Skylights & rooflights for Huntington homes
Village roofs beside the Chase.
Rooflights, roof lanterns and roof windows for houses in Huntington, a village on the edge of Cannock Chase. Every quote lines up the matching units for comparison, and nothing is charged for the survey.
- Distance
- About 24 road miles north of central Birmingham
- Planning
- South Staffordshire Council
- Access
- Surveyed at your home, with the roof checked from the loft and from outside
- Conservation
- Cannock Chase National Landscape lies within about two miles of the village centre
Three Huntington roof questions
An old conservatory with a tired polycarbonate roof?
The choice is between a solid insulated roof topped with a lantern and a fresh glazed roof, and both get a price from us.
A detached house with a long rear extension?
Flat rooflights along the run of the room, or a lantern if there is height to use.
A semi with a roof room already in use?
A second roof window can add light and air, if the rafter spacing allows it.
From a tired conservatory to a new lantern
- Glazed roof
- Solid roof
- Lantern
Huntington is a village, and village houses collect additions over the years: a conservatory from one owner, a flat-roofed utility from another. The roofs on those additions are usually the first thing to fail, and replacing them is often a better use of money than a new window in the main roof.
The comparison beside this text sets the two common replacements for an old conservatory roof against each other. A lantern can be added to the solid version, which gives it a bright centre while keeping the room warm.
New glazed roof
- Light
- The most, across the whole roof
- Winter warmth
- Better than old, below a solid roof
- Summer heat
- Needs solar control glass
Solid roof with lantern
- Light
- A bright centre, softer at the edges
- Winter warmth
- Best of the two
- Summer heat
- Easier to keep in check
What an old conservatory roof is doing wrong
The usual complaint is temperature. A conservatory with thin polycarbonate sheets is cold on a January morning and uncomfortable on a July afternoon, and in rain it can be too loud to hold a conversation. Those sheets were never meant for a room used all year, and the aluminium or PVC frame holding them is often not strong enough to take a heavier roof.
That second point matters. A solid roof with a lantern is heavier than polycarbonate, so the frame, the dwarf walls and the foundation have to carry it. We check what is there at the survey, and if the existing frame is not suitable, a new glazed roof on a lighter system may be the realistic option. The quote then explains why, with the alternative priced beside it.
Replacing a conservatory roof with a solid one can change how the room is treated under the Building Regulations. Building a roof to the thermal standards that apply to a habitable room counts as building work, so for jobs that need it the notice to Building Control comes from us. We explain at the survey which parts of your particular roof come under that, so the paperwork is never a surprise.
Asked on a measuring visit
Will a lantern make the room hotter in summer?
A lantern lets in a good deal of sun overhead, so on a south-facing roof we usually price solar control glass and an opening vent in the lantern. Warm air rises, and a vent at the top lets it out, which does far more for comfort than any single pane.
Detached houses and long rear extensions
Larger plots tend to come with larger extensions. A kitchen and family room added across the back of a detached house can be wide enough that a single lantern would look lost in it. A better answer is often a pair of lanterns, or a row of flat rooflights with a lantern at the dining end. The room's shape and the position of the kitchen island or the table decide where the light is most useful.
Our measuring takes in the room underneath as well, and not only the roof overhead. A rooflight directly over a worktop gives plenty of light but may produce glare on a glossy surface. We would rather move the unit a short distance and put the glare out of the way. Where the roof is a flat build-up, the kerb for each unit has to be built to the covering, and the quote makes that part clear.
- Existing frame checked for the weight of a solid roof
- Floor area and ceiling of the room taken alongside the roof
- Glare and heat considered before positions are fixed
| Item | Roof | Likely choice | Where it gives ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old conservatory | Light frame, thin sheets | Solid roof and lantern | Needs a stronger frame |
| Rear extension, flat roof | Flat, wide room | Row of flat rooflights, or paired lanterns | Lanterns need ceiling height |
| Dormer or loft room | Pitched, tiled | Roof window | Rafter spacing limits the size |
| Garage conversion | Flat or low pitch | Flat rooflight | No view out, light only |
Loft rooms, dormers and the second window
Many semis and bungalows have already given up their loft to a bedroom or an office, and the single window they came with is often too small for the space. A second roof window, set beside the first or on the opposite slope, brings air through the room as well as light. Cross-ventilation is the quickest way to cool an upper room in summer, and it needs no machinery.
The limit is the rafters. Roof window sizes are designed around standard rafter spacing, so a second window beside an existing one has to fit in the next gap or involve trimming a rafter. We look at the framing from the loft and offer the sizes that sit between the timbers first, then the larger one with the trimming priced as a line of its own. In a dormer, the flat roof and the cheeks may take a different kind of unit, and the quote sets that choice out beside a roof window in the main slope.
