Bean skylights and rooflights
Bean is a Dartford Borough parish with the A2 along its northern edge and ancient woodland on the other sides. In the houses, the rooms that go without are the ones in the middle of the plan: the utility room, the hall and the landing.
- Free survey, fixed written quote
- 10-year workmanship guarantee
Pre-war, post-war or modern build
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1 An older cottage plan Houses from before the war often have small windows and rooms off a central passage. The hall and landing take whatever the doors let through. -
2 A mid-century semi Stairs in a house of that age often rise against a party wall, which leaves the landing at the top without a window. -
3 A newer open-plan house More glass at the back lights the main rooms well. The utility room and the landing still tend to sit inside the plan.
Woodland edges, utility rooms and halls
A village ringed by trees has its own pattern of shade.
Bean lies in the Borough of Dartford as both a village and a civil parish. The parish is bounded on the north by the A2, which follows the line of the Roman Watling Street, and on its other three sides by ancient woodland. A parish with that much tree cover around it has an effect on daylight that is easy to overlook: trees at the end of a garden shade the back of a house for part of the day, and that shade can carry on well after leaf fall in the case of evergreens. We note it at the survey, because it affects where light from the sky is strongest and which way a window should face.
The village has been recorded since at least the 13th century, although the parish itself is the most recently formed in Kent. In 1797 this part of the old parish of Stone was described as having a great tract of woodland reaching almost to Green Street Green, next to Darenth parish. The 2011 population of the parish was 1,643.
The utility room with a door and no window
A utility room sits where the plumbing is, which is usually on an inside wall between the kitchen and the garage or the side of the house. Washing machines do not need a view, so builders put these rooms wherever the pipes already run. If it adjoins a flat-roofed kitchen extension or a single-storey side addition, a flat roof rooflight above it brings daylight in at once. Where the roof pitches, a roof window cut into that slope can serve, if the loft above leaves room for it.
Where a loft lies between the roof and the utility room ceiling, a sun tunnel can bridge the gap. The tube runs through the roof void, and a flush diffuser sits in the ceiling below. The tube carries daylight only, so a room used for laundry still needs its own ventilation, and we look at that when we are in the loft. Where the utility room also holds a boiler, we check for a flue or vent leaving through the roof before the position of the opening is fixed, along with any wiring or pipework crossing the line of the cut.
Reading a house by its age
Houses from before the war were often built with small windows set into thick walls, and with rooms opening off a central passage. In a house like that, the hall and the landing are corridors, and they take whatever light the doors allow. Houses from the middle of the last century tend to have larger windows and a more regular plan, but the stairs commonly sit against one wall to save space, and the landing above them goes without. Newer houses are often built with more glass at the back, so the main rooms are bright, while the utility room and the landing still sit inside the plan.
The same question settles the job: what is above the dark space? A flat roof, a sloping roof, a loft, a bedroom. The answer decides which product can go in, so we ask for the age and type of the house when you first get in touch.
The hallway by the front door
A hall can have a single source of daylight, which is the front door, and that is usually closed. If the door has a glazed panel the hall is better off, but the far end of the hall and the foot of the stairs sit furthest away. A tall hall that opens up the stairwell can use a roof window over the top flight. A lower hall in a bungalow can use a sun tunnel, since the roof is close to the ceiling and the tube is short.
A short tube is the easier install and the brighter result. The longer the tube, the more daylight it loses on the way down, so we always give the length at the survey before we recommend one, and we say if a roof window or a different position gives a better result.
Each of these jobs starts with the same two things from you: tell us which room and how you use it. We bring a ladder, a tape and a torch for the loft, and the survey costs nothing. After it we give you a written quote at one fixed figure for the whole job.
What sets the price of a small interior opening
- Sun tunnel lengthA longer tube through the loft needs more materials and more fitting time.
- Roof coveringTile, slate or felt each need their own flashing.
- Loft accessA clear loft is quicker to work in than one used for storage.
- Ceiling finishThe diffuser and the plaster around it, ready for paint.
