Skylights and rooflights for the semis, bungalows and old village streets of Ecclesfield
29.3 road miles south of Leeds city centre
Skylight installation in Ecclesfield, from bungalow roofs to older stone cottages near the church, bringing daylight to the room no wall window reaches.
Rooms in Ecclesfield houses that sit beyond the reach of a window
Estate houses, bungalows and the older village cottages have different plans, and each leaves one room without a wall to put a window in.
Cottage stairA stair in a thick-walled village cottage has small windows at its two ends only.
Converted garageA garage made into a room keeps one front window and a house wall behind it.
Bungalow loft roomA bedroom made in a bungalow roof relies on a single end window.
Choosing roof units for Ecclesfield's tiled and flat roofs
Matched to the room below, to the covering above it and to whether the street has extra protection.
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Roof Windows
A roof window for a bungalow loft or a converted attic, doubling as the escape window within the height limits.
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Flat Roof Rooflights
A rooflight in the flat roof of a converted garage or side extension, on a raised upstand.
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Sun Tunnels
A tube through the loft to an inner bathroom or hall that has no outside wall.
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Conservation Rooflights
Slim black frames for stone and slate roofs in the older streets of the village.
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VELUX Windows
VELUX and other makes for a like-for-like swap on a tile or slate roof, with the flashing matched to the covering.
Ecclesfield owners on bungalow roofs and garage rooms
The questions follow the plans of Ecclesfield's housing, which range from village cottages to estate bungalows.
Can a bungalow roof in Ecclesfield take roof windows for a loft bedroom?
Bungalows in Ecclesfield have a roof space that is easy to use, with a ridge that rises over the whole plan. Skylight installation in Ecclesfield often means a roof window for a bedroom made in that space. The room sits under the slope, with a window at one gable end and nothing along its length.
A roof window in the slope fills that gap. It brings light to the middle of the floor, and a bedroom in the roof can use it for fresh air as well.
The escape window
A bungalow with its bedroom in the roof is treated differently: a window in the slope can be the way out. The floor of that storey must be within 4.5m of the ground, and the window must meet the minimum opening sizes in Approved Document B. We refer to the document rather than quoting numbers, and the unit we name on the written quote is the size that suits it.
Light along the length of the room
A single gable window lights one end. Two roof windows set along the slope light the floor at two points, and the room reads as one space instead of a bright end and a shadowed middle. For a smaller room one window placed centrally may be enough, and we compare the two on the plan before a size is chosen.
Head height and the slope
A bedroom under a slope has low edges, so the window is placed where a person can stand under it. Too close to the eaves and the opening is out of use; too high and the sill is out of reach. The position is marked on the roof from inside with the bed in mind.
Opening style
A centre-pivot window turns about its middle and suits a room where furniture sits under it. A top-hung unit hinges at the head and swings up and out, so a person can stand at the opening without bumping the sash.
Tile roofs
A later bungalow roof is often concrete tile on trussed rafters. The trusses are set close together with diagonal timbers between them, so the opening is framed round them and the load is carried by new timbers. A new opening alters the roof structure and is notifiable building work. We lift the tiles by hand around the frame and lay them back over a flashing shaped to the profile.
Planning and glass
A rooflight on a house is usually permitted development, and if you need to ask, you would ask Sheffield City Council, and we gather the conditions under planning and building rules for rooflights. New roof windows are held to 1.4 W/m²K or Window Energy Rating band B.
- Myth: A roof window in a bungalow loft always counts as the fire escape.
- Fact: Where the bedroom is in a bungalow roof, a window in the slope can be the escape window within the height limit, whereas a house of two storeys that gains a loft room needs a protected stair.
- Myth: Any spot in the slope will do.
- Fact: The window sits between rafters and clear of ridge and chimney, at a height people can use.
What lights a garage that has been made into a room in Ecclesfield?
A garage turned into a playroom, office or extra living room keeps what it had before: a front opening, now a window, and thick walls on the other three sides. One side is the house itself. The rest of the room is a long way from the window.
The roof is where the light can come from. A garage roof is either flat, covered in felt or a rubber membrane, or low-pitched with tile. Either can take a rooflight. A flat roof takes a flat roof rooflight on a raised upstand, and the covering is lapped up and over it before the glass goes on.
Where in the room
Over the middle of the floor, a few feet in from the front window, is where the rooflight does most. It lights the part of the room that the window leaves short, and it carries on working when the curtains are drawn across the front.
Heat and cold in a new room
A garage was built to keep a car, not people, so the walls and floor of the new room carry the insulation, and the rooflight adds to the glazed area. A modern sealed unit with a low U-value loses far less than an older single-glazed one, so the glass is specified for the room.
