Ellington skylights and rooflights for village homes
Ellington is a small coastal village in Northumberland, 20.1 road miles north of Newcastle. Tell us what covers the roof over your dull room, and we will find the skylight or rooflight to match it.
A loft room that never feels like a room
Ellington today is made up almost exclusively of private housing, so the people who live here decide for themselves how to use their roof space. A loft given over to a bedroom or study can end up with one small window and a great deal of slope. A rooflight gives that sort of room height, air and a view of sky it has not had before.
What can go into an Ellington roof
Browse the types here, and we will confirm which suits your roof once we have seen it. Roof lanterns, Flat roof rooflights, Roof windows, VELUX windows, Electric rooflights, Energy efficient rooflights, Misted rooflight replacement, Walk-on rooflights, Conservation rooflights, Sun tunnels.
Ellington, roof by roof
Fitting daylight to a village roof, step by step
The questions follow the order the work does: what your roof is covered with, which product fits it, how the survey treats a loft room and its windows, and what remains once the glass is in.
What is on top of my Ellington house, and does it matter?
Short answer
It decides almost everything. Whether you have slate, tile, felt or a membrane fixes the type of unit, the flashing, the fall and the support behind it. Naming the covering is the first step in matching glass to roof.
Before you weigh up a single product, look up at the roof. What covers the ceiling of your landing or loft decides which units can go there and how they are made watertight. Ellington is a small village on the Northumberland coast, and its housing is almost entirely private, so each owner has a slightly different roof. The useful habit is to describe yours rather than assume.
Slate and tile slopes
Each slate or tile laps over the one below it, so rain keeps running downhill. A roof window set into such a slope needs flashings cut to match that lapping, otherwise water finds a way in at the edge. Rafters are trimmed around the opening, then insulated and lined. On an older slope, we also look at the battens and the nails or clips that hold the covering at the edge of the new opening.
Flat and shallow roofs
A porch, a kitchen extension or a converted garage can have a flat or shallow roof covered in felt, a single-ply membrane or a bonded system. Such a roof suits glass mounted on an upstand, and the membrane must be dressed up the upstand so water cannot get behind it. That detail is why we ask what the roof is made of when you first write to us.
When you cannot tell
Few of us ever climb onto our own roof. A photograph from the garden and a peek from the loft hatch gives us enough for a first answer, and the survey does the rest. We would rather start from a picture than from a guess, and a picture also tells us how steep the slope is, which affects the flashings.
Why the roof comes first
Starting from the glass catalogue invites trouble. A beautiful unit that cannot be flashed into a tired slate roof is a wasted order. Starting from the covering lets the choice narrow itself: an incline leads to a roof window, a deck leads to a rooflight or lantern, and a loft full of storage points to a sun tunnel.
Our view: describe the covering before choosing a unit, because the covering decides the flashing and the flashing decides whether it stays dry.
Which product suits the roof I have?
Short answer
Roof windows belong in slopes, flat rooflights and lanterns on decks, and a sun tunnel in places where a loft or another storey blocks the way to the sky. Opening versions bring in fresh air, while fixed ones give light only.
Once the covering is named, only a handful of units are left to consider. How each one behaves, and where it belongs.
Roof windows
Pitched roofs take these. One tilts on a central pivot, another hinges at the top, and a third stays fixed because all you want is daylight. Motorised versions exist, fitted with a sensor that shuts the sash when rain starts. Among makers, VELUX is the household name; our VELUX windows page walks through its range, while the roof windows page covers other makers.
Flat-deck glass
A flat deck allows more freedom. A flat rooflight sits low and tidy, whereas the lantern stands up like a small glass pavilion and draws light from every side. Solar control glazing is available for either if the room looks south.
Sun tunnels
Where a hall, bathroom or cloakroom sits under a pitched roof and a window would be too much, a sun tunnel does the job quietly. A dome on the slope catches the light and a reflective tube carries it to a diffuser on the ceiling. Few products disturb a roof less.
Glass and frames
Whatever the type, the glass has to hold heat in. Inner panes over living space are laminated. Frames come in timber, aluminium or PVC, and each looks different from inside the room, so it helps to see a sample before deciding. Your quote spells out every specification, and nothing is left for the day to settle.
Colour and finish deserve a thought too. A white lining blends into the ceiling and makes the opening disappear, while a darker frame outlines the sky like a picture. Neither is better; it depends on the room, and on whether you want the rooflight to be noticed. Ask for a sample if you are unsure, and compare it against your own walls in daylight.
