Skylight and rooflight installation for the terraces, semis and bungalows of Darton
18.1 road miles south of Leeds city centre
Skylight installation in Darton for older terraces, later semis and bungalows, with rooflights over the rooms that sit behind the front and back windows.
Where Darton houses leave a room away from the glass
Older terraces and later semis lose daylight in different places, and the roof is within reach of all of them.
Terrace back roomThe room behind the front room has a window at one end and a stair wall beside it.
Side-garage roomA garage turned into a room keeps only the old door and one small window.
Loft stairThe stair up to a converted loft is walled in on both sides and has no window.
What suits the roofs of Darton
Pitched roofs suit roof windows and tubes, while flat roofs suit rooflights made for them.
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Flat Roof Rooflights
A flat rooflight on a side extension or garage conversion reaches the part of the room away from the window.
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Roof Windows
A roof window above a loft stair or a bungalow roof room, set between the rafters of a tiled or slated slope.
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Sun Tunnels
A sun tunnel links a small roof dome to a hall or bathroom with no outer wall.
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Energy Efficient Rooflights
A modern low-U-value sealed unit can take the place of an old single-glazed rooflight and lose less heat.
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Walk-On Rooflights
A walk-on panel set level with a flat roof used as a terrace lets daylight down to the room below.
Darton questions about side extensions and planning rules
These questions suit the houses on Darton's older streets and the newer ones beside them.
Does the flat roof over our Darton side extension need replacing before a rooflight goes in?
A flat-roofed side extension on a Darton house is a common place for a rooflight, because the roof is close to the room and nothing blocks the glass. The covering on that roof is part of the job. The rooflight stands on a kerb and the covering climbs the kerb's side, so a watertight finish relies on the roof being in good order at that join.
Which covering is on the roof
A flat roof may be covered in felt, rubber (EPDM) or fibreglass (GRP), and each forms its own upstand. We identify the covering on the day we measure, because a kerb detail suited to one does not suit another. Our flat roof rooflights page describes how the units fit those roofs.
What lies under the covering
The deck under the covering is boards or sheets on joists, and the kerb is fixed to it. If the deck is spongy or stained near the new opening, we say so while the covering is open, and the kerb is built on sound timber. An opening that cuts a joist alters the roof structure, so the joists either side are trimmed round it.
When the whole roof is due for renewal
If the covering has reached the end of its life anyway, the rooflight is best fitted as the new covering goes on, because the upstand and the roof are then made as one. If the covering is in good order, the work is limited to the area round the opening, and the old covering is renewed up to the kerb so the join stays sealed.
Daylight for the room underneath
A garage turned into a living room, or a side extension built as a utility, usually has one window and a long ceiling. A rooflight over the middle of it throws daylight onto the floor and the far wall, and the room stops depending on the single window at the end. The position is marked out from inside the room, so the opening lands where the daylight is wanted.
What the glass should do
A rooflight in an existing home is held to a U-value of 2.2 W/m²K under Part L. Warm-edge spacers and double or triple glazing bring the figure down, a low-emissivity coating cuts the heat lost overnight, and we choose a unit that meets the limit.
How each covering meets a kerb
| Covering | What it is | At the kerb |
|---|---|---|
| Felt | Layers of bitumen felt | Lapped up the side of the kerb |
| EPDM | One sheet of synthetic rubber | Turned up the kerb and sealed |
| GRP | Fibreglass laid in resin | Taken up the kerb as a single skin |
Who do I ask about planning for a Darton roof window, and what will they need to know?
Planning for Darton sits with Barnsley Council, and any enquiry or application goes to it. For an ordinary house nothing usually needs sending, since the roof window falls within permitted development. Its conditions appear once, in full, in our rules on skylights in planning and Building Regulations.
The three cases that need a question
On a listed building, listed building consent is required before a rooflight can go in, whatever permitted development allows. A conservation area covered by an Article 4 direction can leave a house without the rights it would otherwise hold. A flat is treated differently: roof alterations fall outside permitted development, so permission should be raised with the council.
When an application is needed
An application names the unit and where it sits on the roof. Whatever the planning outcome, our written quote sets out the room along with the unit and its size, we notify Building Control about the new opening, and the details the council wants are already settled.
A bungalow roof room
A bungalow with a room in the roof is a house, and a roof window in its slope follows the same rules as any other house. Where the room is used for sleeping, the window may also serve as the escape from it. Escape windows have minimum opening sizes set in Approved Document B, and we match the unit to them.
