Skylights and rooflights installed across Streetly
Bungalow lofts and garden-room extensions.
Bungalow lofts take roof windows, rear extensions take lanterns or long flat rooflights, and one written quote prices them all next to each other. Book a free survey and we come to your house in Streetly.
- Distance
- About 13 road miles north of central Birmingham
- Planning
- Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
- Housing
- Detached and semi-detached family houses, plus bungalows and dormer bungalows on wide plots
- Roofs
- Hipped tiled roofs, low-pitched bungalow roofs, flat-roofed rear extensions
Three Streetly roofs, and what suits each
A bungalow near Hardwick with an empty loft?
A loft room in a bungalow can take roof windows, and the escape rules are kinder to a single-storey house.
A wide detached house with a flat-roofed rear extension?
A lantern or a flat rooflight, priced together so you can see the difference.
A hipped semi where the roof has been re-tiled?
We check the battens and the rafters before we choose a roof window size.
Light for bungalow lofts and rear extensions
- Roof window
- Sun tunnel
A bungalow roof offers two quite different ways to bring daylight down. A roof window turns the loft into a room with a view, and a sun tunnel carries daylight through the roof space to a hall or a bathroom below.
The quote puts the unit that fits the job next to the one likely to cost less, and shows in plain words what each offers and where each gives ground, so the trade-off is yours to judge.
Roof window
- Light
- Wide, with a view out
- Ventilation
- Opens to let air in
- Suits
- A loft room or a landing
Sun tunnel
- Light
- Soft and steady
- Ventilation
- None from the tunnel
- Suits
- A hall, a bathroom or a cupboard
Bungalows and dormer bungalows
Streets in the Hardwick part of Streetly and elsewhere in the village include bungalows and dormer bungalows, as well as the two-storey houses. A bungalow has a loft above its ceiling, and that space is often the largest unused part of the property. When the loft is converted, the rooms in the roof need daylight, and a roof window is how that daylight is normally supplied.
The escape rules help here. A bungalow or chalet bungalow can use a roof window as the escape from a loft room, so long as that room's floor stands up to 4.5m above the ground. Over a two-storey house the same conversion has to include a protected stair, and that is a larger undertaking. We say which case you are in at the survey, and your builder or architect confirms the layout.
A dormer bungalow already has a vertical window in the roof, and a rooflight can add light to the part of the room the dormer does not reach. A second roof window opposite the dormer lets air cross the room, which helps on a warm afternoon. Our loft conversion roof window guide covers placement, and our roof window installation page covers the opening types.
Heard at the measure-up
Does the roof window have to wait for the stairs in my Hardwick bungalow loft?
The roof window itself can go in before the stairs, though the conversion as a whole is building work and your builder plans the staircase and the floor. We measure the roof so the window lands where the finished room needs it.
- Rafter spacing measured
- Tile type matched to the flashing
- Blind and opening type agreed
Rear extensions on wide plots
Where a Streetly plot runs to a long garden, a rear extension can be a generous kitchen and dining room under a flat roof. Above a dining table or a kitchen island, a lantern gives the room a high, bright centre. Where the extension is shallower, a long flat rooflight keeps the roofline low and spreads light along the glass doors.
Both go on the quote when both would work, and our page on choosing between a roof lantern and a flat rooflight compares the pair in detail, line by line, for a Streetly roof.
Reaching the handle in a high roof
Bungalow ceilings in the roof are often tall and sloping, so the handle of a roof window can sit well above arm height. A pole is one answer. A motor is the other, and an electric roof window or rooflight responds to a wall switch or a handheld remote, and many carry a rain sensor that closes them when the weather turns.
The motor adds a wired or solar supply and a higher price, and the survey is where we work out which supply the roof suits. A manual window is cheaper and has less in it that can go wrong, and for a landing that you pass daily a pole is usually enough. Our manual and electric rooflights compared page sets out the difference in full.
Opening a roof window above reach
Manual with pole
- Operation
- Pole or handle
- Supply
- None
- Suits
- A landing used every day
Electric
- Operation
- Switch or remote
- Supply
- Wired or solar
- Suits
- A tall room or a hard-to-reach roof
Halls and bathrooms with no outside wall
Plenty of bungalows and semis have a hall or bathroom buried at the centre of the plan, with no window at all. A sun tunnel suits these spaces, and it comes in two forms. A rigid tunnel has a mirrored tube that carries more light along a straight run. A flexible tunnel bends round obstacles in the roof space, such as a joist or a pipe, and loses a little light at each bend.
We look in the roof space at the survey to see which run is clear, and the quote sets the rigid and flexible options side by side where both would fit. Our hallway sun tunnel page shows how the light behaves in a narrow space.
