configuration, where on the other hand a skylight could have restrictions if there is a valley, etc. Also being that all the bedrooms located on the second floor, skylight will be making much more noise when it rains in comparison to solar light so for some noise could be an issue, specially for light sleepers. I remember when I was building a development, and a few models had skylights in the Master bedroom, a few customers requested to eliminate them because every time it rains, they couldn't sleep.

On the general note, if properly installed none of them will leak. When installing a skylight, it is highly recommended to use manufacturer flashing kit, It's additional $100 give or take, but you will never have leaking issues.

Good luck

Channie that does sound like a safety issue. I hope you will contact someone with experience with your problem SOON. Meanwhile I trust that your smoke alarms are all working well!

Either will work great if properly installed. For me it comes down to budget and convenience. A skylight will be more expensive and include some framing, insulation and drywall work. If you got a ventilating type it could add to some airflow in the house. It would also add some drama and volume to a small bath. I would recommend tinting it to minimize heat gain. The light from a Solar tube tends to be more even and it is easily installed with little disruption to existing conditions. Placement will be critical in a small space as it does have a fairly large diameter.

Cost not being a factor, my first choice would be a skylight.

Channie, if this is a new home, your builder needs to kow about this. There may be a recall on this or something. Geesh, that is scary and too much risk not to address. Maybe call an atty that handles defective product issues could advise you. Get them out of there.