Stone-slate roofs over Holmfirth's valley cottages, with skylights and rooflights to suit them
25.2 road miles south-west of Leeds city centre
Skylight installation in Holmfirth, where rooflights are set into heavy stone slate on the cottages and terraces of the Holme Valley.
Holmfirth cottages and the valley sides that crowd their windows
Houses on a steep valley side have the hill on one side and a neighbour on the other, so daylight arrives from one direction only.
Narrow cottage stairA cottage stair is a steep, boxed-in flight with one small window at best.
Hillside back roomA back room cut into the hillside has the bank rising close outside its only window.
Bathroom under the slopeA bathroom squeezed under a sloping roof may have a small window or none at all.
What suits Holmfirth's stone roofs and steep slopes
Stone slates are heavy and uneven, so the first question for any unit is what the rafters beneath can carry and how the stones can be laid round it.
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Roof Windows
A roof window lights an attic bedroom, set between rafters that are checked for the weight of the stone above.
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Sun Tunnels
A sun tunnel suits a bathroom or boxed-in stair, where a roof window would need a wider opening than the roof allows.
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Electric & Opening Rooflights
An electric opening rooflight over a stair can be worked from below, and a sensor on the glass shuts many models when rain starts.
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Conservation Rooflights
Thin dark frames sit low against stone slate, which keeps the roof line of an older cottage largely unbroken.
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Misted Rooflight Replacement
Condensation between the panes of an old rooflight means the seal has failed, and we replace the unit or the rooflight.
Cottage roof questions from the Holme Valley
Roofs here are heavy with stone and the questions below follow from that weight and from steep lanes.
Our cottage bedroom sits under heavy stone slates. Can the roof carry a window?
Skylight installation in Holmfirth means working with stone that is far heavier than slate or tile. A stone slate is thick and uneven, and a square metre of the roof carries a good deal more weight than a modern covering would. The rafters under it are usually stout, often old oak or pine cut for the job, and they are set at spacings that vary from one cottage to the next.
None of that rules out a window. It does mean the first visit is spent in the loft. We look at the size of the rafters, how far apart they run, whether a purlin crosses the slope, and how they bear on the wall at the foot. The position and size of the window follow from what the timbers can carry.
How the opening is framed
A rafter that is cut for a window no longer carries its share of the stone, so timbers are fixed across the gap to pass that weight to the rafters on either side. In a heavy roof those timbers are sized for the load and bolted or housed in place. A narrower unit that fits between two existing rafters avoids cutting any, and it is often the better choice on a stone roof.
Graded courses of stone
Stone slates are graded by size: the biggest sit at the eaves and the smallest near the ridge. When the stones round the opening are lifted, they are stacked in order, so each goes back in a course of its own size. A stone that splits is replaced with a reclaimed one of a similar size and colour, so the roof does not show a block of paler stone.
The flashing against the stone
Stone slate has an uneven surface, and the flashing has to seal against it. The kit is shaped to the thickness of the stone, with a wide lead or metal apron at the bottom and side flashings tucked under the courses beside. The stones above are cut and laid over the top edge so water runs onto the kit and round the frame.
Rooms under a sloping stone roof
The ceilings in an old cottage bedroom often follow the roof slope for part of their width, so the room is lower at the edges than in the middle. A window placed near the middle of the slope gives the most headroom beneath it and the most even light across the floor.
Stone roof terms
- Purlin
- A horizontal timber under the rafters that stiffens the slope.
- Course
- One row of stones across the roof, laid from the eaves up.
- Reclaimed stone
- A used slate taken from another roof and cut to size.
- Apron
- The part of the flashing that lies across the foot of the frame.
Can a sun tunnel light a bathroom tucked under the roof slope of a Holmfirth cottage?
Cottage bathrooms were added later, and they were fitted into whatever space was left. In Holmfirth that often means a corner under the sloping roof, with a ceiling that follows the rafters and a window no bigger than a tea tray, if there is one at all. A roof window would need a bigger opening than the roof can spare. A sun tunnel needs only a hole about the width of its tube.
A tube links the dome on the stone slates with a diffuser in the ceiling. In a bathroom under the slope the run can be very short, since the ceiling and the roof covering are close together. A short, straight route loses little light on the way, and that makes this one of the better places for a tube.
A ceiling that is not flat
The diffuser has to meet the ceiling squarely. Where the ceiling follows the slope of the roof, the tube meets it at an angle, and the fitting is chosen to suit that. The plaster around the diffuser is finished smooth and the edge is sealed, so the ceiling looks like part of the room and not like something set into it.
