Skylights and rooflights in Hadlow

The loft room that was added later

A loft room is one of the ways an older house gains space, and it is where a roof window is most clearly needed. A loft room has a ceiling that follows the rafters, a floor that sits on the old ceiling joists, and a window of some kind at one gable or none at all. Without a window in the slope, the middle of the room relies on a lamp. One roof window at the gable end and a second in the opposite slope bring in light from two directions, and both stay below the ridge of the original roof.

The height rule matters here as much as the 150 mm projection rule does. A window in the roof must be no higher than the highest part of the original roof, so we measure to the ridge before we choose the unit. We also look at what sits underneath: a loft that has been boarded and insulated hides the structure, and the rafter sizes tell us whether the opening needs a trimmer to pick up the load.

Where the glass sits in a loft room

The position inside the room matters as much as the size. A window that starts at knee height lets a seated person look out; one set higher up the slope floods the floor with light and gives a view only to someone standing. In a narrow loft room, two windows facing each other across the ridge line give light at both ends of the day, and a single large one over a desk gives a steady working light. We mark the positions on the slope with tape at the survey and look at them from where you will be sitting and standing.

Roof covering sets the flashing. Hadlow roofs of older houses may carry clay tiles, slate or something newer, and a replacement of part of the covering around the opening has to match what is there. We note the tile or slate type and specify the flashing set that suits it, so that the roof around the new window matches the rest of the slope.

Getting out of a room in the roof

For a two-storey house, a new loft room creates a storey more than 4.5 m above the ground. Approved Document B then normally calls for a protected escape route down the stairs, since a roof window in the loft is not accepted as the way out. Where the house is a bungalow or chalet bungalow the rule differs, and the roof window may act as the escape window once it satisfies the requirements listed in the Building Regulations guide. Which of those applies depends on your house, and Building Control has the final word.

Insulation and the depth of the lining

A loft room usually has insulation between and under the rafters, and the depth of that build-up sets how far the window frame sits from the finished ceiling. A deep lining makes a deeper reveal inside the room, and a shallow one puts the glass nearer the inside face. We measure the insulation at the survey, because it fixes the length of the lining and the position of the frame in the slope.

If your loft room is the reason you are reading this, our guide to putting a window into a roof that has none shows what the work involves. For the energy rule, our Building Regulations guide covers the 1.4 W/m²K limit for a new or replacement roof window.

A tunnel for the utility room

A sun tunnel is a small dome on the roof, a reflective tube through the loft and a diffuser in the ceiling. For a utility room it is the simplest way to put daylight in a room that needs it for sorting laundry and reading labels. The tube can be rigid or flexible, and the distance through the loft decides which; our guide to rigid and flexible sun tunnels goes through that. Where the utility room sits under a flat roof, a small flat rooflight fitted flush with the ceiling does the same job.

The ceiling below matters too. In a utility room the tube or the rooflight shaft has to clear pipes, a boiler flue or an extractor duct in the loft above, and we trace those from the hatch before choosing a route. A shaft that bends round an obstruction gives less light than a straight one, so a short, direct run is the aim. We also allow for tidy trim at the ceiling, so the diffuser or lining sits flat and square above the washing machine.

A utility room collects damp air from dryers and washing, so the finish round a diffuser or a flush rooflight has to shed moisture, and an opening unit helps clear it. Where the room has an extractor, the tube is routed clear of the duct.

Daylight down the stairs

A roof window over the top of a stairwell lights the landing, and the light travels down the open flight. We look at which side of the roof the stairs rise towards, whether a ceiling hatch to the loft sits close by, and whether the loft floor is boarded. Each of those changes the route for the opening. On a house with a steep stair, we also think about where the working platform will stand while the ceiling is made good, because the stairs are the one route everyone in the house uses. Dust sheets, a protected handrail and a clear path to the front door keep the house usable while the work goes on, and the lining of the shaft, the plaster and the paint finish the job inside.

Where the stair turns at a half-landing, the window can be set to light both flights. We work the position out from the plan of the well and mark it from below before the loft is entered, so the glass lands over the void.

A window over a stairwell also lights the walls of the landing, and the shaft lining is finished last, once the plaster has dried and the ceiling edge is made good.

What a survey covers in a village house

We note what the existing windows face, how deep the room runs, and what lies above: a loft, a bedroom, a flat roof or a pitched slope, and we check the covering, the structure and the route for a ladder or a scaffold. A narrow lane or a brick-paved frontage can limit where a van parks, so we plan the carry and the protection of paving, hall floors and the stair carpet before we write the quote.

Conservation areas and listed buildings

Conservation areas near the village include Hadlow and The Freehold, Hadlow, and the planning authority for both is Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. A conservation area on its own does not remove the permitted development rights for a rooflight on a house, because only an Article 4 direction does that, and the planning permission guide sets out the rest. The council's own records are the final check on your address.

We check a building's status at the survey, and the guide to rooflights on listed buildings explains what a listed house involves.

Not every old house in the parish is a house in the planning sense. A house made from a former barn, shop or office under change-of-use permitted development carries no householder rights. Golden Green, within the parish, had a Wesleyan chapel from 1899 to 1956, and the village had a brewery started in the 1830s, so we always ask what a building was before it was a home.

To start, message us on 07880 284133 on WhatsApp, email info@orchardskylightsmaidstone.co.uk or fill in the form below. The survey is free, the quote fixed and written, and a 10-year workmanship guarantee comes with the finished job.

Neighbouring places we cover include East Peckham, Five Oak Green and Tonbridge.