Access answer
Can a rooflight double as a roof access hatch?
Some roofs need a way up: for gutters, a chimney, a flat roof's outlets or plant on a small commercial building. A purpose-made opening rooflight can be that way up, but an ordinary skylight cannot.
The answer
Only a unit made as an access rooflight can double as a roof hatch. It has a larger clear opening, a stronger hinge, a safe stay that holds the lid open and a way to reach it from inside. An ordinary opening skylight is not designed to be climbed through, and a hatch is never an escape window.
What makes an access rooflight different from a normal one?
A clear opening big enough for a person, a heavy-duty hinge and stay, a lock, and a lid that can take load. A normal sash is made for ventilation and has none of these.
A roof access rooflight is a hatch with glass in it. It is built for a person to push through, which means the whole unit is stronger than a ventilation sash.
The parts that differ
The frame is stiffer, the hinge is heavy, and a gas strut or locking stay holds the lid open at a fixed angle so that it cannot drop on the person climbing through. The opening is large enough for someone carrying a tool, and the upstand around it is high enough to keep water out when the lid is shut. A lock, or a catch that can be released only from inside, keeps it secured when not in use.
Why a normal skylight will not do
A top-hung ventilation sash typically opens a limited gap and rests on a friction stay. Leaning on it, or climbing through, could bend the arms or drop the sash on the person's head. Do not use a standard opening rooflight as a hatch, however wide it opens.
Glass or solid lid
Access units come with a glazed lid for daylight or a solid insulated lid where light is not needed. A glazed lid still has to meet the same insulation limit for a rooflight in an existing dwelling, 2.2 W/m²K under Part L.
How do you reach the hatch from inside, and what happens outside?
Inside, a fixed or folding ladder or stair needs headroom and floor space below. Outside, the roof edge needs protection, because a flat roof without a parapet is a fall risk.
The hatch is only part of the route. The person using it has to get to it and then stand safely on the other side.
On the inside
The hatch must sit above a place where a ladder can stand safely. A loft or landing with clear floor and headroom works well. A hatch above a kitchen island, or over the middle of a family room, is awkward, as the ladder has to be brought out each time. Think about where it will be used and how often, and what is stored beneath.
On the roof
Stepping out onto a flat roof means standing near an edge. A parapet or a fixed guard rail gives protection, but a roof with an open edge and a hatch in the middle is a fall hazard. Do not treat the roof as a place to walk without thought, and never go up in wet, frosty or windy weather. Where people will go on a roof regularly, planning for fixed edge protection or a walkway is a separate job from the hatch itself.
Walking on the glass
An access lid is made to be opened, not walked on. If you need a rooflight that can bear weight from above, see our page on walk-on rooflights, which is a different product.
Do the planning and escape rules treat it differently?
A hatch is judged as a rooflight, so Class C applies to a house and a flat needs the council asked. It does not count as an escape window, which is a separate rule for roof windows.
A hatch may be a work tool, but the rules see a rooflight and ask the usual questions.
Height over the roof
On a house, a rooflight is permitted development under Class C if it projects no more than 150mm beyond the plane of the roof slope and sits no higher than the highest part of the roof. An access unit has a deep upstand and a thick lid, so check the finished height before assuming it fits within the limit. If it exceeds it, a planning application is needed. Where the slope faces the side of the house, the window needs obscure glass throughout, and it cannot open unless every opening part is more than 1.7 metres above the room's floor.
Flats
Flats and maisonettes have no householder permitted development, so a new hatch on a Tyneside flat needs planning permission from the council. For a flat, the roof's owner and any duty to consult the neighbour are written in your own lease or title, so find that wording and have the conversation before an order goes in. A shared roof may mean other people use the access too.
Not an escape route
A roof window counts as an escape window only for a room within 4.5 metres of the ground. A hatch is not sized or placed to serve as one, and on a two-storey house a loft conversion has to be served by a protected stair. Our answer on roof windows as fire escapes covers that side.
Our view: fit a purpose-made access unit where a way up is needed, and never rely on an ordinary skylight.
When is a roof hatch worth having?
When someone needs to reach the roof for a reason that comes up regularly and the other route is a long ladder from outside. If the reason is rare, a safe outside route may do.
A hatch costs more than a plain fixed rooflight, and it takes space inside. It earns a place when the roof is used.
Good reasons
A flat roof with outlets to be cleared, a small commercial building with plant on the roof, a terrace of houses where the roof must be inspected, or an extension with a window cleaner's round all benefit from a clear route up. So does a roof with a glazed feature that needs its glass cleaned from above.
Weaker reasons
If a gutter is cleared once a year, a hired ladder and a helper from outside may be a more sensible option than a permanent opening. A hatch is also a place for heat to leak and for security to be weakened, so it should be there for a reason.
Next step
Before a price is named, the free survey looks at the roof, where the stair or ladder would stand and the planning route, and the written quote is then fixed. For the range, see our electric and opening rooflights page.
Roof hatch questions worth settling first
Can a hatch be opened by motor?
Yes, some access units can be motorised, which suits a high ceiling or a stair you do not want to reach up to. A motor does not change the safety rules for using the roof itself, and it needs a power supply and a manual release.
Is a roof hatch secure against break-ins?
A purpose-made hatch locks from inside, with a lid that cannot be lifted from the outside once secured. An ordinary skylight on a restrictor is not made for this. Ask for the lock arrangement when comparing units.
Does a hatch need a ladder permanently fixed beneath?
Not always. A fixed ladder or folding loft ladder is common, while a portable one can be kept elsewhere. The point is that there is somewhere sound to stand beneath the opening and clear space to climb.
Can I use a hatch on a Tyneside flat roof?
A new one needs planning permission, because flats have no householder permitted development. Look in your lease or title for the roof's owner and anything the neighbour must be consulted on, and sort that out before you order.