Selby skylights and rooflights for brick terraces and townhouses

A pitched outshot roof

On a lean-to, the roof is covered in slate or clay pantiles, and a window or a conservation rooflight sits in the slope. A pantile has a wave profile, so the flashing around the frame is shaped to follow it, and tiles beside the opening are lifted and relaid, then trimmed back. A shallow slope needs a window rated for a low pitch, because rain runs off a shallow roof more slowly.

A flat outshot roof

On a flat roof the rooflight stands on a raised kerb. The covering, whether felt, rubber sheet or fibreglass, is turned up the kerb so water cannot reach the glass. The kerb is placed to fall between two joists where it can, which keeps the cutting to a minimum. A lantern is another option when the outshot is wide enough and its ceiling high enough.

Lining the opening inside

Between the roof deck and the kitchen ceiling there is a depth of timber and plaster, and the opening through it is lined with a splay, wider at the ceiling than at the glass. That lets light spread across the worktops instead of landing in one small pool. The lining is plastered and left ready to paint, and a pale finish helps in a small kitchen. Because the splay faces the worktops and the sink, it is the part of the opening seen most often, so its edges are kept crisp.

The party wall and the yard wall

An outshot is hemmed in by walls, and a rooflight is positioned so its kerb clears the junction where the roof meets the house or the neighbour's wall. The step of flashing along that junction is left undisturbed. Moving the rooflight a short way out into the roof keeps the weathering simple and still lights the work surfaces.

Planning for a terrace house

A rooflight in a terraced house is normally permitted development, and the exceptions can be read on the planning guide. Selby sits under North Yorkshire Council for planning, and the question to settle is whether the house is listed or in a conservation area.

Listed status

If a house is listed, even a modest rooflight needs listed building consent, whatever permitted development would otherwise allow. The consent covers how the unit looks from the street, the frame material and the way it sits in the roof. The wider picture is in rooflights in conservation areas.

Streets with an Article 4 direction

An Article 4 direction withdraws permitted development in some conservation areas, so a rooflight there needs an application. The direction can apply to the front slope alone, so the rear slope may be unaffected. The council holds the details for each street, and the check is made before a unit is chosen.

Choosing a unit for an older roof

A conservation rooflight is the type usually put forward for a traditional roof. It has a slim frame, normally finished in black, a single glazing bar down the centre and a low profile close to the covering. On clay pantiles or slate it lies quietly in the slope and does not break the line of the roof.

Replacing a rooflight that is already there

An older house in the town centre may already have a rooflight, perhaps a small one fitted long ago. Exchanging it within its existing opening disturbs less of the roof than adding a second one, and a unit of matching size and colour draws less attention from the street. For a listed house the first question is still consent, since the listing covers the roof as well as the walls.

Why the rear slope is worth looking at first

A unit on the rear slope cannot be seen from the street, which usually makes the application simpler. A landing or a back bedroom can often take its light from the rear. When the room is under the front slope, the position, the size and the number of units are chosen with the street in mind.

Letting hot air out

Warm air collects at the highest point of a room, and an opening rooflight lets it escape there. A switch or remote opens an electric unit, which helps with a ceiling too high to reach. Opening the unit overnight means the room starts the following morning cooler. The overheating question has its own page, do rooflights make rooms too hot.

Blinds under the glass

A blind fitted beneath the rooflight shades the room on the brightest days and can be drawn back when the sun moves round. A roof-mounted or external blind keeps the heat outside the room altogether. Which is right depends on how often the room is used and when.

How big the glazed area should be

A larger area of glass lets in more light and more heat. A lantern over the whole room is not always the right answer; a smaller unit set over the darkest end of the room may light it just as well. The unit is sized to the room, and the quote names its size.

On fitting day the old covering comes off, the kerb and frame go in and the junctions are weathered.