Serving Markham & York Region
Skylights & roofing in Markham
VELUX certified installation across Markham — and straight answers about Unionville's heritage permit process before you plan anything visible from the street.
VELUX certified installation across Markham — and straight answers about Unionville's heritage permit process before you plan anything visible from the street.
Markham is split between fast-growing modern subdivisions and two protected historic cores. Which side of that line your house sits on changes the timeline of your project more than any other factor.
Cornell, Berczy Village, Cachet, Wismer, and Greensborough are consistent, well-built, and predictable to work on. Standard truss spacing and accessible attics make skylight work straightforward, and quotes come together quickly because there are few surprises above the ceiling.
The historic cores are a different job entirely. These are older homes with non-standard framing, and — critically — a heritage approval layer sitting on top of the normal building permit. Beautiful houses, but the paperwork drives the schedule.
Milliken Mills, Thornhill's Markham side, and Unionville's newer edges hold a lot of homes now on their second roof, with original skylights that have reached the end of their sealed-unit life. Foggy glass, staining at the corners, drafts — the usual signs.
Markham's Building Standards department issues building permits. If your property is in a heritage conservation district, a separate heritage approval runs alongside it.
Markham Building Standards can be reached at 905-475-4870. If you are in or near a heritage district, ask to speak with Heritage Section staff early — a ten-minute call at the start can save you a month later.
A permit is issued to the owner, so it goes in your name. We tell you on site exactly what has to accompany the application.
Book a free assessment →Real jobs by our own crew. We photograph the parts that get covered up, too.
Type your Markham address, see your house on satellite, trace your roof outline, and pick materials and VELUX skylights. It measures your actual roof off the satellite view and returns a range straight away.
Customize Your Roof
Two approvals, not one. You need the standard building permit for the structural work, plus a heritage permit from Heritage Markham for anything altering the exterior appearance — roofing material, profile, or a new skylight visible from public space. Realistically the heritage side adds two to four months. It is very doable; it just cannot be rushed, and anyone who tells you otherwise has not done it.
Generally the review focuses on what is visible from public space, so street-facing elevations get the most scrutiny and rear-facing work tends to be more flexible. But “generally” is not a guarantee — confirm your specific property with Heritage Section staff before you plan around it.
The unit price is published in full: a fixed skylight is $285 to $1,035 and solar venting $1,738 to $3,609 at VELUX 2026 list, plus $138 to $272 for flashing. Installation is quoted after a site visit. Cornell and Berczy homes tend toward the lower end on labour because the framing is predictable. Unionville heritage properties run higher — older framing, more careful work, and additional approval steps. Every size is in the skylight price guide.
Fogging means the sealed unit has failed and staining means water is getting past the flashing. On a unit from the 1980s or 90s, replacement is the honest answer — the frame and flashing are the same age as the glass. We will tell you if a repair genuinely makes sense, but on units that old it rarely does.
We tell you exactly what is required, provide the details of the work for the application, and coordinate with whoever prepares structural drawings. The permit is issued to the property owner, so the application is filed in your name — but you will not be figuring out what to submit on your own.
Unionville, Markham Village, Cornell, Cachet, Berczy Village, Wismer, Greensborough, Milliken Mills, Thornhill (Markham), Angus Glen, Box Grove, Buttonville, Victoria Square, Legacy, Raymerville, Bullock
On-site look, written quote, no pressure — and a straight answer about whether you need a permit.