The answer
Sun tunnel installation cost depends on the tube diameter, whether the tube is rigid or flexible, the length of the run through the loft, the roof covering the dome is flashed into, the ceiling finish and any vent or light kit. We price each house after a free survey, and the fixed written quote is tied to one room, one named unit and its size.
What the sun tunnel itself costs to make
Three choices set the price of the unit before anyone goes up a ladder. The first is the diameter. A wider tube takes more material and passes more daylight down to the room, so it costs more than a narrow one, and the gap between the rafters limits how wide it can go. Each maker has its own size names, so we work from the maker's drawing.
The second is the kind of tube. A rigid tube is built from metal lengths and elbows, and it delivers more daylight than a flexible tube on a run of equal length. A flexible tube follows a crowded loft with fewer joints. Which is cheaper depends on the loft more than on the tube, because a tube that suits the route saves time in the fitting. The choice between rigid and flexible sun tunnel routes is made from the loft layout.
The third is any extra at the ceiling. Where a maker offers a vent or a light kit, it adds to the unit. A light kit fits at the diffuser and gives an electric light after dark, and a cable has to reach it, so the kit also brings some electrical work. A sun tunnel in a bathroom with an extractor often needs neither.
What the roof and the loft add
The roof covering sets how the dome is weathered in. On slate, the slates round the dome are lifted and laid back with a flashing, which takes care and time. On concrete tile the same step is quicker. On a flat roof the dome sits on a low upstand, and the felt, EPDM or GRP covering is turned up against it. A flat roof that is due for a new covering is a good moment to fit the sun tunnel, because the weathering is then done once.
The loft adds its own work. A short, straight drop through an open loft is the smallest job. A long run, or one with elbows round a water tank, takes more tube and more time, and a loft with stored boxes and boarding has to be cleared before anyone can work in it. The longer the run, the more it is worth looking at the wider tube, which pushes the figure up a little further.
The dome also has to be chosen to suit the covering, because makers sell different bases for tiled and slated pitches and for flat roofs, and the base that fits your roof is the one that goes into the unit we price. Access matters as well. A roof reached from a ladder is a simpler job than one that needs scaffold, and a house with a long approach or a steep pitch can take longer on the day. We look at all of this when we survey, so each of these points is already allowed for in the figure you receive.
The ceiling, and making good
At the ceiling, the diffuser is set into an opening cut in the plasterboard, and the edge is filled, sanded and left ready for paint. A plain flat ceiling is straightforward. A ceiling with coving, a textured finish or an older lath and plaster surface takes more care, and it can add to the work. If you want the area around the diffuser redecorated, say so at the start, and that is made part of the job.
If a rafter or ceiling joist stands in the tube's path and must be cut, the roof structure changes and the work counts as notifiable. We notify Building Control, and that step is included in the figure. Planning is looked at before anything is ordered; a council has to be asked only in certain cases, covered under planning permission for a sun tunnel.
How a figure is put on your house
Nobody can name a fair figure for a sun tunnel without seeing the house, because the same unit costs different amounts in different houses. So we start with a free survey, then give you a fixed written quote that records the room, the unit and its dimensions. The price in the document is the price you pay.
If you are comparing two quotes, check that each one names the room that gets the light and the size of the unit, because a figure for a different diameter or a different tube is not the same job. The general picture across every kind of rooflight and skylight is on our costs page, and our 10-year workmanship guarantee on the installation is set out in our guarantee.
To start, tell us which room needs daylight through the quote form. For the service as a whole, see sun tunnel installation in Leeds; the sequence of work is in how a sun tunnel is installed.