Skylight Restoration – Clearglaze

As many in the industry can will agree with, complex details on roofs are difficult items to contend with and often times expensive to waterproof.  This is especially the case if seams break and membranes fail within warranty periods.  Perhaps one of the most commonly failing details on commercial roofs are skylights, and luckily, there is an alternative to full replacement when skylight details leak.  Within the Roofpro line of Liquid Applied Membranes, Sika offers Clearglaze: a clear coating solution to leaky skylights that costs a fraction of full replacement.

How it works: The Clearglaze system creates a monolithic, seamless, and light transmittable membrane in a few easy steps.

1. Prime the glazing details with the appropriate membrane primer
2. Use reinforcement and pigmented resin to “picture frame” in the glazing details to the glass
3. Cover the main body of the skylight with Clearglaze at 40 mils.

As with the pigmented Roofpro material, execution is dependent on the contractors ability to get trained.  While these are the basic steps to covering the skylight, training sessions will highlight the intricate details of perfecting this process.  As skylights continue to be implemented in architectural design, the notion of leaking seams and details are unavoidable.  However, this approach offers some major benefits:

1. Occupied space below the skylight is not disturbed.  This proves valuable in retail and education settings
2. Carrying buckets of liquid up to a roof eliminates some rigging costs associated with tear out and replacement
3. A seamless and monolithic membrane can be carried onto the main body of the roof
4. A seamless and monolithic membrane will allow for ZERO leak points

For some, these benefits far exceed the the desire to replace or repair the same structure in a few years.  While the final product may not be 100% optically clear, the 98% of the light transmittance remains with the Clearglaze system.  View a few images below, and consider full encapsulation of a leaky skylight as opposed to a costly replacement!