Replacing a window that is already there
When a roof window is already in the slope, putting its successor in the same opening upsets the roof far less than a new cut would. The house is checked first all the same: a listed one may need consent, and a flat follows the rules for flats.
Side-facing windows
A side-facing slope brings a condition of its own, with the glass obscure and fixed shut up to 1.7m above the floor. A hipped end can leave a roof with a side-facing slope, so it is worth knowing before you choose where the window goes.
Planning words that come up for a Darton house
- Permitted development
- Work allowed without an application when set conditions are met.
- Article 4 direction
- A council order withdrawing permitted development in a named area.
- Listed building consent
- Separate consent for changes to a listed building.
- Roof plane
- The sloping surface of the roof; a permitted rooflight projects no more than 150mm beyond it.
Our Darton roof is concrete tile on one side and slate on the other after an extension. Does that matter?
Houses that have grown over the years often carry two coverings on one roof: slate on the original part and concrete tile on a newer one. A rooflight or roof window goes through whichever covering lies over the room that needs the light. The flashing follows the covering that lies over the room.
Slate
Slate lies flat and thin, so the flashing for it is a flat kit that tucks under the slates round the frame. Old slate cracks easily, so we lift it by hand and keep the sound pieces for relaying. Where a slate cracks, we replace it with one that matches what is on the roof.
Concrete tile
A concrete tile has a deeper profile and a rolled edge, so the kit made for it has a longer apron that follows the shape. Using a slate kit on tile would leave gaps at the troughs. Above the frame, tiles are cut to overlap the head of the flashing.
Where one meets the other
The line between old and new roof is sometimes a step, and a frame cannot straddle it. We keep the unit wholly on one covering, usually the one over the room, and the flashing is built for that covering alone. The units themselves are described on the roof window installation page.
Which slope takes the unit
On a house with a front slope facing the road and a back slope facing the garden, the back slope is the first place to look. It keeps the frame out of sight from the street and usually leaves a longer run of clear rafters for the opening. The room below settles the choice: if the landing lies under the front slope, the unit goes there.
Matching frames to the roof
A black or dark grey frame suits both slate and concrete tile, and a low conservation rooflight sits closest to the slates. If the roof carries solar panels, the position of the window is planned round them.
Looking at a roof that has two coverings
The point where old roof meets new, the covering over the room that wants the light, and the direction the rafters run under each part.
Barnsley and the villages around Darton
Near Darton we also work in Barnsley, Barugh Green, Dodworth, Royston and Clayton West, and across to Crigglestone and Worsbrough. A ten-year guarantee covers the workmanship, and the form on this site is the quickest way to ask for a first visit.
Darton answers on flat roofs and old units
Will a flat rooflight leak where the kerb meets a house wall?
The weak point on a flat roof is where it meets a wall, and a kerb beside a wall gets a flashing as well as an upstand. The covering is turned up the kerb and the wall flashing is dressed over it, so water running down the wall is led away from the joint. We position the unit clear of the wall where the roof allows.
Is a sun tunnel worth having over a long landing in a Darton semi?
Under a plain roof slope a sun tunnel works well for a landing, with its dome on the slope and its diffuser in the ceiling. On a long landing one tunnel lights the stretch beneath it best, and a second gives a more even spread. For a longer drop a rigid tube carries more light than a flexible one.
Can an energy efficient rooflight replace an old single-glazed one in the same opening?
A modern sealed unit goes into the existing opening when the kerb is sound. The new glazing has a lower U-value, which cuts the heat escaping through the roof, and a gas fill and warm-edge spacers add to the gain. The kerb is measured first, because makers differ on whether a size refers to the inside or the outside of it.
What size of roof window will fit between the rafters of an older Darton roof?
The width of the opening is set by the gap between two rafters, so a roof with closely spaced timbers takes a narrower window than one with wider gaps. VELUX size codes give the width as a letter and the height as digits, so a code such as MK04 tells you the width class first. We read the rafter spacing in the loft and choose the largest unit that sits between them without cutting more timber than the job needs.
Can a walk-on rooflight go into a flat roof that we use as a terrace?
A walk-on rooflight is a glass panel its maker rates for foot traffic, normally laminated and toughened, set level with the terrace surface. It lets daylight down to the room below while the roof above stays usable, and the maker states what the panel is rated for.
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