What New Skylight Installation in Toronto Actually Involves
A new skylight is a hole in your roof that has to behave like the roof. That is the whole trick. The opening gets cut between or through rafters, the cut framing gets doubled headers so the load still has a path to the walls, a curb goes on top to lift the unit above the shingles, and the flashing has to shed rain, snowmelt and wind-driven water for the next 20 or 30 years.
Then there is the inside. A skylight with no finished shaft is just a bright square in a dark attic. We frame the light shaft, insulate it with Roxul batt, add a 6-mil poly vapour barrier so warm, moist house air does not condense on cold surfaces, and board it so the painter has something clean to work with.
In our opinion, most skylight problems in Toronto come from treating the job as “cut a hole, drop in a unit.” It is framing, roofing, insulation and drywall in one day, and every step has to be right.
A quick way to picture it
A skylight to a dark Toronto kitchen is like opening a sunroof on a highway: suddenly everyone wonders how you drove with it closed.
The 4 Ways We Install New Skylights Across the GTA
This family covers four kinds of new installation. Each has its own page with pricing, process and FAQs.
- Residential skylight installation for kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, attics, garages and hallways, from $2,500 per unit.
- Commercial skylight installation for offices, retail, warehouses, restaurants, schools and medical buildings, from $8,000 per project.
- Flat roof skylight installation on raised, insulated curbs tied into TPO, EPDM and SBS membranes, from $3,500.
- Custom skylight design and installation for heritage homes, atria and architect-led projects, at $400 to $900 per sq ft of glass.
Residential Skylight Installation in Toronto Homes
Most of our new installs are residential. Here is how they break down by room and building type.
Kitchen Skylights
The most requested room by far. Kitchens are where families spend daylight hours, and a skylight over an island or sink changes the whole space. We did the Thompson family in Rosedale, three Velux VSS solar skylights over the kitchen, completed in one day with OBC permit coordination. Venting units are worth considering here because they pull cooking heat and steam out at the ceiling.
Bathroom Skylights
Bathrooms get privacy and daylight at the same time, which no wall window can do. A venting Velux VS or solar VSS clears shower steam, and laminated glass is standard over wet areas. Expect $3,200 to $7,500 per unit depending on the model.
Bedroom and Nursery Skylights
Bedrooms need light control as much as light. Pair any Velux with a blackout blind (manual $180 to $320 plus $120 install, motorized $380 to $650 plus $180 install) so mornings are your choice, not the sun’s. For nurseries we usually recommend a fixed Velux FS paired with a room-darkening blind on a remote, so you can tilt it open or closed from across the room without leaving a sleeping baby.
Attic Conversions and Lofts
Finished attics in Leaside, East York and the Beaches often have one gable window and a lot of dark knee-wall space. Two or three skylights along the slope turn it into a real room. Attic installs can add 10% to labour because access is tighter.
Hallways and Stairwells
Upstairs halls are usually the darkest part of a two-storey house. A single Velux FS over the stair or a sun tunnel where a shaft will not fit solves it. We often pair the FS over the stair with a 14 inch Fakro TGR tube on the upstairs landing so the whole floor reads bright instead of spotty, and we run the new shaft along the same stud bay the electrician used so we are not cutting new framing for no reason.
Garages and Workshops
Garages are simple installs with no finished ceiling to protect. Our Scarborough garage double-skylight job came in at $4,200 and took one day. We use Velux FCM curb-mount units with laminated glass over parking bays so a basketball through the ceiling does not end up as a fall onto the garage floor, and most garage installs finish in a single afternoon with the door back on its track by dinner.
Additions and Renovations
On additions, we work from the architect’s drawings and coordinate with your general contractor so the openings are framed before the roof is sheathed. Four-unit addition installs run $9,500 to $18,000. We pull the truss layout from the framer early so we can pre-order the right Velux or Fakro units and have them on site the day the sheathing goes on, which keeps the GC’s schedule intact and avoids holding skylights in a garage waiting on a roof.
Commercial Skylight Installation Across the GTA
Commercial work runs through our commercial skylight installation team, with WSIB clearance, COI and shop drawings on request.
Offices and Lobbies
Our Vaughan Metropolitan Centre office tower lobby atrium (14 panels, 2023) is a good example. Office skylights run $8,000 to $18,000 for a single unit and $25,000 and up for atria. We carry $5M CGL and full WSIB clearance, both of which your property manager or tenant’s counsel will ask for before signing, and we issue COI on request so the contract does not stall on insurance paperwork.
Retail and Restaurants
Daylight sells. Our Oakville Lakeshore corridor restaurant atrium came in at $28,500 over three days, worked around service. Restaurants especially want daylight over the bar or host stand without glare on POS screens, and we tune the Low-E glass and diffuser depth to the seating plan you already have rather than installing first and figuring out glare later.
