Skylights and rooflights for brick semis and village bungalows in Upton and the Wakefield villages near it
25.1 road miles south-east of Leeds city centre
Rooflight installation in Upton, for semis and bungalows and newer estate houses, aimed at a bathroom with no window and a garage that is now a room.
The rooms in Upton houses that daylight never reaches
Village streets of semis and bungalows have been extended and converted, and the new rooms are often the ones with the least light.
Entrance hallA hall at the heart of a house has the front door and a pane beside it.
Windowless bathroomA bathroom boxed in between bedrooms has no outside wall for a window.
Garage conversionA garage turned living space keeps one window to the drive and a deep back.
What works on Upton's tiled and flat roofs
Choices start with the room, and then reflect the roof above: tile on the pitched houses and felt or rubber on the flat extensions.
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Sun Tunnels
A tube from the tiles to a windowless bathroom or hall, where a small dome and a ceiling diffuser are all that shows.
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Flat Roof Rooflights
A flat rooflight over a converted garage or a rear extension with a felt or rubber roof.
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Roof Windows
Over a landing, or in a bungalow's loft room, set into tile with its own flashing kit.
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Misted Rooflight Replacement
A swap for an older rooflight where fog has formed between the panes and the seal has gone.
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Electric & Opening Rooflights
A rooflight opened by remote above a bathroom or landing ceiling beyond arm's reach, with a rain sensor on some models.
Upton questions about windowless bathrooms and tired rooflights
They follow the way village houses are used now, with rooms added inside the same shell.
Can a bathroom with no window in an Upton house get daylight from the roof?
A windowless bathroom is one room a rooflight can change. Newer houses and conversions can put the bathroom at the core of the plan, away from any outside wall, with a bulb as its only light. A rooflight changes that by making the room a daylit one in the daytime.
What the loft allows
The first thing to learn is what sits between the roof and the bathroom ceiling. If the bathroom is directly beneath the slope, a short tube or a small roof window drops straight in. If it sits under a flat ceiling with a loft above, the tube has to cross the loft, past rafters, pipes and perhaps a water tank, so the route is walked first.
Tube or window
The two answers are a tube and a window, weighed up in choosing between tube and window. The tube is smaller, passes between rafters and keeps the opening to a minimum. The window is larger, gives more light and can open for fresh air, but it needs a wider opening and a light well. In a bathroom the tube is usually chosen, and a window when the ceiling follows the slope.
Steam and glass
A bathroom is a humid room, so condensation matters. A diffuser in the ceiling is sealed against the tube, and the lining of the tube is smooth, so water does not collect inside. A roof window used in a bathroom is chosen with glazing that stays warm on the inside face, and a fan or an opening sash clears the steam. Rooflight condensation forms when warm, damp air from the room meets a cooler surface.
Fan or no fan
A bathroom with no window usually has an extractor fan, and that stays. A rooflight adds daylight without replacing the fan, and the two work side by side. The fan clears the steam after a shower, and the daylight does the job of the bulb.
Privacy
A tube has no view in or out, because its diffuser is frosted. A roof window in the slope is high above anyone on the ground, and a blind can be added for the few cases where a neighbour's window looks down on it.
Finishing indoors
The ceiling is cut cleanly and the diffuser or the well is finished as the quote describes. The bathroom floor is covered during the work, and plastering round the opening is part of the job, so the room is ready to paint when we leave.
On a house, a rooflight usually comes under permitted development, and the planning guide lists the conditions. Paperwork for any change to the structure is separate, and we look after it.
Two ways to daylight a windowless bathroom
| Unit | What it needs | What it gives |
|---|---|---|
| Sun tunnel | A clear route through the loft | Soft, even light from a small ceiling disc |
| Roof window | A slope directly above and a light well | More light, and fresh air if it opens |
Where does the light come from in a garage conversion in Upton?
A garage in a village semi may by now be a playroom, a study or a spare bedroom. The front becomes a window or a bricked-in panel facing the drive, and the room runs back a long way beyond it. The back is where the shade lies.
Flat or pitched roof
Garages are built with a flat roof or a pitched one, and sometimes a lean-to slope. The shape of the roof sets the unit. A flat roof rooflight sits on a kerb above a flat deck, and a roof window sits in a pitched slope between rafters. Both put the light over the middle of the floor.
Where to put it
The best place is above the deepest part of the room, the farthest point from the window. A bed, a desk or a play area is placed there, and light arriving from straight above reaches the corners that the front window cannot. We chalk the spot on the floor, then check it against the joists or rafters overhead.
