Tadcaster skylights and rooflights for limestone terraces, townhouses and back sculleries

What sort of building it is

A listed building has its own consent route for any new rooflight, and that route overrides the general permitted development allowance. A conservation area may carry an Article 4 direction that withdraws the same allowance, so an application becomes necessary. A house with neither label falls under the ordinary rules, and the planning guide goes through them.

Which slope the street sees

Whichever slope faces the road reads as part of the street scene, and the back slope is far less exposed. Where both slopes would serve the room, the back is the more straightforward option, and a stairwell in the middle of a house can often be served from the rear.

A unit made for old roofs

A conservation rooflight has a slim, usually black frame, sometimes with a single bar splitting the glass, and it lies close to the slates or pantiles. Conservation officers often ask for this kind on traditional roofs. It is quieter on the roof than a standard window with a deep frame.

A rooflight left from an earlier conversion

Some older Tadcaster roofs already carry a rooflight from an earlier conversion. Replacing one in the same opening is a lighter job than adding a new one, because the framing is there and the covering is shaped to it. The new frame is matched to the old gap, and the finish is chosen with the street in mind.

Flats in older buildings

Roof alterations on a flat go to the council for permission, and the lease says whose consent covers the roof. Where a Georgian or Victorian house has been divided, the top-floor flat is usually the one to benefit, since the roof is directly above its rooms.

Pitched slope over the wing

Where the wing has a pitched slate or tile roof, a roof window goes in between the rafters. Where the kitchen ceiling follows the roof slope, the window sits at an angle above the worktop and throws light on to it. Condensation in a kitchen is a fact of life, and the window is chosen with a warm inner pane to limit it.

Flat-roofed wing

If the wing was extended with a flat roof, a flat rooflight on a kerb, or a roof lantern on an upstand, will light the room. A lantern rises well above the roof plane, so it may fall outside the ordinary permitted development rule: ask the council, or look at what the extension's drawings show.

Light across the worktop

A sloping kitchen ceiling lets the glass face the room at an angle, which throws light along the worktop and down onto the floor. In a narrow wing that matters, because the walls on both sides are close and the daylight has nowhere else to come from. White walls and a pale ceiling pass it further into the room.

What to avoid over a cooker

The hob is the hot spot in a kitchen. An opening unit directly above it can carry steam out, but the frame is not a substitute for an extractor. We plan the position so the glass sits over the worktop and the walkway, with the hob a little off to one side.

Getting up to the wing

A rear wing is usually reached from the yard, so ladders, edge protection and the unit itself go in by that route rather than through the house. Any translucent sheeting on an old lean-to roof comes off in one piece, and the flashing and kerb are made up to suit whatever replaces it.

The work on the wing roof

We lift the roof covering from the marked area, frame the opening, set and flash the unit, and plaster the reveal. We deal with the Building Control notification as well. Cupboards and worktops below are covered, since cutting a kitchen ceiling is a dusty job.

Light for the whole stair

A stairwell takes daylight from above better than from the side, because the light drops down through every flight. The landings below catch it as well, so one unit can serve three floors. A fixed rooflight gives the light, and an opening one adds fresh air.

Wiring and the switch

Powered units need a cable to the roof, which is run down through the loft and a wall to a switch on the landing. The route is planned before the ceiling is touched. A solar-powered model that needs no cable is another route.

Why the stair is the better place

A rooflight over a landing serves every floor beneath it, so one opening does the work of several wall windows. In a house where the rooms off the stair are small, that saves cutting into more than one roof slope. The stair also tends to be bare of furniture and fittings, which keeps the ceiling work tidier than it would be over a crowded bedroom.

Matching the roof

The frame sits in a slate or pantile roof and takes a flashing kit made for the covering. On a street inside the conservation area, a conservation-style frame is the usual choice.

Summer heat on the top landing

A stair ceiling in strong sun can overheat the top landing. Coated glass turns back part of the sun's warmth, and the opening unit lets hot air out at the top.