Warehouses and Industrial Bays
Per-bay skylights cut lighting bills in distribution centres. Our Markham tech corridor 12-bay install ran $84,000 over two weeks. Industrial bays run $6,500 to $14,000 each with fall-protection screens.
Schools and Medical Buildings
Classrooms and clinics need quiet glass, safety screens and after-hours scheduling. We plan work around occupancy and provide method statements to facility managers. Acoustic laminated glass keeps rain noise down in classrooms and waiting rooms, and our crews are MOL working-at-heights certified with full WSIB clearance so trustees and clinic admins can sign off without extra safety paperwork.
Specialty New Installs
Some projects call for something other than a standard deck-mount unit.
Flat Roof Skylights
Flat roofs pond and drift, so every unit sits on a raised, insulated curb. We tie the curb into TPO, EPDM or SBS membrane with a manufacturer-approved boot, then build a saddled crickit upslope so meltwater does not pond against the glass. See flat roof skylight installation, and note that walkable units like the Fakro DXW let you step on the skylight to clean it without breaking the pane.
Solar-Powered Venting Skylights
The Velux VSS opens by remote with no wiring through the ceiling and closes itself when its rain sensor trips. The solar panel is built into the outer frame, so there is no electrician and no invoice for running wire, and the rain sensor closes the unit before you even hear the first drops on the roof. See solar-powered skylights.
Sun Tunnels
Where a full shaft will not fit, a Velux TGR tube pipes daylight into closets, halls and interior bathrooms from $1,800. The 10 inch tube fits standard 16 inch on-centre framing and the 14 inch tube suits wider bays or longer runs, and both come with a frosted ceiling diffuser that spreads light across the room without a single hot spot.
Custom and Heritage Skylights
Pyramid, ridge, barrel vault and structural glass, built from shop drawings with engineer sign-off. Heritage districts like Rosedale, Cabbagetown, The Annex and Unionville usually need drawings sympathetic to the existing roof line, and we have a heritage detailing package with copper and stepped flashing that meets most committee requirements without hiring a separate architect. See custom skylight design.
Materials and Brands We Install
We stock and install the full Velux and Fakro ranges through direct dealer accounts with Velux Canada and Fakro Canada.
| Category | What we use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Velux fixed | FS (deck-mount), FCM (curb-mount) | Most popular fixed units for pitched and low-slope roofs |
| Velux venting | VS manual, VCS electric, VSS solar | Ventilation, steam and heat control |
| Fakro | FTT thermal, FXW, DXW flat-roof walkable, FXP preselect electric | Energy-focused and flat-roof projects |
| Glass | Low-E 272 triple-pane, laminated interior, tempered exterior | Heat control, safety and quiet in rain |
| Flashing | Velux EDL / EDM / EDW kits, step flashing, aluminum cap flashing | Matched to shingle, metal, tile and slate |
| Underlayment | Grace Ice & Water Shield, Grace Vycor membrane | Toronto freeze-thaw and ice dam protection |
Every unit we install meets CSA A440 window performance requirements, and every opening is detailed to OBC 9.7 for fenestration and OBC 9.26 for roofing.
Our Expertise: What 2,000+ Installs Teach You
Twenty years and more than 2,000 skylights means we have seen most of what a Toronto roof can throw at you. Rafters that are not where the drawings say. Plank sheathing on 1920s houses that splits when you cut it. Knob-and-tube wiring hiding in an attic. Ductwork right where the shaft wants to go.
We open the ceiling and check the attic on the assessment visit, so those surprises become line items on the quote instead of change orders on install day. When rafters have to be cut, we sister and header them properly, and when a design needs engineering, we bring in a structural engineer rather than guessing.
What Actually Stops Toronto Homeowners From Booking a Skylight
We hear the same four worries on almost every assessment. Here are honest answers.
“Skylights always leak eventually.”
In our opinion, this is the most common myth in the trade, and it comes from the 1980s acrylic domes that were caulked into roofs with no real flashing. A modern Velux or Fakro unit with a pre-engineered kit and ice and water shield is designed to outlast the shingles around it. We back that with a lifetime leak-free warranty on the flashing.
“I can’t tell what I’m actually paying for.”
Fair, because a lot of quotes are one number with no breakdown. Ours separate the unit, labour, permit, flashing and disposal. Our full price list is published.
“The permit will drag on forever.”
Permits for a simple residential opening in Toronto usually take two to six weeks. We file it, track it and book the inspection. Heritage districts take longer, which we flag on day one.
“The house will be a construction zone for weeks.”
Most single installs take one day. We lay drop sheets from the door to the room, build a dust wall around the ceiling cut and vacuum before we leave. Honestly, the worst part for most homeowners is the dust, so we run a HEPA air scrubber in the work area for the day and ask where to park so the driveway stays clear for school pickup.
