Stone-slate roofs, skylights and rooflights in Elland

The stair and landing

A stair is a shaft through the middle of the house, and light dropped into it travels in several directions: onto the landing, through the open doors of the bedrooms, and down the flights to the hall. One roof window over a stair therefore lights more of the house than one over a single room. Our note on landing and stair roof windows sets out how the light well works.

The back bathroom

A bathroom behind the stair is used daily and often has the least daylight of any room. A sun tunnel needs only a small patch of roof above it, and a straight rigid tube loses less light than a flexible one that has to bend. If the loft above is crowded with tanks or a flue, we check on site whether a straight run exists. Indoors, all that shows is a diffuser in the bathroom ceiling, which spreads the daylight evenly across the room, and on the roof the dome takes up far less of the slope than a roof window would.

The kitchen at the back

An old kitchen at the rear can be gloomy where a low outshut roof covers it, and a roof window or rooflight in that roof lights the worktops directly. The third question below covers outshuts.

What the loft tells us

The loft above a candidate room shows the rafter spacing, the condition of the timbers and any pipes, tanks or flues in the way. In an older cottage the roof space may be low and partly boarded, so we go up with a torch and a tape measure and work around what is stored there.

How we rank the options

On the survey we stand in each candidate room and look up at the ceiling, then up into the loft above it. A room qualifies if the roof is overhead, the rafters leave room for a unit, and nothing in the loft blocks the way. The ones that qualify are then compared on how much of the house each would light.

Taking the stone off

Each slate is lifted in turn, stacked in the order of its course and kept dry. Because the stones grade in size, one that goes back in the wrong course shows up as a gap or a bulge. A cracked stone is replaced with a salvaged one from the same roof where possible, and otherwise with a close match.

Framing and flashing

The opening is framed with trimmers between sound rafters, and the unit is bolted to the frame. A flashing kit made for thin slate does not suit stone that varies in thickness, so the surround is lead-dressed to the contours of the course. The stone above is laid to shed water onto it, and the stone beside it is cut to the edge.

Why the weight matters

A stone roof is a heavy roof, and the timbers are stout for that reason. We look for sag along the rafters and for any past alterations before a position is agreed, because a window needs sound timbers on both sides of it.

Making good inside

The reveal is lined, the gap around the frame is insulated and plastered, and the finish is as quoted. Dust from cutting old plaster travels, so doors to the rest of the house are closed and the stair is sheeted. Cottage ceilings and walls are often lath and plaster, so floors are covered before the ceiling is cut.

A stone-slate roof is not exempt from the planning rules: conservation areas and listed houses raise their own questions, and the planning rules for rooflights explain how to tell.

Why an outshut suits a rooflight

The ceiling sits close to the underside of the slope, so the light well is short. A short well loses little light on the way down, and a modest unit can light the whole room. We check the rafters and the wall plate at the low end, and whether the outshut covering is slate, stone or sheet.

Which unit suits an outshut

A roof window opens for air, which suits a steamy kitchen or bathroom. A flat rooflight sits within the slope where the pitch is shallow. On a shallow outshut, a sun tunnel is also an option, with a very short tube. We measure the pitch before choosing, because it governs which units can be flashed in.

Getting at it

An outshut is reached from the yard, and its low eaves make access easier than on the main roof. A ladder or a short scaffold is often enough, and we note any steps or drops in the yard when we call.

Inside the outshut

The ceiling of an outshut is often sloped, following the roof, and the reveal is plastered to run from that slope up to the frame. A window set high in the slope lights the room from above, and the opening is shaped to the slope of the ceiling. Walls and worktops below are covered before anything is cut.

Where the main wall meets the roof

The high edge of an outshut roof ends against the back wall of the house. A unit sits clear of that junction, so the existing flashing at the wall is left alone, and the kit for the new frame goes around its own edges only.