Insulation in the roof
A converted garage has been insulated for use as a living space, and the roof was part of that work. A new opening cuts through the insulation, so the gap round the frame is filled to keep the warmth in. The glass is chosen so the room does not lose what the insulation has gained.
Roof covering
A flat garage roof is often felt or a rubber sheet, and the covering is lifted and turned up the kerb. If the roof is old, it is worth asking whether the covering will need replacing soon, because that is the cheapest moment to add a rooflight. A pitched garage roof takes the flashing for its tile or sheet.
Light at the right height
Overhead light falls evenly, so a desk or a bed anywhere under the unit is well lit. A light from the front window comes in low and sideways, and it dies away. Together the two make a room that works from front to back.
The conversion itself
Turning a garage into a living room is itself building work under the Building Regulations. A new rooflight is a separate piece of work and is treated on its own terms. Planning conditions for houses are covered by our planning guide, and Wakefield Council is the place to ask if the house has a listing or sits in a protected area.
If the garage is attached to a bungalow, the roof may be continuous with the house, which opens up other options, including a window in the main slope.
Reading a garage roof from inside and out
Whether the roof is flat or pitched, where the insulation sits in it, and how far the room runs back from its one window.
How is an old misted rooflight in an Upton house replaced?
Rooflights fitted in a house extension years ago may now show fog trapped between the panes. That fog tells you the seal along the unit's edge has given way. The moisture sits inside the sealed gap, where no cloth can reach, and it is there for good.
Glass only or the whole unit
In some rooflights the sealed glazed unit can be lifted out of its frame and a new one fitted. In others the frame and glass are one piece, so the whole rooflight is replaced. We look at the frame, the kerb and the covering, and advise which route is right. Either route cures the same fault, because when rooflight glass mists between the two panes, the edge seal has failed and let damp air into the gap.
The same opening
If the new rooflight is the same size as the old one, it goes into the opening that is already there. The rafters or joists stay as they are, which keeps the job smaller. A larger unit needs the opening widened and the structure re-framed, and that is notifiable work. For a pitched roof, see swapping a roof window for the same size.
What the old kerb tells us
On a flat roof, the old kerb and its covering are looked at while the rooflight is off. A soft timber or a lifting covering is dealt with before the new unit is bedded, because a new rooflight on a tired kerb will leak in time. If the kerb is sound it is reused.
Old rooflights in Upton houses
Older rooflights in village houses can sit on rear extensions and conservatories added over the years, and each has its own age and make. We identify the make where we can, and measure the opening either way, so the quote covers a unit that fits.
A chance to improve the glass
An older rooflight is likely to be single-glazed or an early double-glazed unit. The replacement is double-glazed with a coating and a better spacer, so the room loses less heat than before. On a flat roof, a model that opens can also be chosen at this stage, for ventilation.
Plaster and paint
The plaster around the opening is checked, and any area stained by damp is replastered and finished as the quote says. The floor is covered while the old unit comes out.
Each replacement is quoted at a fixed price in writing for a named unit at a given size, so the quote tells you what will be in the roof afterwards.
Terms you will meet when a rooflight is swapped
- Sealed unit
- Panes joined round their rims with air or gas between.
- Edge seal
- The strip around the panes that keeps moisture out of the gap.
- Like for like
- A new unit sized to fit the opening the old one leaves.
- Kerb
- The raised frame on a flat roof that carries the rooflight.
Around Upton, from South Elmsall to Ackworth Moor Top
We also work in South Elmsall, South Kirkby, Hemsworth, Ackworth Moor Top, Fitzwilliam, Grimethorpe and Havercroft. A call on 0113 436 0654 is the quickest way to talk through the room.
Short answers for Upton households
Do I have to do anything about Building Control in Upton?
We notify Building Control ourselves, using Wakefield Council's service or a registered building control approver, so you do not need to apply separately. The notification also takes in any cut to the roof structure.
Is a sun tunnel suitable for a bungalow with little loft?
A shallow loft gives a short run, which suits a tube because the light has little distance to travel. The route is checked for rafters and wiring, and a rigid tube is used where it can be.
Is a rooflight over a bathroom noisy in rain?
Rain on the glass of a rooflight makes a gentle sound, which varies with the glazing. Thicker or laminated panes quieten it, and a dome on a sun tunnel is smaller than a window, so less rain lands on it.
Can I choose a flat rooflight that opens?
A flat rooflight can be made to open by hand or by a motor, which suits a kitchen or bathroom needing ventilation. Certain models close by themselves when a built-in sensor feels rain.
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.