Branson Skylights Installed by Roofers, Not Handymen
Your Hallway Has Been Lit Like a Parking Garage Since 1998.
Big Chief Exteriors handles Branson skylights including skylight installation, skylight repair, and sun tunnels. We install with the manufacturer's flashing kit every time, because a skylight is a hole in your roof and it deserves to be treated like one.
The Units We Install and Stand Behind
Half This Town Lives Under Trees and It Shows Indoors
The Ozarks are gorgeous and they are also very green, which means a lot of houses around here sit in permanent shade. The kitchen faces north. The hallway has no windows at all and never will. The bathroom gets one small frosted pane. And the cabin great room has that beautiful vaulted ceiling with nowhere left to put a window, because the walls are already glass or already log. So you flip on a light at two in the afternoon in June and you've stopped noticing you do it.
Then somebody brings up a skylight and half the room says the same thing. Skylights leak. Everybody's got a cousin with a stained ceiling and a bucket. That reputation was earned honestly, mostly by two things. The plastic bubble units builders put in decades ago yellowed, cracked, and gave out, and plenty of skylights got installed by somebody who cut the hole, set the unit, and depended on a tube of caulk to keep the weather out. So people who'd love more daylight talk themselves out of Branson skylights entirely, based on a product and a method that both got replaced a long time ago.
“Before Vela, approvals felt vague. Now there’s a clear moment when everything is agreed on, and I can move forward with confidence.”
Maria L.
Travel Advisor
These guys were amazing! I own several homes and rarely do I see service of this caliber. The bid was very honest and reasonable. We decided to move forward and within a few days there were at our house working from dawn until dusk. The job site was always clean and the men were always very respectful and kind. It’s companies and men like this that made America great. You should look no further than Big Chief Exteriors.
Tracey Stroh
Branson, Missouri
I'm Tyler. A Skylight Is a Roofing Job, Not a Window Job.
I'm Tyler Arnold. Here's the rule at our company and it's not complicated. Skylights don't leak. Bad flashing leaks. Every unit we set goes in with the manufacturer's flashing kit made for that model and that roof material, layered into the shingles the way the engineers designed it, so water gets shed and directed instead of blocked. Sealant is a backup on our jobs, never the plan. If anybody quoting you a skylight talks about caulking it in, that's not a skylight, that's a leak with a start date.
Two honest things while we're here. If your roof is seventeen or eighteen years old, don't let us cut a new skylight into it right now. Wait, and do the skylight and the roof together, because the flashing gets integrated properly the first time and you're not paying to open the same spot twice. And if what you actually want is light in a hallway, a closet, or a small bathroom, a sun tunnel usually costs a good bit less than a full skylight and does the job better in a tight space. We'll bring that up before you ask, even though the bigger unit pays us more.
Tyler Arnold
Three Promises on the Trickiest Small Job We Do
The Fix It or Refund It Guarantee
If your skylight leaks because of how we installed or flashed it, we're back out to fix it fast. No prorating. No trip charges. Nobody blaming the unit, the weather, or the roof around it. And if we can't make it right, you get your money back. Every single cent. On skylights this guarantee is the whole ballgame, and we'd rather write it down than talk about it.
The $250 Price Match Guarantee
Bring us a written bid from another licensed and insured company installing the same unit with the same glass package, the same flashing kit, and the same warranty. We'll match it and hand you $250 in cash for finding a competitor we hadn't heard about. Ask them one thing first: are they using the manufacturer's flashing kit or their own method?
The Cleanup Guarantee
Cutting a skylight means drywall dust and insulation inside your house, plus shingle scraps and nails outside. Our crews are paid on cleanup. We seal the room off, cover floors and furniture, vacuum before we leave the room, and magnet and sweep the exterior. You get daylight, not a mess to deal with all weekend.
“Before Vela, approvals felt vague. Now there’s a clear moment when everything is agreed on, and I can move forward with confidence.”
Maria L.
Travel Advisor
Gorden MacPhail
Cape Fair, Missouri
“Professionalism was evident throughout the entire process from initial estimate to project completion. We were so pleased with the deck restoration we had them back for our gutter replacement. We really appreciated the communication with Tyler explaining the process in detail. Best part was price was reasonable. Definitely a 5- star company!! Will do business again.”
What Neighbors Say About Their Branson Skylights
What We Do With Skylights
Branson skylights come down to two jobs, and one is far more common than people expect once units hit twenty years old.
Skylight Installation
New units in existing roofs, during a roof replacement, and on additions. We install fixed, vented, and solar-powered units in the sizes and glass packages that fit the room, and we do sun tunnels where a full skylight would be more than the space needs. Everything goes in with the factory flashing kit for that model. We also frame and finish the shaft so the ceiling looks like it was always meant to be there.
Skylight Repair
Older units fail in a handful of predictable ways. Seals give out and fog the glass, the flashing corrodes or was never right, a plastic dome cracks and yellows, or the crank and hardware on a vented unit seizes up. Skylight repair often means re-flashing rather than replacing the whole thing, and we'll tell you honestly which one your unit needs. Sometimes the answer is a $200 fix.
“Before Vela, approvals felt vague. Now there’s a clear moment when everything is agreed on, and I can move forward with confidence.”
Maria L.