Landings and the stairs below
The landing is where a house plan quietly fails. It is the passage at the top of the stairs, with the bedroom doors off it, and its daylight depends on whichever door is open. It is the one space in the house you walk through half asleep and half dressed, and in winter that is in the dark. A roof opening over the landing makes the whole upper floor feel different, and it brings light down the stairs to the hall too.
| Room | What starves it of daylight | Opening to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Utility room | Sits on an inside wall beside the kitchen | Flat rooflight over an extension, or a roof window or tunnel above |
| Hallway | Front door is its only source | Sun tunnel in a low hall, roof window over a tall stairwell |
| Landing | Bedroom doors shut, no outside wall | Roof window above the stairs, or a tunnel from the loft |
Choosing the opening for a landing
The roof above a landing is often a ridge or a hip, with the loft floor between. If the loft is unused and the ceiling joists are accessible, a sun tunnel is the least disruptive way in: a small hole in the roof, a tube through the loft, a diffuser in the ceiling. If the loft has been converted, or the roof is steeper and the landing is under the slope, a roof window directly above is the better fit. Our roof windows page sets out what is available, and the sun tunnel page does the same for the tube option.
A flat-roofed landing is rare, but a house with a flat-roofed rear addition sometimes has a landing that runs into it. Where that happens, a flat rooflight or a small roof lantern suits better. A lantern raised above a flat roof will normally call for an application, and our lantern planning article explains why.
What we check in the loft first
Before we promise a tunnel or a window for a landing, we climb into the loft and look. We want to see the ceiling joists and their spacing, the underside of the roof covering, any water tank or pipework in the way, and how much insulation lies across the joists. A tube has to run in a straight line from the roof to the ceiling below, and a roof window needs a clear space to be framed. If something is in the way, we say what it is and whether moving it is sensible. Sometimes a different position on the landing solves it, and that costs nothing extra.
Fitting out the stair space
Fitting a roof window above the stairs means working over a stairwell, so we plan the day with that in mind. We cover the stairs and the hall floor, set up access from the outside, and keep the opening protected between stripping the covering and weatherproofing it. A scaffold tower inside is sometimes needed to reach a high ceiling. Inside, we line the sides of the opening and leave them primed for your choice of paint.
A blind is worth considering for a landing roof window, because the glass that lights the landing by day also lets in the early sun on a summer morning. Manual or electric blinds are specified with the window so that they match the opening.
Council and sign-off
Planning for Bean sits with Dartford Borough Council. The usual conditions for a rooflight on a house are set out in our skylight planning permission guide, so you can check them against your own roof before we visit. A new opening in a roof is also building work, which our Building Regulations guide explains, and we handle the Building Control notification where the work is notifiable.
Reaching Bean
Heading north-west from Maidstone, you reach Bean after about 19 road miles. The nearest National Rail stations to Bean are Longfield, 2.2 miles away, and Greenhithe, 2.4 miles away. The village is served by Brookline Coaches route 479 to Bluewater and New Ash Green. For a survey we come to you and you need not be at home the whole time, although being there for the first few minutes helps us hear what you want from the room.
The quickest way to reach us is WhatsApp on 07880 284133. The address info@orchardskylightsmaidstone.co.uk and the quote form go to the same place. The 10-year workmanship guarantee is given in writing once the work is finished.
Ebbsfleet Valley and Swanscombe are neighbouring places we cover, both over towards the north-east, with Darenth to the west, and we cover Longfield too.
Shade, utility rooms and landings
Bean has woodland on three sides. Does tree cover change the rooflight you would pick?
It can change the position and the glass. Trees at the end of a garden throw shade across the back roof for part of the day, so we look at where the sky is brightest above each roof slope before choosing where the opening goes.
Our utility room has a door and no window. What are the options?
That depends on what is over it. If a flat roof is overhead, a flat rooflight fits. Under a pitched slope we look at a roof window, and where a loft sits in between, a tunnel. We check at the survey and price the one that fits.
How do I light a hallway that only has the front door for daylight?
From the roof. In a low hall a short sun tunnel is the simplest answer, and in a tall hall a roof window over the top of the stairs lights the whole flight.
Where does a planning question for a Bean house go?
Whether you need to ask at all is covered in the planning guide, and any application goes to Dartford Borough Council.
What does the landing at the top of our stairs need, a window or a tunnel?
Where the loft is unused, a tunnel. Where the landing sits under a sloping roof, or the loft has been converted, a window. A tunnel needs a clear path through the roof void, which we measure first.
Do you also cover Longfield, Darenth and Ebbsfleet Valley?
All three are on our list: Longfield, Darenth and Ebbsfleet Valley.
Nearby towns to Bean
Book your free survey
Tell us about the room that stays dark. We come out, look at the room and the roof, then send a fixed written quote.
Or on 07880 284133, or call 01622 277162
No obligation. We survey before we price.