A low-pitched garage roof
If the garage has a tiled roof, a window in the slope does the same job. The rear slope away from the road is the quiet choice. On a garage that joins the house, we look at how the new opening meets the line of the roof beside it.
Insulation and the new room
A garage conversion rooflight must meet 2.2 W/m²K, which is the rooflight limit, while a roof window must meet 1.4 W/m²K. Double glazing with warm-edge spacers is the usual route to those figures. A solar-control coating limits heat gain in a room that gets strong sun.
Roof rights on a converted garage
A garage roof on a house is covered by the same permitted development rules as the rest of the house. A converted garage can have had its rights restricted, so the planning history is looked at first. A roof lantern rises well above 150mm and often falls outside Class C.
Making good inside
The opening is framed in the ceiling joists, and a short lined well runs up to the glass. The reveal is plastered and finished as quoted, and the floor is sheeted before the ceiling is cut.
Flat roof words for a garage room
- Upstand
- The raised edge in the roof deck that the rooflight sits on.
- Membrane
- A felt, rubber or fibreglass skin that waterproofs the flat roof.
- Light well
- The lined shaft between the ceiling and the glass.
- Reveal
- The plastered lining that runs up to the glazing.
What changes for a rooflight on the older streets near Ecclesfield's church?
Ecclesfield is a suburb of Sheffield that still reads as a village at its centre, where the parish church sits among stone cottages and older houses. Sheffield City Council designated the Ecclesfield conservation area round it in 1977. Around the church the streets are different from the estates and bungalows nearby, with stone walls and small windows.
A rooflight on a house is usually permitted development, but a conservation area with an Article 4 direction, a listed building or a flat can each remove that right. Planning in Ecclesfield sits with Sheffield City Council, whose records can tell you whether an address is listed or in a protected area.
The unit for a stone cottage roof
A conservation rooflight has a slim frame, usually black, with a central glazing bar in many designs. It lies close to the line of the roof and suits a slate or stone roof. Conservation officers often ask for one in a protected area.
A cottage with a dark stair
Old cottage stairs are often narrow and steep, with a small window at the top or the bottom. The thick walls make a new wall window difficult, and the roof is the easier route. A rooflight in the rear slope above the stair lights the flight and is out of sight of the street.
The back lane or the front street
Where a stair can be lit from either slope, the one that faces away from the road is the first to consider, and the council can be asked about both. A unit that does not show from the road is a smaller question to answer.
Listed or not
If the cottage is listed, listed building consent is needed for a new rooflight, whatever permitted development says. A like-for-like swap can need it too. The first thing to establish for an old house is whether it is listed.
Slate on the roof
Slate is thin and can crack, so we lift it by hand around the opening and keep every sound slate to lay back. A flashing kit made for slate is fitted, and the slates are lapped over the top. The opening alters the roof structure, so the rafters are trimmed round it.
The finished room
Dust sheets cover the floor and the stair before the ceiling is opened, and the waste leaves with us. Inside, the lining of the opening is plastered back to the ceiling in a way that suits the old plaster, and finished as quoted.
What gets looked at on an older village roof
The covering and its condition, which slope faces the road, and how the rafters run above the stair.
Close to Ecclesfield on the north side of Sheffield
From Ecclesfield we work in Chapeltown, Thorpe Hesley, Hoyland, Birdwell, Deepcar, Stocksbridge, Brampton and Wombwell. To start a quote, ring 0113 436 0654.
Ecclesfield answers on sealed units and damp rooms
Will a sun tunnel stop a bathroom feeling damp?
A sun tunnel brings daylight to a bathroom with no outside wall, but it is not a ventilation unit. The extractor still does the work of clearing steam, so the two are planned together, with the tube passing between rafters where it can.
Why does a rooflight mist between the panes?
Misting between the panes means the unit's edge seal has failed and damp air has got into the gap, so the cloud is inside the sealed unit itself, and that unit is what gets replaced. The remedy is a replacement glazed unit or a replacement rooflight, depending on the frame.
Can an old roof window be swapped for a modern one?
A like-for-like swap uses the opening that is already there, and the new unit meets today's energy figures. We match the flashing to the roof covering, so the slope sheds water as before.
What goes into the quote for an Ecclesfield roof?
Our written quote is at a fixed price, and it names the room in your Ecclesfield house along with the unit and its measurements. We notify Building Control for any notifiable part of an Ecclesfield job, and the finished work carries our ten-year workmanship guarantee.
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