Toronto Skylight Installation Timeline: What to Expect
Week 1: Assessment and Quote
Free on-site visit, roof and attic check, model recommendation. You recieve a written, itemized quote within two business days. The crew lead brings a tablet and takes photos of the roof, attic and ceiling so you can see exactly what we are pricing, and every quote lists unit, labour, permit, flashing and disposal on separate lines so there are no buried numbers to argue about later.
Weeks 2 to 6: Permit and Ordering
If a permit is needed, we file it. Units are ordered through our Velux Canada and Fakro Canada dealer accounts at the same time, so we never order the unit until the building department stamps the permit, which means you are never holding a skylight on a jobsite waiting on paperwork. Permit fees, heritage drawings and any structural engineering show up on the quote as their own lines, not buried in labour.
Install Day
Cut, frame, flash, close the roof and rough in the shaft, usually in one day for a single unit. The same in-house WSIB-covered crew works from morning to knock-off, with no subcontractors on site, and the lead walks you through our founder’s flashing checklist at the end of the day so you can see exactly what was done.
Finishing and Inspection
Drywall finishing, framing inspection if required, warranty registration and a final walk-through. We register the Velux or Fakro manufacturer warranty on the spot and hand you a written lifetime leak-free warranty on our flashing, which is the layer that fails most often when a skylight fails at all. CSA A440-rated glass and details to OBC 9.7 for the window and OBC 9.26 for the roof are documented on the closing package.
Skylight Installation Cost in Toronto: What You Are Paying For
The Skylight Unit
The unit is typically 35% to 50% of the total. A Velux FS is the most affordable fixed model; a Velux VSS solar unit costs more because it includes the motor, battery, panel and rain sensor. Most Toronto installs land on the Velux FS for fixed glass or the Velux VSS for solar venting, with Fakro FTT thermal units running roughly 10% cheaper on energy-focused builds, and every unit we install meets CSA A440 window performance.
Install Labour
Labour covers the roof cut, framing, flashing and shaft. It goes up with steep pitches (9:12 and over), attic access problems and multi-storey roofs. Every crew is in-house and WSIB-covered with no subcontractors, so the person cutting your roof is on our payroll and our insurance, not a day rate off Kijiji. Honest pricing means we list this as its own line on the quote too.
Permit and Drawings
Permit fees depend on the municipality and scope. Heritage drawings or structural engineering are quoted separately when required. We file the permit at cost plus our admin time and show the line on the quote, which most competitors quietly roll into a single number, and we file with City of Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham and the rest of the GTA so you do not have to learn a new building department for one job.
Flashing Kit and Underlayment
Factory flashing kits and Grace Ice & Water Shield are never optional on our jobs. A flashing kit upgrade runs $185 to $385. We match the kit to the roofing material (EDL for shingles, EDM for metal, EDW for tile and slate) and lap Grace Ice & Water Shield a full 18 inches up the curb so Toronto freeze-thaw and ice damming have nothing to grab, all detailed to OBC 9.26 for roofing.
Light Shaft and Interior Finish
Framing, Roxul insulation, 6-mil vapour barrier and drywall board are included. Splayed shafts spread more light and take a bit more material. A splayed shaft with 4:12 sides adds about $250 but spreads daylight across roughly twice the ceiling area, and that is the upgrade we recommend in most Toronto living rooms and kitchens where the light shaft is the whole point of the install.
Disposal and Clean-Up
Old roofing, offcuts and packaging leave with us. Disposal is listed on the quote, not buried in labour. The trailer pulls up the morning of the install and leaves with the old shingles, offcuts and cardboard packaging the same day, so your driveway is back to normal before dinner and the only thing left on the lawn is a slightly cleaner yard than we found it.
Skylight Installation vs Replacement vs Repair: Which Service You Need
Installation creates a new opening where there was none. Replacement swaps an old unit in an existing opening, same-size from $2,200 or enlarged from $3,800. Repair fixes a leak, a seal or a pane on a unit that is otherwise sound, from $350. If your existing skylight is 20+ years old, fogged or on its second leak, replacement usually beats repair over ten years.
Fixed, Venting or Solar: Choosing Your Skylight Type
Fixed units like the Velux FS and Fakro FTT are the most affordable and the best choice where you only want light. Venting units like the Velux VS (manual) and VCS (electric) open to release heat and humidity, perfect for kitchens and bathrooms. Solar units like the Velux VSS open by remote with no wiring and close automatically in rain, ideal for high ceilings you cannot reach.
Why GTA Homeowners Keep Calling Us Back
We have been installing skylights across Toronto and the surrounding GTA for over twenty years and more than 2,000 installs, certified for both Velux and Fakro since 2004. Every crew is in-house and WSIB-covered with no subcontractors, every quote is itemized with the permit as its own line, and every opening is detailed to OBC 9.7 for fenestration and OBC 9.26 for roofing. CSA A440-rated glass, published pricing and a written lifetime leak-free flashing warranty round out what you are actually paying for. Trust us, you’re in good hands.