Glass choices for a south-facing garden room
| Item | Solar control | Clear low-iron | Self-cleaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer heat | Reduced by a tinted or coated pane | Passes more sun | Similar to clear glass |
| Winter light | Slightly softened | Brightest of the three | Bright |
| Upkeep | Wash as normal | Wash as normal | Rain carries dust away |
| Suits | A south or west facing roof | A shaded or north facing roof | A roof under trees or hard to reach |
Permission, Building Control and older roofs
- Permission
- Control
What the council decides
Streetly is a village within the Walsall borough, so it is Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council that takes planning decisions here. In many cases rooflights and roof windows are covered by permitted development, so long as the work stays within the conditions in our rooflight planning guide. Listed building consent is needed for any rooflight on a listed building, however generous permitted development is elsewhere, and the right itself can be withdrawn from a house, either through a condition written into its permission or by way of an Article 4 direction made for the area.
Your address is looked up before the quote and you hear what turned up. The council decides, and should an application be required the drawings it asks for are prepared by us.
Heard during the survey
Do I have to tell anyone before a new roof window goes in?
A newly formed roof opening falls under the Building Regulations, because opening up the roof is building work. Notifying Building Control is our job, and the signed-off certificate then comes to you once the work is complete.
Re-tiled roofs and tired extension roofs
On a hipped roof that has already been re-tiled, the battens and the tile profile decide how the flashing is fitted. A roof window made for plain clay tiles needs a different kit from one made for deep concrete interlocking tiles, and the two are not interchangeable. We identify the tile at the survey and quote the matching kit.
A flat-roofed extension with an old plastic dome or a dated aluminium lantern is a common second job. If the covering is about to be replaced, that is the efficient moment to upgrade the rooflight as well, because the kerb and the covering can be done together. A full replacement of the unit is notifiable, and that notification is ours to send. Where only the sealed glass has misted and the frame is sound, our misted rooflight replacement page says when a new glass unit on its own is enough.
At the survey of a flat roof we measure the height of the existing kerb, the fall of the roof and the condition of the covering around the opening. The new covering has to be turned up the side of a lantern kerb, so the kerb must be tall enough, and one that has settled or rotted is raised or rebuilt before the new unit goes on. The quote lists that work on its own line, so you see what the rooflight costs and what the roof needs.
Our 10-year workmanship guarantee goes with every installation, and whatever warranty the manufacturer gives stays with the unit.
Hardwick, Bourne Vale and the rest of Streetly
We survey across Streetly, including Hardwick and the streets around the village centre, with Bourne Vale and Little Aston close by.
Nearby places we cover
Your Streetly rooflight questions
Where does planning permission for a Streetly rooflight come from?
Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council decides. Permitted development often covers a Streetly rooflight, on the terms in our rooflight planning guide, and the survey includes a check of the address for any listing, any restriction on the house or any Article 4 direction that applies.
Is a bungalow loft conversion easier to light than a house loft?
In a bungalow or chalet bungalow whose loft floor is up to 4.5m from the ground, a roof window can be the way out, which keeps the escape arrangements simpler overall. A two-storey house calls for a protected stair in its place. In both cases the glazing is picked for the light and the fresh air it brings.
What does a sun tunnel do that a roof window does not?
It carries daylight through the roof space to a room below that has no outside wall, such as a hall or a bathroom. It gives no view and no fresh air, and it is usually the lighter job for the roof. Our sun tunnel or skylight answer compares the two.
Do you replace an old aluminium lantern on a rear extension?
We do. We check the kerb, the covering and the opening first, then quote a new glass lantern made to fit. Swapping the entire lantern is notifiable, so we make the Building Control notification ourselves.
Which glass is best for a garden room facing south?
Solar control glass reduces the summer sun that comes through, and clear glass lets in the most winter light. The table in this page compares them, and your quote shows each option for your own roof.
Does one house with both a flat roof and a pitched roof need different units?
The units differ. A lantern or a flat rooflight on a kerb suits a flat roof, whereas a pitched roof is fitted with a roof window sitting in the slope. We survey both roofs in one visit and put the quote for each in the same document.
Will a roof window make a bungalow loft cold in winter?
Modern roof windows are double glazed and take the 1.4 W/m²K limit for roof windows or WER Band B under Part L 2021. A well-fitted window with the insulation lapped around the frame loses little heat. The quote states the glass, and you can compare a standard pane with an enhanced one.
Can a lantern go on a flat roof with a slight fall?
The kerb is built level, so the fall of the roof is dealt with in the kerb and the covering. We measure the fall at the survey so the lantern sits square and sheds water properly, and a lantern's sloping sides help rain run off the glass. If the existing fall is shallow, the quote says what the covering needs.
Are the surveys free?
Surveys cost you nothing, and the written quote that follows lays the suitable units alongside each other, listing price, lead time and the glass, frame and opening for every one. Book a free survey whenever you are ready.
Do you survey Hardwick and Little Aston as well as central Streetly?
Both are covered. Going north out of central Birmingham, Streetly is reached after about 13 road miles, which puts it inside the 30-mile area we cover. Your home is surveyed in person, and the quote follows in writing, with the options for each roof on the house laid out in the same order so you can compare them line by line.
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.