Rooflight and skylight fitting across Chelmsley Wood
Fordbridge to Chelmund's Cross.
Chelmsley Wood homes can have sun tunnels, roof windows and flat rooflights compared on a single written quote, after a free survey at your door.
- Distance
- About 7 road miles east of central Birmingham
- Planning
- Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
- Housing
- A large post-war estate: terraces, semis, maisonettes and low-rise flats
- Roofs
- Pitched and flat roofs of varying slope, so the pitch is measured before any window is chosen
Three Chelmsley Wood roofs, and where each one starts
A terrace or semi with a dark landing?
A sun tunnel could light that landing, and so could a roof window, and the quote prices both together.
A shallow-pitched roof over a terrace loft?
Roof window choices narrow with the pitch, so we measure the pitch first.
A flat-roofed extension or a converted garage?
A flat rooflight lights it from above, once the covering has been checked.
Dark rooms, low roofs
- Sun tunnel
- Roof window
- Flat roof
The estate was laid out with compact houses and maisonettes, and a landing, hallway or bathroom with no outside wall is easy to find among them. Daylight has to come through the roof or not at all.
A sun tunnel is the smaller answer and a roof window the larger one. We price the ones that suit your roof on the same page, so the choice rests on the room and not on a sales line.
Sun tunnel
- Opening in roof
- Small, round
- Light
- Soft and steady
- Fresh air
- None
- Best for
- Halls, landings, bathrooms
Roof window
- Opening in roof
- Larger, between rafters
- Light
- Bright, with a view
- Fresh air
- Opens
- Best for
- Loft rooms and top landings
Low pitch, narrower choice
A roof window needs a minimum slope to shed water through its flashing. On a low-pitched roof the range of suitable windows is shorter, and some makers publish a lower limit than others, which is a reason to compare more than one.
How the limit works is set out on our roof windows in a low-pitched roof page.
| Item | Steeper pitch | Low pitch | Flat roof |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roof window | Wide choice | Fewer suitable units | Not suitable |
| Sun tunnel | Rigid or flexible tube | Usually possible | Flat-roof version |
| Flat rooflight | Not suitable | Often with a kerb | Standard answer |
| First check | Rafter spacing | Exact pitch | Covering and fall |
Extensions and converted garages
Houses on an estate like this are often extended sideways or backwards, and a garage converted into a room tends to keep its flat or shallow roof. The ceiling of that new room may be low, with no wall left for a window, and a flat rooflight gives it daylight without losing floor space.
Position is the other decision. A rooflight set over the middle of the room spreads light evenly, while one close to the outer wall lights the far side more brightly and leaves a shadow nearer the door. We mark the options on the plan so you can see where the light would fall.
A frameless or low-profile unit keeps the ceiling clear. Our page on sizing a flat rooflight for an extension explains how the glass area compares with the floor.
If a garage conversion has an old felt or EPDM roof, we check the condition of the covering before we cut into it. Our page on rooflights for EPDM, GRP and felt roofs shows how the upstand is formed in each.
Asked in the loft
My garage roof is flat and old. Do I replace it before the rooflight?
Not always. If the covering is sound, the rooflight and a fresh strip of covering around the kerb can be done together. If it has failed, it is better to re-cover the whole roof once, and the quote can fit the rooflight to your roofer's work or take in the roof as well.
- Covering condition looked at first
- Fall of the roof measured
- Ceiling height compared with the kerb
A loft room in a terrace or a semi
Where a house has enough height under the roof, a loft room is a way to add a bedroom or a study without extending outwards. The roof windows give it light, and the number of them depends on how the room is laid out. One window at the ridge end lights a small study, while a bedroom with a bed and a wardrobe usually wants two, one on each side of the room.
Headroom decides what is possible. A room needs enough standing space under the slope to be useful, and the stairs need a place to land. Our page on roof windows for loft conversions sets out the choices, and the survey measures what your roof can take.
In a house with two storeys the loft is left by way of a protected stair, while light and air come from the roof window.
For a loft bedroom
One larger window
- Light
- Strong in one place
- Cost
- Lower
- Reach
- One handle to use
Two smaller windows
- Light
- Spread across the room
- Cost
- Higher
- Reach
- Two openings, cross-breeze
Opening or fixed, and who can reach it
A rooflight over a stairwell or a high landing can be hard to reach, and a window you cannot open is a window you stop using. An electric opening rooflight, controlled by a wall switch or a remote, solves that, and a rain sensor will close it if a shower comes. Our page on electric opening rooflights compares it with a manual pole-operated one, and the quote shows both.
A fixed unit is simpler and usually costs less, and it suits a room that is already ventilated some other way. In a bathroom, or any room that gets steamy, an opening unit is the one to compare, because condensation settles on cold glass when the room cannot clear its moisture. Our page on condensation on rooflights explains why.