Codes such as MK04 on VELUX units read this way: the letter is the width, and the digits are the height. We use the codes on the quote so that you can compare like with like, and a unit from a second maker is shown against it where the opening allows, with the nearest equivalent size named beside it.
| Item | Clear double | Solar control | Laminated, quieter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | North-facing roofs | South and west roofs | Loft rooms under rain |
| Brightness | Brightest | Slightly softer | As clear double |
| Heat in summer | Most passes through | Much reduced | Depends on the coating |
| Cost | Lowest of the three | Middle | Usually the highest |
How to read it
No single glass wins on every row. Clear double glass is the right answer for a roof that faces north and stays cool, while the same glass on a west-facing conservatory roof would bring the afternoon sun straight in. Laminated panes calm the sound of rain, which matters most in a room directly under the tiles. The quote shows the choices as separate lines so that each one earns its place.
Trees and wooded edges
Many gardens by the Chase have established trees standing near the house walls. Flat glass collects fallen leaves and needles, whereas a lantern with steep sides, or a rooflight set with a slight fall, sheds them more readily. Whatever hangs over the roof is noted, and from that we pick a position and a self-cleaning coating to suit.
Wildlife and the roof
Work to a roof close to trees or old timber can disturb nesting birds or bats. If we see signs of either while measuring, we say so, and the work waits until it is safe and lawful to go ahead. Your builder or the council can advise on whether an ecologist is needed, and it is better to learn that before the order than on the day the tiles come off.
South Staffordshire, the Chase and sign-off
- Council
- Chase
- Sign-off
Planning for Huntington sits with South Staffordshire Council, which makes the decisions. Many rooflights and roof windows fall inside permitted development, and our rooflight planning guide explains what the conditions are. Whatever those rights allow, listed property here goes through listed building consent before any rooflight, and on an ordinary Huntington house we look up whether the rights still stand, since conditions on old approvals and Article 4 directions can both withdraw them.
The Cannock Chase National Landscape lies within about two miles of the village centre. Whether that, or anything else in the planning history, affects your address is a question for the council, and we check what applies when we survey. If a constraint does apply, the quote shows a lower-profile unit beside the standard one.
Where a constraint applies
Standard roof window
- Profile
- Sits a little proud
- Frame
- Wider
Conservation-style
- Profile
- Low, close to the slope
- Frame
- Slim, often with a glazing bar
Sign-off and what stands behind the work
A new opening cut for a rooflight is building work. If the whole unit comes out, frame and glass together, the job is notifiable because it is a controlled fitting; a change to the sealed glass alone does not need that. Notification to Building Control is our job on notifiable work, and the certificate arrives after sign-off.
We guarantee the installation for 10 years, and the maker's warranty comes with every unit as well. If a slim unit suits your roof, the finishes available are described on our conservation rooflight installation page.
Huntington, from Pye Green to Broomhill
We survey houses across Huntington, from the village centre out to the roads on the Chase side, with Pye Green, Broomhill and Pillaton close by.
Nearby places we cover
Questions from Huntington households
Is it South Staffordshire Council that decides on a rooflight in Huntington?
South Staffordshire Council. Permitted development takes in many rooflights, on the conditions given in our rooflight planning guide, and for anything outside it the council makes the call. Your address is checked when we survey.
Do you come out to Pye Green and Pillaton, or only the village centre of Huntington?
Both are covered. Huntington is 24 road miles north of Birmingham city centre, which is within our 30-mile range, and the survey itself happens at your home.
Can my old conservatory roof take a lantern?
It depends on the frame. A light frame built for polycarbonate may not carry a solid roof and lantern, so we check what is there and price a new glazed roof beside the solid option where the frame cannot take the weight.
Does the National Landscape affect a rooflight?
The Chase designation lies within about two miles of the village centre. Whether it touches your address is something we look up and the council decides, so the quote reflects whatever applies.
Can you fit a rooflight to a dormer roof?
A flat dormer roof can take a flat rooflight, and the sloping parts take a roof window. We measure the dormer and check how the roof is built, then compare what fits.
What if a bat or a nest is found in the roof?
We stop and tell you. Roosting bats and nesting birds are protected, and the work is rescheduled until it can go ahead lawfully. It is much better to plan for that before the order than during the job.
Are opening rooflights worth the extra?
Warm air escapes and fresh air comes in through a unit that opens, which helps in a kitchen, a conservatory or a loft room. A fixed unit costs less and suits a landing. Our page on roof window installation sets out the opening types.
Will a solid conservatory roof be darker than the old one?
A little darker at the edges, with a bright centre under the lantern. Roof windows set into the solid roof can add light where a corner stays dim. We can show the likely spread of light on a simple plan of your room, so you see the trade-off before you choose between the solid and the glazed roof, and the quote prices any extra windows separately.
What does the quote look like once you have surveyed a Huntington house?
It is written, and every suitable unit has its own column, and in it you will read the glass, the frame, how the unit opens, what lead time its maker usually quotes and the cost. To get yours, book a free survey.
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