Passing through the roof structure
A tube is usually narrow enough to pass between two rafters. Cutting a rafter to make room makes the job notifiable (we notify Building Control), and the gap is framed to carry the load. Whether a rafter needs cutting is clear from the loft, once the position of the tube is marked out against the timbers.
The dome on stone slate
The dome sits in a collar with a flashing apron, and the stones are cut and laid over its edge. On a heavy stone roof the stones near the opening are the ones most likely to be disturbed, so we aim to keep the opening small and to keep it away from valleys and the line of a stack.
Damp and steam
A bathroom makes steam, and a tube that passes through a cold roof space can chill the air inside it. The tube is insulated along its length and sealed at the ceiling, so steam from the room does not reach the cold part of the tube. An extractor fan stays in place for ventilation, since a tube lights a room and does not clear its air.
- Myth: A bathroom under the slope is too awkward for any rooflight.
- Fact: A sun tunnel needs only a small opening and a short run, which suits a low sloping ceiling.
- Myth: A sun tunnel replaces the extractor fan.
- Fact: The tube brings in daylight only, so the fan stays for ventilation.
Can a rooflight over the stairs of a Holmfirth cottage be opened from below?
A cottage stair rises steeply between close walls, and the ceiling above the top step is often well out of reach. A rooflight placed there gives the stair its daylight, and if it opens it also lets warm air out of the house. The question is how to open something that cannot be reached with a hand. A pole can do it, though a pole is awkward on a narrow stair.
An electric opening rooflight gets round the problem. It is operated by a switch fixed beside the stair or by a hand-held remote, and on many models a rain sensor shuts the glass without anyone touching it. It is a good fit over a stairwell, a landing or any ceiling you would not want to stretch up to.
Power to the roof
An electric model needs a supply to the opening. In a stone cottage the cable has to be routed through plaster, timber and sometimes a thick wall, and the route is settled before the work starts. Models that run on solar power avoid the cable, and the choice between the two depends on how much light reaches the roof slope above.
Setting the unit over a stair
The unit lies in the roof slope over the stair, and below it a light well takes the daylight down to the ceiling. In an old cottage the well can be shaped to clear a beam. Its lining is plastered smooth and finished white, so that the light spreads evenly down the flights.
Stale air on the landing
Heat rises through a house and gathers at the stairhead, since a stair is a tall shaft that carries it up. An opening rooflight at the head of that shaft lets the air out, and fresh air comes in at the doors and windows below. On a warm evening that can make the bedrooms more comfortable.
Rain and wind in the valley
Holmfirth is in a valley with steep sides, and the weather there comes in quickly. The rain sensor on an electric unit closes it when drops land on the glass, which suits a house where nobody is at home all day. We would still fit the unit with the same weather seals as a fixed one, so that it keeps the rain out when shut.
Ways to open a high rooflight
| Method | Suits | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Pole | A ceiling just out of reach | A hook point and some space on the stair |
| Switch or remote | A tall stairwell | A power supply to the opening |
| Solar powered | A slope that gets sun | No cable run through the house |
From the Holme Valley outwards
From Holmfirth we cover Honley, Meltham, Kirkburton, Lepton, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, Skelmanthorpe, Marsden, Kirkheaton and Clayton West. Ring 0113 436 0654 if you would like to talk the roof through first.
Holmfirth answers on stone slates and cottage stairs
Are the old stone slates reused round a new window?
Stones lifted from round the opening are stacked in order and laid back in courses of their own size. A stone that splits is replaced with a reclaimed one of a close match, which keeps the colour of the roof even and avoids a pale area beside the frame.
How wide can a window be in an old cottage roof?
The width depends on the spacing of the rafters, which varies from one cottage to the next. A unit that fits between two rafters needs the least cutting. A wider one means cutting into a rafter and framing the gap, and the timbers are checked in the loft before the size is chosen.
Does a new opening in the roof make a stone cottage harder to heat?
A rooflight is a small part of the roof, and its glazing is chosen to reach the Part L limit for that type of unit. The space round the frame is filled with insulation, so the opening does not leave a cold edge. An old single-glazed unit loses more heat than a new one.
What happens if rain is forecast while the roof is open?
Roof work is planned for a dry spell, and an opening that is left overnight is closed in with a waterproof sheet. Stone slates are laid back against the flashing as soon as the frame is fixed, which closes the roof again.
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