Scawthorpe skylights and rooflights for open-plan extensions and small workshops
29.2 road miles south-east of Leeds city centre
Skylight installation in Scawthorpe suits semis with open-plan extensions and the small units whose back rooms have no window worth the name, as well as upstairs landings.
Scawthorpe spaces where the windows run out
Open-plan extensions, small commercial units and two-storey houses each have a spot that no window reaches.
Extension dining areaThe table end of an open-plan extension, furthest from the bifold or patio doors.
Workshop back roomA small unit's back room, far from the shopfront or roller door and any window.
Upstairs landingAn upstairs landing with bedroom doors either side and nothing glazed above the stair.
What suits Scawthorpe's extensions and small units
Suburban houses and commercial units each point to a different rooflight, and the roof covering finishes the choice.
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Flat Roof Rooflights
A wide flat rooflight over the table end of an extension, sized with the structure under it.
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Energy Efficient Rooflights
Solar-control glazing for an extension that fills with afternoon sun, to take the edge off summer heat.
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Sun Tunnels
A tube for a windowless back room or store in a small unit, where the roof sits directly above.
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Roof Windows
A roof window over an upstairs landing, where the stair void gives the light a clear drop.
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Electric & Opening Rooflights
An opening rooflight over a kitchen that steams up, worked by a wall switch.
What Scawthorpe owners ask about heat and workshop roofs
The first answer is about summer heat under an extension roof and the second about small commercial units. The third looks at how wide an opening can be.
Will a rooflight make an open-plan kitchen extension too warm in summer?
An open-plan extension is mostly glass already: bifold doors along one side and a rooflight above the table. On a bright afternoon that adds up to strong sun in one room, and the question is how to keep the daylight while holding back the heat.
Skylight installation in Scawthorpe for an extension of this kind is as much about the glazing specification as about the position of the unit.
Where the heat comes from
Sun passing through a pane warms whatever it lands on, such as the floor, the worktop and the table. Those surfaces warm the air, and a flat roof overhead stops the warm air rising away. The result is a room that heats up faster than its doors and windows alone would explain.
Coatings for the glass
A solar-control coat turns back some of the sun's warmth at the glass itself. It can give the pane a slightly different look, and it lowers the daylight passing through by a small amount. The glazing choices are compared in double, triple or solar-control rooflight glazing.
Letting the warm air leave
An opening rooflight lets warm air out through the ceiling, while the bifolds let cooler air in along the floor. Electric units open from a wall switch or a handset, and some models carry a sensor that closes them in rain, which helps with a unit that is hard to reach.
Blinds under the glass
A blind fitted under the rooflight shades the table when the sun is strong and leaves the glass clear the rest of the time. It is a choice that can be made at the start, so the mounting points are planned when the frame goes in.
Which way the roof faces
A roof that looks towards the afternoon sun gathers more heat than one that faces away from it. We note the direction the extension roof faces and what stands beside it, such as a tall neighbouring wall or a tree, because shade from either changes how much glass the room can take comfortably.
Floors and furniture
A dark floor soaks up the sun that comes through the glass and gives it back as warmth after the sun has moved on. A pale floor reflects more of it up into the room. It is worth thinking about the floor finish alongside the glazing, since the two work on the same problem.
The size of the opening
A smaller rooflight admits less sun, and a wide one admits more. Written up as how hot a rooflight can make a room, the advice is that size and glazing work together, so a wide unit can still suit a sunny room when its glass is chosen to match.
Ways to hold the heat back
| Choice | What it does | What to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Solar-control coating | Turns back some solar warmth | Slightly lower daylight |
| Opening unit | Lets warm air leave through the roof | Needs a switch and a power supply |
| Blind under the glass | Shades the table at midday | A mounting point under the unit |
Can a small workshop or shop unit in Scawthorpe have a rooflight or sun tunnel?
Our work covers small commercial roofs as well as houses, and the products are the same. What changes is the building: a workshop, shop, office or surgery has stock, tools or customers, and a front that faces the road. The back room is often the part with the least daylight.
Windowless rooms
A back office, a store or a staff room with no window can be lit from the roof if the roof sits directly above. A sun tunnel suits a small room, and a flat rooflight suits a larger one under a flat roof. The tube layout is shown under sun tunnel installation.
Matching the roof
The covering and the structure beneath it set the unit. On a flat roof the answer is a flat rooflight, with an upstand dressed to the covering. A pitched roof takes a roof window or a tube, flashed to suit the tile or slate.
