The answer
VELUX window installation cost in Leeds depends on the size code of the window, whether it is centre-pivot or top-hung, the flashing kit the roof covering calls for, any blinds, how the roof is reached and the plastered reveal inside. We settle the total at a free survey and put it in a fixed written quote, so no figure is guessed from a photograph.
The window itself: size code and how it opens
The unit is a large part of the bill, and two things shape it. The first is the size code. A larger window costs more than a smaller one, because it holds more glass and a bigger frame, and it asks more of the roof. How the letter and digits are read is explained in picking a size from the code, so you can see what a code means before you compare quotes.
The second is the way the window opens. A centre-pivot sash swings on a midline axis, so a bed or desk can stand under the glass. A top-hung sash swings out from its upper edge and leaves headroom at the opening, which helps in a bathroom or on a stair where you stand beneath it. They are different products, built differently, and each sits at its own point in the range.
Glazing adds a third factor. Double glazing is the starting point, and extras such as a solar-control coating or laminated glass for rain noise add to the unit's cost. The right glazing depends on the room and the direction the roof faces, so we choose it with you rather than adding it to every quote.
The roof around the window
A roof window needs a flashing kit matched to the covering around it, and that changes the cost from roof to roof. A thin, even covering such as Welsh slate takes a straightforward kit. Interlocking concrete tile takes a kit shaped to the tile. Yorkshire stone slate is thick and uneven, and it may need a lead flashing formed by hand, which takes more time. The case for each covering is worked through in matching a flashing kit to slate, stone slate or tile.
The structure under the covering matters too. A window that sits between two rafters needs short timbers across the top and bottom to frame it. A window wider than the gap needs a rafter cut and its load passed to stronger timbers, which adds labour and timber to the job. Work of that kind is notifiable, and we send the Building Control notification ourselves. Both add to the cost, and the survey tells us which case your roof is.
Fitting the window recessed, with the frame set down into the roof, also changes the kit and the work around it. If you want that lower profile, say so at the start so it is priced in from the first visit.
Getting to the roof
Access is a cost that people forget until the quote arrives. A window on a low rear slope can be reached with a ladder and a roof ladder. A window high on the roof of a three-storey Victorian villa, or on a terrace with no side passage, needs a scaffold tower or a full scaffold, and that is added to the work.
The way inside matters as well. If the loft is boarded and clear, the team can work from the inside as well as the outside. If it is full of stored belongings, someone has to clear the area around the opening, or the team has to work around it. A narrow staircase also limits how a large frame is carried up.
None of this is a reason to hold back. It is a reason for the quote to be fixed after someone has stood on the landing, looked up at the ceiling, and then looked at the roof from outside. A price given without that is a guess.
Blinds, and the finish inside
Blinds are sold to the size code of the window, so they are chosen after the window and added to the quote. A blackout blind suits a bedroom or a nursery, where the daylight needs to be shut out for sleep. A pleated or roller blind softens the light in a bathroom or on a landing. Blinds are optional.
The reveal is the sloping plastered surface that runs from the window frame to the ceiling. Indoors we plaster the reveal and leave the opening finished to the standard agreed in the quote. How deep the reveal is depends on the thickness of the roof, so a deep roof with thick insulation adds more plastering than a thin one. Decorating beyond the plaster finish is agreed in the quote.
Electric models, which open by a switch or remote, need a power supply to reach the window. Running the cable is extra work, and it is worth deciding early whether the window will be reached by hand or by a switch.
Comparing quotes sensibly
When you hold two quotes side by side, check that they name the same room, the same window size and the same opening type. A lower number can buy a smaller window, a plain flashing on a roof that wanted something better, or a finish that stops at bare timber. Ask each firm what happens inside the room once the window is in.
Our quote is fixed in writing before work begins, and it tells you which window goes in which room. Our workmanship is then guaranteed for ten years, with the terms on the guarantee page. How pricing works across every unit we fit is on the costs page, and the broader roof window picture is in what a roof window costs to install.
To talk a job through, ring 0113 436 0654 and tell us the room and the roof, and we will arrange the free survey.