Guides
The longer reads: how each kind of rooflight works, what the rules say, and what to check before anyone cuts your roof.
Jump to: GeneralRoof lanternsFlat roof rooflightsRoof windowsVELUX windowsElectric and openingEnergy efficientMisted rooflight replacementWalk-on rooflightsConservation rooflightsSun tunnels
Skylights and rooflights in general 2
Skylight planning permission and Building Regulations: what applies to a rooflightTwo separate sets of rules govern a new skylight or rooflight in England. This guide sets out both, with the actual limits, so you know what to check before anyone cuts a hole.
Can I fit a skylight on my roof? Where one can go, and how to tellNearly every roof will take a rooflight somewhere. The useful question is where, and you can answer much of it yourself from three places: outside, in the loft and in the room below.
Roof lanterns 2
Roof lantern sizes: getting the proportions rightThree measurements, one room and the joists above it: how a lantern is sized so it looks as if it was always meant to be there.
Roof lantern vs flat rooflight: which suits your extension?Both put daylight into the middle of a flat-roofed extension. They do it with different shapes, and the shape decides the light, the ceiling and the build.
Flat roof rooflights 2
Rooflight kerbs and upstands: what the unit sits onThe glass gets the attention. The raised frame underneath decides whether the skylight stays dry, stays warm and sits true for decades.
Rooflight on a flat roof that has lost its slopeA roof that looks flat can hold water for days. Here is how a skylight is fitted to one, and what has to change around it first.
Roof windows 2
Top-hung or centre-pivot: choosing how a roof window opensTwo ways to swing a roof window open, two quite different feels in the room. How to pick the one that suits your ceiling, your furniture and your view.
Roof windows for low-pitch roofs: what fits and what does notA shallow slope does not close the door on a roof window. It narrows the choice, moves the weight onto the roof covering and the weatherproofing, and sets a floor below which a different product takes over.
VELUX windows 2
VELUX size codes explained: reading MK04, PK08 and the restA short code on a metal plate tells you how big a VELUX roof window is. Here is how to read it, where to find it, and what it does and does not tell an installer.
VELUX flashings for tiles and slates: matching the kit to the roofThe flashing is the part of a roof window installation that keeps water out for good, and it comes in separate families for profiled tiles, flat tiles and slates. Picking the wrong one is the quiet way a good window goes wrong.
Electric and opening rooflights 2
Electric rooflights: wiring, controls and rain sensorsAn electric skylight is a window with a motor on it. This guide covers where the power comes from, how the cable reaches the roof, and how the controls and the rain sensor behave once it is all built in.
Opening rooflights for ventilation and purge airA skylight that opens is a vent at the highest point of the room, and warm air wants to go there. This guide covers how that works, where it earns its keep, and what to settle before you choose one.
Energy efficient rooflights 2
Rooflight U-values and Part L, in plain EnglishA U-value says how fast heat leaks through a window. Part L sets the ceiling on that for new rooflights in a house. Here is what the number means and how to use it when you compare quotes.
Solar control glass for south-facing rooflightsA sunny roof can turn a bright room into a warm one by lunchtime. This guide explains what solar control glass changes, what it costs you in daylight, and when a different answer is better.
Replacing misted and failed rooflights 2
Why rooflights mist between the panesThe fog sits in the gap you can never wipe. Here is how a sealed rooflight unit ends up with water vapour inside it, what the fog tells you, and how a replacement is planned.
Replacing an old plastic dome rooflightThe yellowed bubble on the flat roof has done its time. This guide covers why plastic domes age out, what can go in their place, and how the swap is planned.
Walk-on rooflights 2
Walk on rooflight glass: the build-up, the loads and the safety rulesA walk-on rooflight is a glass floor that happens to be in a roof. Here is what the glass is made of, what the load figures promise and where the safety rules start.
Walk on rooflight terrace and basement light wells: planning the glass and the floor around itTwo places where a skylight has to take a footstep and still keep the room below dry and bright. What changes between a terrace and a cellar, and what to settle first.
Conservation rooflights 2
Rooflight conservation area rules in Leicester and LeicestershireLiving in a conservation area does not ban a skylight. It changes how you check, which slope you choose and what the rooflight should look like.
Listed building consent for a rooflight: what you need and how it goesA rooflight on a listed house is a listed building consent job first and a building job second, and the first part is mostly paperwork done well.
Sun tunnels 2
Sun tunnel or rooflight: which one does the room need?Both bring daylight through the roof. One brings a glow, the other brings a view, and the room usually decides which you can have.
Sun tunnels for dark hallways and bathroomsThe two rooms a sun tunnel is asked about most, and the small decisions in each that decide whether it lights the space or merely sits in it.
Each guide sits with the service it explains, and each is written for a homeowner deciding what their roof can take before anyone climbs a ladder. For a quick answer to one question, try the answers, or book a free survey and ask us on the roof.