Read before you buy
Skylight and rooflight guides
Longer reads for people planning a job: how a product works, what it needs from the roof and the room, and where the rules bite.
Rooflight Planning Permission: Houses, Flats and Listed HomesWhich rooflights need planning permission on a house, a flat or a listed home.
Types of Rooflight Compared: Which Suits Your RoofRoof windows, flat rooflights, lanterns and sun tunnels compared by roof and room.
Roof Lantern Sizes: How Big Should Yours Be?How room shape, joists, kerb height and the inside finish decide a lantern's size.
Aluminium, Timber or uPVC Roof Lantern FramesHow aluminium, timber and uPVC frames differ in sightline, warmth, finish and upkeep.
Flat Rooflight Upstands and Kerbs ExplainedWhat a flat rooflight upstand does, how tall it needs to be and how it is built.
Fixed or Opening Flat RooflightsWhat a fixed flat rooflight does against one that opens, room by room.
General 2
- Rooflight Planning Permission: Houses, Flats and Listed HomesWhich rooflights need planning permission on a house, a flat or a listed home.
- Types of Rooflight Compared: Which Suits Your RoofRoof windows, flat rooflights, lanterns and sun tunnels compared by roof and room.
Roof lanterns 2
- Roof Lantern Sizes: How Big Should Yours Be?How room shape, joists, kerb height and the inside finish decide a lantern's size.
- Aluminium, Timber or uPVC Roof Lantern FramesHow aluminium, timber and uPVC frames differ in sightline, warmth, finish and upkeep.
Flat roof rooflights 2
- Flat Rooflight Upstands and Kerbs ExplainedWhat a flat rooflight upstand does, how tall it needs to be and how it is built.
- Fixed or Opening Flat RooflightsWhat a fixed flat rooflight does against one that opens, room by room.
Roof windows 2
- Roof Window Sizes for Loft RoomsHow rafters, size codes, sill height and the old opening decide a loft roof window's size.
- Centre-Pivot or Top-Hung Roof WindowsHow centre-pivot and top-hung roof windows open, and which suits your loft room.
VELUX windows 2
- VELUX Size Codes ExplainedHow to read a VELUX code, find it on your window and use it for a replacement.
- VELUX Flashings for Slate and Tiled RoofsWhy a roof window needs a flashing kit matched to the slate or tile around it.
Electric rooflights 2
- Rooflight Rain Sensors, Remotes and ControlsHow rain sensors, wall switches, handsets and apps run an electric rooflight day to day.
- Opening Rooflights for VentilationHow an opening skylight clears warm, stale and damp air from kitchens, landings, lofts and bathrooms.
Energy efficient rooflights 2
- Rooflight U-Values and Part L ExplainedWhat a U-value measures, the Part L limits and how to compare figures on a rooflight quote.
- Double or Triple Glazed RooflightsWhat the extra pane in a triple glazed rooflight adds, and when double glazing is the better fit.
Misted rooflight replacement 2
- Why Rooflights Mist Up Between the PanesHow a sealed rooflight unit lets in damp air, and what a misted pane tells you.
- New Glass or a Whole New Rooflight?When a new sealed unit in the old frame makes sense, and when the whole rooflight goes.
Walk-on rooflights 2
- Walk-On Rooflight Load and Slip RatingsHow walk-on glass is rated for weight and for grip, and what to ask a supplier to prove.
- Walk-On Glass Over Basements and Light WellsHow glass laid over a light well or basement opening works, and what it asks of the house.
Conservation rooflights 2
- Conservation Rooflights in Conservation AreasWhat a conservation area changes for a rooflight, and what only a flat, a direction or a listing does.
- Conservation Rooflight or Standard Roof Window?How a flush conservation rooflight differs from a standard roof window, and which suits which roof.
Sun tunnels 2
- Sun Tunnel or Rooflight: Which Do You Need?Compare a sun tunnel with a rooflight on light, view, air, roof needs and planning.
- Rigid or Flexible Sun TunnelsHow rigid and flexible tubes differ on light, bends, loft space and fitting.
How guides are sorted
How are these guides arranged?
By product. Each guide belongs to one service, and you will find it linked from that service page as well as here.
Every guide sits under the product it explains, so a guide on lantern sizes lives with roof lanterns and a guide on upstands lives with flat roof rooflights. Open the one that matches what you are weighing up.
If you have not settled on a product yet, the services page is the better first stop. The guides go deeper once you know the direction. They cover sizes, glass, upstands, openings, planning and what the work involves inside the room, and they are written about Tyneside houses and flats rather than in the abstract.