Fitted in Fradley: skylights and rooflights

Estate houses and their roofs

The later houses in Fradley tend to have simple pitched roofs covered in concrete interlocking tiles. A roof window in that covering is a straightforward job in principle, because the manufacturers make flashing kits for it and the tiles are regular in size. The things we check are the rafter spacing, since the window has to sit between two rafters or have a trimmed opening, and whether the loft has been boarded or insulated in a way that affects the lining around the window.

A loft that is used only for storage can still take a roof window. It turns a dim space into one you can sort things in, and it leaves the door open if you later want to convert it. If you are thinking of a conversion, tell us at the survey. The window is then chosen with the future room in mind: where the floor will sit, where the bed or desk will go, and how high up the slope the handle needs to be so you can reach it.

On a house with a dormer or a hip, the roof planes are smaller and the choice of sizes narrows. We measure the plane, not just the room below, and say plainly if a larger window will not fit and a smaller pair will. The sizes and opening types are covered in full on our roof window installation page.

Where the window goes in the slope

Height in the slope changes how a roof window feels to live with. Set lower in the slope, a centre-pivot window turns on its middle and its handle sits at the top edge, which at that height stays within easy reach for most people, and the outer pane turns in so you can clean it from the room. Set higher, a top-hung window opens outward like an awning on a hinge at its upper edge, with the handle at the bottom where you can still reach it, and the lifted sash leaves an open view of the garden when you stand at it.

On a long landing or a stair void the choice is often about light more than view. A window directly above the stair throws daylight down through the whole house, which a wall window cannot do on an internal stair. We mark the position on a drawing, check the stair headroom below and show you where the light will fall at different times of day.

Blinds are best chosen at the same time. Blackout blinds suit a bedroom, while a light-filtering blind suits a landing or a study. Fitting them on the quote avoids reaching up to a finished window later. Our page on top-hung and centre-pivot roof windows compares the two across reach, view and cost.

Replacing a conservatory roof

A glazed conservatory roof on a south or west facing garden can be too hot to use through the summer months and cold in winter. Replacing it with a solid, insulated roof and one or two rooflights is a common change. A lantern gives you the high, bright centre of a conservatory without the heat of an all-glass roof, while a pair of flat rooflights lights the room more evenly and costs less.

Whether the existing base and walls can carry a heavier roof is a structural question, and we look at it before quoting. Your quote sets out each rooflight option, the roof build-up beside it and the glass specification, so a solar control coating can be compared with a plain clear one on the same page. What the coating does, and where it gives ground, is explained in our guide to solar control rooflight glass.