Glass is the other choice that suits a small house. A self-cleaning coating helps a rooflight over a garden or a street stay clear between washes, because rain carries the dust off the outer pane. A solar control coating suits a south-facing extension that gets hot in summer, and gives little to a room facing the other way. Each is priced as a separate line, so you can see what the coating adds to the total. Our page on self-cleaning skylight glass describes how it works.
Owners, landlords and the council
- Consent
- Planning
- Notice
Whose roof is it?
Before any survey it helps to know who owns the roof. A freehold house is yours to alter, subject to the rules below. A flat or maisonette often has a shared roof, and the freeholder or the management company must agree before an opening is made in it. A tenant needs the landlord's written permission, and a housing association home will have its own process.
We can describe the work to your landlord or freeholder, with the unit details and the drawings they ask for, and we start once consent is in hand.
The same applies to a share of freehold or a leasehold house, where the lease may reserve the roof or the structure to the landlord. A rooflight that changes the roof is something to read about in the lease before the survey, and a short note from the landlord on the matter is all we need to see.
Asked on the phone
I own a top-floor maisonette. Can I have a rooflight?
Possibly. Check your lease for the roof first, since the roof is often owned by someone else. Once you have the freeholder's agreement, we can survey and quote.
Planning applications for Chelmsley Wood go to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, and it is the council that decides them. Plenty of rooflights and roof windows come under permitted development, and our rooflight planning guide sets out what has to be met.
A flat or maisonette does not have the same permitted development rights as a house, so those flats need a different check. We look at the address and the type of property, and the council decides anything that is unclear.
| Item | Who | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council | Check the position, and draw up plans for an application where one is required |
| Building Regulations | Building Control | Make the Building Control notification for notifiable work |
| Roof ownership | You, a landlord or a freeholder | Describe the work for their consent |
Building work includes cutting a fresh opening into a roof, and a whole replacement rooflight is notifiable too. Where it applies, the Building Control notification is handled by us. In an existing dwelling, the 2021 Part L limit for a rooflight is 2.2 W/m²K, and our page on rooflight Building Regulations covers the rest. Workmanship is guaranteed by us for 10 years, and the maker supplies a separate warranty for the unit.
Chelmund's Cross, Fordbridge and the rest of Chelmsley Wood
We work across the estate, from the streets around the town centre and Chelmund's Cross to Fordbridge and Bacon's End.
Nearby places we cover
Chelmsley Wood FAQs
Does Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council decide my rooflight application?
Yes. Planning for Chelmsley Wood is Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council's to decide. Many rooflights come under permitted development, and the conditions for that are in our rooflight planning guide, while we check your address and house type at the survey.
I rent my home. Can a rooflight be fitted?
Only with your landlord's written permission. We can send them the drawings and the unit details so they have what they need to decide.
Can a sun tunnel alone light a dark maisonette bathroom?
It brings in steady daylight but no fresh air. If the room needs to clear steam, an opening roof window is worth pricing beside it. The quote shows both, and you can read the comparison on our page about a sun tunnel or a skylight.
Does a shallow loft above a Chelmsley Wood terrace leave room for a roof window?
Some can. The pitch decides which windows are suitable, so it is measured at the survey and the quote covers only units that work.
Do you cover Fordbridge as well as the rest of Chelmsley Wood?
By road, Fordbridge and the rest of the estate are about 7 miles from the middle of Birmingham, heading east, inside our 30-mile range. Wherever you live on the estate, the survey is carried out at your home.
Will a rooflight make my room cold?
The units we quote meet the 2021 limits for existing homes. A rooflight loses more heat than a wall, so the glass specification is worth comparing on the quote, and you can read how much on our page about whether skylights lose heat.
Can you replace a cracked plastic dome on my flat roof?
A glass rooflight can take its place, once the kerb and the covering have been checked. Our page on replacing a polycarbonate dome has more.
Is there a way to light a landing without opening the roof much?
A sun tunnel needs only a small round opening, and it can light a landing or hall from the roof above. The tube passes through the loft to a diffuser in the ceiling, so the loft has to be accessible and reasonably clear for the run. We check the route at the survey and quote the tube length that fits.
Can you replace the glass in a rooflight I already have?
When the frame is in good order and just the sealed glass unit has misted, changing that unit by itself is often enough, and it is not notifiable. Where the frame itself has failed, the quote is for a whole new rooflight. Our page on replacing a misted sealed unit explains the difference.
Which frame colours are on offer for a roof window?
Most makers offer a range of finishes for frames, and some roof window frames come in white or grey. We list the options for each unit on the quote, with any extra cost shown as its own line.
Do you work on blocks of flats?
We survey individual homes, including top-floor flats and maisonettes where the freeholder has agreed. The consent comes first.
What is the first step towards a quote?
Book a free survey. After the visit a written quote arrives, in which each unit that suits your roof is set against the others, with its price and lead time beside its frame, glass and opening.
Book your free survey
It starts with a free survey and plain advice. No pressure, just clear options for your home.
Fill in the form and we will be in touch to arrange a convenient time.