Skylights and rooflights for gritstone terraces and villas in Keighley, over stair, attic and flat roof

Getting to the roof

With neighbours either side and no passage down the flank, everything for a mid-terrace job comes through the house or over the roofs. We look at whether the front or the back is the better side to set up on, where a ladder or scaffold tower can stand level, and how a pane of glass travels from the road to the slope. A back yard on a different level from the front can make the rear slope the easier one.

Choosing the slope

The choice of slope is a planning question and a light question as well as a practical one. A rear slope is not seen from the street, which usually simplifies the planning question, and it often lights the stair just as well. The front slope may face the sun, which helps a dim landing.

Dust sheets and a clean stair

On a narrow terrace the stair is also the way in and out, so protecting it matters. Sheets go down on the treads and the floor below the opening before the ceiling is touched, and the hall is brushed and cleaned when the reveal is finished. A steep flight is worth covering carefully, because one slip is easy on bare treads.

Roof pitch

Each roof window maker states the range of pitches its units suit, so a steep roof or a shallow one narrows the choice of unit. A steep pitch also affects how the flashing is laid and how the slates are cut around the frame. We note the pitch at the survey and choose the kit for it.

Planning

Bradford Council is the planning authority here. Whether your house can add a rooflight without an application depends on its type and its street, and the conditions that apply are explained in our planning page for roof alterations.

What the figures mean

The U-value measures heat lost: the lower the number, the less leaves the room. Part L sets 1.4 W/m²K for a new roof window, or Window Energy Rating band B, and 2.2 W/m²K for a rooflight. Double or triple glazing with a warm-edge spacer and a gas fill is how a unit reaches those figures, and low-emissivity coatings send heat back into the room.

Why the frame matters as well

Glass is only part of it. A frame with a thermal break, which separates the inner and outer metal, stops warmth leaking through the frame. The lining of the light well is insulated, so the reveal stays warm to the touch.

Condensation

Stone houses can be damp, and a cold surface in a damp room collects moisture. A well-insulated unit with a warm inner surface collects far less. Wet on the glass can also come from the room itself, from baths, cooking and drying clothes indoors, and an opening rooflight lets that moisture out. Where the window is the only source of ventilation in the room, an opening unit helps more than a fixed one.

Damp walls and the roof line

A solid stone wall soaks up rain and gives it back slowly, so a stone house can feel cool even in a dry spell. The roof, by contrast, is a dry, light surface that you can insulate properly. Putting glazing there brings daylight without adding to the problems of the walls, which are best left as they are. The room below a new rooflight gets a new reveal and a lining that is part of the insulated build-up.

Summer sun

An attic under a south-facing slope can warm up fast. Solar-control glass reflects part of the sun's heat, and a blind inside or outside takes more. We discuss orientation at the survey so the glazing is chosen for the slope.

Old units and new ones side by side

An older rooflight in a stone house may be a metal-framed unit with a single sheet of glass, set into a kerb that has been re-sealed more than once. Taking it out and fitting a modern unit in the same opening is a straightforward job. The new frame comes with its own flashing and lining, so the whole detail is renewed.

We choose the unit with the glass, the frame and the lining all in mind, because each of the three affects how much heat the opening loses.

What a working roof looks like

Workshop and unit roofs are often flat, covered in felt or rubber, or a low pitch of profiled sheet. A flat rooflight on a kerb suits the first. On a sheeted roof the unit has to match the profile, and we look closely at what the roof is made of before a unit is chosen.

Planning and use

The permitted development rights for roof alterations in Class C are written for dwelling houses. A shop or workshop does not automatically have them, so for a commercial building the question goes to Bradford Council from the start. The unit and its size are set down before that conversation, which makes it a short one.

What the light does for the work

Natural light over a bench or a desk makes it easier to see colour and detail. A fixed unit gives daylight alone; where fumes or heat build up, an opening unit lets them out.

Glass in the yard floor

A yard or terrace that sits above a room can take a walk-on rooflight: a flat glass panel which its maker rates for people to stand on. It lies level with the paving and lights the room beneath, such as a cellar office or a store. The rating belongs to the maker, and the panel is picked to suit how the area is used.

What visitors see

A shop or studio that welcomes visitors benefits twice from a rooflight. The back area looks cleaner and more open when daylight falls across it, and a rooflight over a counter or a display table lights what you want people to see.

A commercial quote is fixed in writing, just as a house quote is.