Travel Advisor
“Very open and honest. Encouraged me to get other bids as well. They were not only the best-priced but also the most organized and open about our plans and options to take. The workers were clean and quick and did everything they could to protect the property. Tyler even came out himself to magnet the driveway so we wouldn’t drive over nails each night bc I have an EV that charges in the garage. Excellent experience! Big Chief definitely goes above and beyond.”
Gwen Pead
Branson, Missouri
Counties Where We Cut Holes on Purpose
We work out of Branson and cover a wide piece of the Ozarks. Roof shape, tree cover, and how old the neighborhood is change what we do with skylights in each place.
Taney County
Learn MoreBranson, Hollister, Forsyth, Rockaway Beach, Kirbyville, and Merriam Woods. Taney County skylights go into a lot of cabins and lake homes near Table Rock and Lake Taneycomo, where vaulted great rooms have gorgeous ceilings and nowhere left to add a window. Heavy tree cover makes those rooms dark even at midday, which is exactly the situation a skylight was invented for.
Stone County
Learn MoreKimberling City, Reeds Spring, Branson West, Galena, Crane, and Blue Eye. Stone County skylights on exposed ridge and lake lots take real sun and wind-driven rain, so glass package and flashing detail both matter more up there. West-facing units usually want low-E glass and a shade unless you enjoy an afternoon greenhouse.
Barry County
Learn MoreCassville, Monett, Purdy, Shell Knob, Exeter, and Wheaton. Our Barry County skylights work covers older farmhouses built with small windows and dark interior rooms, plus shops and outbuildings where a couple of units beat running more lighting. Metal roofs need their own flashing approach, and we do that too.
Christian County
Learn MoreNixa, Ozark, Sparta, Clever, and Highlandville. Christian County skylights calls here are mostly replacements. Those 1990s and 2000s subdivisions got builder-grade acrylic bubble units in bathrooms and hallways, and thirty years of Missouri sun is about all those were ever going to take. Swapping to a modern glass unit fixes the leak and the yellow at the same time.
Lawrence County
Learn MoreAurora, Mt. Vernon, Marionville, Pierce City, and Verona. Lawrence County skylights get asked about hail more than anything else, and fairly. Modern units use tempered or laminated glass that handles impact far better than the old plastic domes did. If hail worries you, that's a glass package conversation and we'll walk you through it.
Maranda Carter
Branson, Missouri
“This local company did things right! My new roof and gutters are perfect! Tyler went above and beyond with help on the insurance claim, explaining everything and was here from start to finish! I would definitely recommend Big Chief Exteriors to anyone!”
Skylight Questions People Actually Ask
Do skylights leak?
A properly installed modern one shouldn't, and that's not a sales line. It's the question we get asked about Branson skylights more than every other question combined. What leaks is bad flashing, an old unit whose seals have failed, or a plastic dome that cracked. The industry earned this reputation twenty and thirty years ago with different products and sloppier methods. Ask whoever quotes you whether they're using the manufacturer's flashing kit. That one answer tells you most of what you need.
My skylight is leaking. Do I need a whole new one?
Often no. A lot of what we see is flashing that's failed or was never installed right, and re-flashing the existing unit fixes it. Where replacement makes sense is a fogged unit with a blown seal, a cracked or yellowed acrylic dome, or hardware that's beyond parts. We'll get up there, photograph it, and tell you which one you've got.
Should I wait and do this when I replace my roof?
If your roof is getting close, yes, and we'll say so even though it delays the job. Cutting a new skylight into a roof that's five years from replacement means opening the same spot twice and paying for the flashing work twice. If your roof has real years left, there's no reason to wait.
How much do skylights cost?
It depends on the unit, the size, whether it's fixed or vented or solar-powered, the glass package, and how much interior finish work the shaft needs. A sun tunnel is the least expensive way to get daylight into a small space. A large vented unit with a shaft built through an attic is the other end. We measure, look at your ceiling, and put it in writing.
Fixed, vented, or solar-powered? What's the difference?
Fixed units don't open and cost the least. Vented units open to let heat and moisture out, which is genuinely useful in a bathroom or kitchen. Solar-powered units open on a remote and run off a small panel, and in many cases the unit and the blinds qualify for a federal tax credit, so ask your tax preparer about that. We'll match the type to the room instead of the price sheet.
Water is dripping from my skylight but the roof seems fine. Is that a leak?
Maybe not. Condensation is extremely common in our humidity, especially in bathrooms and kitchens in winter, and it shows up as water running down the inside of the glass and pooling at the bottom edge. It looks exactly like a leak and it isn't one. Better ventilation in the room usually solves it. We'll tell you which you're dealing with.
Will a skylight make the room hot or fade my furniture?
It can if you put the wrong glass in the wrong place. Low-E coatings cut a lot of the heat and most of the UV that fades fabric and flooring. Placement matters too, since north-facing gives you steady soft light while west-facing gives you the full afternoon. Blinds and shades are available on most units, including remote-operated ones.
What's a sun tunnel and is it cheaper?
It's a small round tube that runs from a dome on your roof, through the attic, to a light-style fixture in your ceiling. It costs less than a full skylight, installs faster, and puts a surprising amount of daylight into a hallway, closet, laundry room, or small bathroom. What it won't give you is a view of the sky, so it's the right call in some rooms and the wrong one in others.