Permission for a commercial building
Roof alterations under permitted development are a right that houses hold, so a shop, workshop or office needs its own check with Doncaster Council; what planning and Building Regulations mean for a skylight explains where houses and other buildings part company.
Working around the stock
A unit that is in use has shelves, benches and customers. The floor under the opening is cleared and covered before the roof is touched, and the opening is closed against the weather whenever we stop.
Daylight at the work surface
A bench, counter or desk under a rooflight gets even daylight, and the glass can be chosen to cut glare on a screen. Where one bench needs the light more than the others, the opening is placed over it.
Keeping the roof dry while the work goes on
The opening is made on a dry day, when the forecast allows, and a cover sits ready to close it if the weather turns. A shop or workshop has stock and equipment below, so the cover is rigged before the roof covering is lifted and stays on until the new unit is sealed.
Landlords and leases
If the unit is rented, the lease governs work on the roof, so the landlord's agreement is sought first. The written quote records what is being fitted and where, which is what a landlord asks to see.
Walking the unit from front to back
Which rooms have no window, what the roof is made of above them, and where the benches or counters stand.
How wide a rooflight can the roof of a Scawthorpe extension take?
The glass is rarely the limit. What limits the width of a rooflight on an extension roof is the timber under it, because each joist that runs across the opening has to be cut and its load carried round.
Joists and trimmers
A flat roof is a deck laid across parallel joists. A rooflight opening cuts through some of them, and a trimmer is fixed across each end of the gap so the cut joists rest on it. The wider the opening, the more joists are cut and the heavier the trimmers have to be.
When a beam is needed
A very wide opening may leave the cut joists with too long a span to rest on timber trimmers, and a steel or engineered-timber beam is then needed across the opening. That is a structural matter, and the roof is checked before the size of the unit is fixed. The common ranges are listed in sizes for flat rooflights.
One wide unit or two smaller ones
A single wide rooflight and a pair of narrower ones can light the same room. Two units leave a strip of roof between them that can carry a joist or a short beam, and each opening is easier to frame. A single unit gives an unbroken sheet of glass, which suits a room used for entertaining.
Heavier units
A lantern or a large walk-on pane weighs more than a standard flat rooflight, so we settle the weight of the chosen unit first and size the framing under it to match.
Heat and the size of the glass
The bigger the glass, the more heat it can lose in winter, so a large rooflight is worth specifying with good glazing. A rooflight has to meet 2.2 W/m²K under Part L, and a lower figure shows better insulation.
Building the roof and the opening together
If the extension is still to be built, the opening is formed as the roof deck goes down. That is neater than cutting later, because the upstand and the covering can be laid in one go with the rest of the roof.
Setting the unit
The room below is covered, the opening is framed, the unit is set on its upstand and sealed.
Roof-framing words for a wide opening
- Joist
- A horizontal timber that carries the deck of a flat roof.
- Trimmer
- A timber fixed across the gap so the cut joists can rest on it.
- Span
- The distance a timber or beam crosses between its two supports.
- Engineered beam
- A steel or laminated timber beam sized by calculation to carry a roof load.
Scawthorpe and the places within reach of it
Bentley, Adwick le Street, Askern, South Elmsall, Upton, South Kirkby, Darfield, Hemsworth and Grimethorpe lie within reach of Scawthorpe. A ten-year workmanship guarantee comes with every installation, and a WhatsApp message to 07880 284133 will reach us.
Further Scawthorpe answers on kitchens and glass
Does an opening rooflight help with steam in a kitchen?
An opening rooflight over a cooking area lets steam rise out of the room instead of settling on the ceiling and windows. It works best near the ridge end of the roof, away from the extractor, and a model with a rain sensor closes itself when showers arrive.
Is triple glazing worth having in a rooflight?
Triple glazing loses less heat than double and adds weight to the unit, so the frame and the roof structure have to carry it. A good double-glazed unit with a solar-control coating and warm-edge spacers can be enough for a kitchen roof.
What power does an electric opening rooflight need?
An electric unit needs a supply run to its frame, so the cable route from the loft or ceiling void to the switch is agreed before the roof is closed up. A wall switch is wired in, and a handset needs only a place to sit on a bracket. Both positions are agreed with you before the cable is run, so nothing is chased into a finished wall by surprise.
Can a rooflight go into a brand-new extension roof?
A rooflight can be planned into a roof that has not yet been built. The opening is formed as the deck goes down, which is neater than cutting later, and the builder and our fitters agree the upstand height with the roofer before the covering goes on.
Get a free survey
- No obligation
- We survey before we price
- WhatsApp or phone, whichever suits
We arrange a survey, then send a fixed written quote. Nothing is booked until you say yes.