Skylight and rooflight fitting in Bexleyheath

The room in the roof

A loft room has the roof for its walls and ceiling, and its daylight arrives through a gable window or a dormer. A gable window lights one end. A dormer lights the side it faces. The slope in between is a large area of roof with nothing in it. A roof window set in that slope lets light in from the part of the sky that is brightest, and from inside you can see clouds and treetops instead of the neighbour's wall. Fixed units suit a study that is rarely opened up; opening units suit a bedroom that needs air on a warm night.

The question of escape arises before any loft room is added or altered. On a two-storey house the loft counts as a storey more than 4.5 m above the ground, so it normally needs a protected escape route down the stairs, and a roof window is not accepted as that route. The checks are set out in our Building Regulations guide, and the survey is where we apply them to your stairs.

Which way the slope faces

Sun reaches a loft room differently from either side of the ridge. A slope facing south or west collects strong light through the afternoon and into the evening, which suits a bedroom less than a home office, and it is where a blind or a solar-control glass comes into the conversation. A north or east slope gives gentler, steadier light and warms up less. In a house with a front and rear slope, two units, one on each side, give the room light from two directions and let air move through it when both open. We note the compass direction of each slope at the survey and discuss the trade-off with you before pricing.

Position along the slope matters as much as direction. A unit set too low sees mostly the neighbour's fence and the tops of garden walls. Set higher, it sees sky and tree canopy. On a typical roof the rafter spacing limits where an opening can go without extra framing, so the best position and the simplest position are not always the same.

Rooms that lose their outlook

As a house is extended, an upper room can lose its view to a new rear roof. A roof window then becomes the room's main daylight, and the choice lies between fixed units, opening units and the electric versions described in our electric opening rooflights guide. Taller people need to think about where the bottom edge of the glass falls relative to a bed or a desk, and how high the glass sits off the floor is something we settle with you in the room, holding a tape to the rafter, before any size is chosen from the range. Standing and sitting eye lines differ, and a unit that suits a standing visitor may cut across the view from a pillow.

Where a house has a gable-fronted loft, the rear slope is the quieter side for glass, since it faces the garden and leaves the street view alone. Blinds for roof windows are chosen with the glass, because a south or west slope brings strong light into a bedroom. Pale paint on the reveal and the ceiling spreads the light across the room.

A box room beside the loft hatch needs a tunnel route checked against the hatch and whatever is stored in the loft. In a utility, a lit worktop and a lit floor matter more than a view, so the unit is placed over the work surface and the glass can be clear or obscured to suit.

Choosing the unit

For a flat roof, the choice runs between a flat rooflight and a lantern, and our guides to flat roof rooflights and roof lanterns set out the difference. On a sloping roof the candidates are a window in the slope or a tube through the loft. For a windowless bathroom, our sun tunnel in a bathroom guide applies equally well to a utility.

Light in a room with a door and nothing else

A utility with a rooflight over it stays bright with the door shut, which matters when the washing machine runs and the door is closed against the noise. A box room used as a study benefits in a different way: the screen sits under even overhead light with no glare from a side window across the desk, and the room feels larger because the ceiling reads as open.

Fitting into a tight space

Small rooms are quick to protect and quick to finish, but they leave little space for a ladder or a tool bag, so we work out the sequence at the survey. In a utility we cover the machines and the worktop before the roof is opened. In a box room the bed and any shelving move out first. The opening is lined once the unit is weathertight, and the ceiling is left ready for paint so you can decorate when you are ready.

Red House Lane and listed buildings

Red House Lane is a conservation area in the town, and the council's conservation and heritage page lists it. Bexleyheath also has a Grade I listed building recognised as influential Arts and Crafts architecture. A house within a conservation area keeps the permitted development position of any other house for a rooflight unless an Article 4 direction has been made. If a house is listed, a new or altered roof window will almost always need listed building consent. Our conservation area rooflight guide sets out how an application differs, including why the style of rooflight and the face of the roof it sits on carry weight with a planning officer. The council's records are the final word on whether a particular house falls inside the line, and we look the address up before we advise.

Distance and paperwork

The road from Maidstone to Bexleyheath runs north-west for about 26 miles, which keeps it inside the 30 road miles we cover. Where the work is notifiable, the Building Control notification is ours to handle. The written quote that follows the survey is a fixed figure, and our 10-year workmanship guarantee comes with the finished job.

Nearby on our list: Bexley, Erith and Joyden's Wood. Sending a photograph of the dim room by WhatsApp on 07880 284133 starts things off; email to info@orchardskylightsmaidstone.co.uk works too, and the quote form asks for the same details.