Check how the unit will be reached for cleaning, too. Over a stairwell or a double-height space, a window set out of arm's length is awkward to wipe, and the survey is a good time to talk about reach. Remote-controlled units and poles that hook onto the sash solve most of the difficulty, and a tilt-and-clean mechanism swings the pane round for cleaning from inside.
That leaves the part of the job where a loft room needs the most attention, which is the survey itself.
What will the survey make of my loft room and its roof windows?
Short answer
We measure the floor area, the height under the slope and the way up to the room. The survey also covers escape: a roof window counts as an escape window only for a room within 4.5 metres of the ground, and a two-storey house needs a protected stair.
A loft room has more riding on its roof windows than any other space. They provide light, air, a sense of height and, sometimes, a way out. The survey is built around those four jobs.
Light and size
The height of a loft ceiling under the slope is limited, so a window placed low gives a view and one placed high gives light on the floor. Sizes are written as a letter-and-digit code from the maker. Width is given by the letters and height by the digits, and a taller unit suits a room where you want to see the sky from a bed. We measure the floor and the slope, then suggest a size and a position.
Air and heat
A loft in summer holds heat. A window that opens at the top lets hot air out, and solar control glass cuts the amount that comes in. In winter, the same window must meet the Part L limit for an existing home, which is 1.4 W/m²K for a roof window. We state what we are fitting in the quote.
Escape
If the loft is a bedroom or a habitable room on a two-storey house, Approved Document B applies. A roof window counts as an escape window only for a room within 4.5 metres of the ground, and a loft conversion on a two-storey house needs a protected stair instead. A window cannot make up for a missing stair, so we raise this early.
Getting up there
We look at how people reach the loft. A ladder is no way to carry a window, and the access route affects how the glass gets in. Tell us about the stairs, the hatch and the landing, so the visit takes it all in at once.
Once the glass is fitted, what remains for me to deal with?
Short answer
Very little. Building Control hears about the work where that is required, the written 10-year workmanship guarantee reaches you, and any planning route for a flat or a listed house will have been settled before the work began.
When the glass is in and the lining is finished, the job feels done. A few things remain, and they are quickly dealt with.
The council side
Cutting a new opening in a roof is building work, so it is notified to Building Control. For Ellington that can be Northumberland County Council or a registered building control approver. We make the notification where it is needed, and the record of sign-off is something you should keep with your house papers.
Permission, in brief
Most rooflights on houses fall under permitted development within set limits, and the planning guide sets those limits out. A flat is treated differently, and so is a listed house. Those routes are settled before the order is placed, never after. You will not find the question left open on the day.
Your guarantee
The written guarantee covers our workmanship for 10 years. If the job changes from the survey, the price changes with it. If it does not, the quote you accepted is the quote you pay. Our costs page describes what moves a price.
Looking after it
A rooflight on a pitched slope seldom needs attention, since rain cleans the outside. Clean the inside with a mild product and a soft cloth, and keep the opening free of stored items so air can circulate. On a flat roof, clear leaves and debris from the edges. Nearby, Lynemouth and the other coastal villages follow the same steps.
Before you hand over the paperwork
- Keep the written guarantee with your house documents
- File the Building Control completion record where you can find it
- Note the make and size code of the unit for the future
- Learn how the opening and any sensor work
- Keep a copy of the quote that describes the glass
Ellington roof queries, one by one
Does Ellington being a village change how you work?
Not in any way that touches the rules. Ellington is a small village on the Northumberland coast, and Northumberland County Council makes the planning decisions. Your roof is where each job begins, as it is across the rest of our area, and the guarantee is written down in the same way.
Will a rooflight make my loft room too hot in summer?
It can if the glass is wrong or the room has no air. A unit that opens at the top lets hot air escape, and solar control glass reduces what comes in. Blinds designed for roof windows help as well. The survey takes the direction of the slope into account when it suggests glass.
Is a skylight possible in a flat-topped porch?
A flat rooflight can go in a porch roof if the deck is sound and falls enough to drain. The real test is whether the space underneath gains from it, since a porch with a solid inner door may gain little. A house usually falls under permitted development, while a flat does not. We explain which applies.
How big a window do I need for a loft bedroom?
That depends on the floor area, the slope and how much sky you want to see. A single larger unit may do for a small room, and a pair works for a longer one. The survey measures the space and the quote lists the sizes, so you know before you agree.
What is the best way to ask for a survey?
Drop us a WhatsApp on 07880 284133, or write to info@quaysideskylightsnewcastle.co.uk, giving your address, the room you want to improve and a description of the roof as best you can. Coming out costs you nothing, and the written quote afterwards holds at the price given.