Skylights and rooflights for Throckley lofts and roofs
Throckley is a village 8.5 road miles west of Newcastle, with a colliery-village past and housing estates added since the mid-2000s. We fit and replace skylights and rooflights on both kinds of roof, starting with a free survey.
A loft room that borrows its light
Throckley began as a colliery village, grew more built-up as mining faded, and then spread again with new estates. Across all of that housing, the room that can go without daylight is often the one under the slope: a loft bedroom, a desk under the eaves, the top of the stairs. A roof window gives that room a patch of sky of its own.
Rooflights we put in Throckley roofs
Pick the kind of roof you have, and these are the products that go with 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.
Throckley roofs
Reading a Throckley roof from the ridge down
Four questions, in the order a Throckley job unfolds: the roof that covers the room, the rooflight that suits it, what a survey of a loft room involves, and what follows once the work is finished and handed over.
Which kind of roof covers the room I want to brighten in Throckley, slope or flat?
Short answer
Either a pitched slope of slate or tile, or a flat roof over an extension. The covering and the structure beneath it narrow the choice, so we study the roof before any product comes into the conversation.
Start outside, with the roof itself. Throckley has a colliery-village past and a run of newer estates, so the roofs you meet were put together in quite different ways long before anyone thought about rooflights. Some are pitched, with slate or tile over timber rafters. Others are flat, usually over a kitchen or a back extension added later. Whichever sits above your room settles a good deal of what follows.
Pitched slopes and lofts
A pitched roof with a usable loft is the simplest case to describe. When the loft is already a bedroom, or could become one, a window set into the slope lights it directly. When the loft holds suitcases and the Christmas decorations, the same slope can still carry a window, or a tube to reach the landing beneath. Rafter spacing, pitch and covering each affect the size that fits, so we measure instead of assuming.
Flat roofs on extensions
Over a kitchen or dining room, a flat roof opens a different set of options: a flat rooflight, a walk-on panel or a lantern. The deck, its upstand and the way the covering was laid decide which can go in, and whether the structure underneath will carry a new frame. A flat roof added to a house years back may be built quite differently from one on a recent extension, which is the reason we inspect before putting a figure on paper.
Whose roof is it?
On a house, the roof is yours to alter inside the planning rules. Most rooflights on houses sit within permitted development, subject to set limits, and our guide to rooflight planning permission lays them out. Flats work differently. Flat owners wanting a new rooflight must lodge a planning application with Newcastle City Council, and a Tyneside flat, upstairs or down, counts as a flat. Your lease or title names the roof-holder and says whether a neighbour must be brought in on the work. Sort that out first, and only then place an order.
Our view: look at what is over the ceiling before you open a catalogue, because the roof shortens the list.
Which rooflight belongs on a Throckley slate roof, a tiled estate roof or a flat extension?
Short answer
Pitched slopes take roof windows, a space the slope cannot reach takes a sun tunnel, while a flat deck suits either a fixed rooflight or a lantern. The covering shapes the flashing, so the unit follows what is on your roof.
Once the roof is clear, the product follows quickly. Four families cover almost every room, and each belongs with a particular kind of roof.
Roof windows in pitched slopes
Roof windows are made to sit level with the slope they are in. It admits daylight to a loft room, opens for air, and can be reached from inside for cleaning. VELUX is one make among several, and the size codes are easy to decode. Take MK04: width is carried by the two letters, height by the two digits. Slate, plain tile and interlocking tile each use a different flashing kit, so we need to know the covering before any window is picked. Our roof windows page covers the opening styles.
Sun tunnels for what the slope cannot reach
Where a storage loft separates the slope from the landing, a sun tunnel sends daylight along a tube and leaves the loft floor untouched. It suits small spaces: a landing, a cloakroom, a hallway. Rigid and flexible tubes behave differently over a long run, as the sun tunnels page explains.
Flat decks: rooflights and lanterns
Above an extension the range widens. A fixed rooflight gives plain overhead light. An opening one adds ventilation. A lantern raises a glazed crown above the ceiling and adds height inside. Whichever you prefer, the glass faces the sky and has to reach the Part L limits for existing homes, so the specification counts as much as the outline.
Views, height and the Tyne Valley
Parts of the village, Bank Top in particular, look out over the Tyne Valley towards the Pennines. In a room facing that way, the height of the window matters: set too low and you see only roof, set well and you can sit and take in the distance. We settle the sill height with you, standing in the room, before a window is chosen. A rooflight that gives you the view and the daylight is worth more than one that gives only light.
Pairing the product with the room
Picture how the room is used. A bedroom wants blinds and a window that opens. A utility room may want nothing more than a bright ceiling. Tell us what goes on in there and we will point to the unit that fits both the roof and the purpose.
What does a survey of a Throckley loft room look at before roof windows are ordered?
Short answer
Roof structure, pitch and covering, the height from floor to slope, where a window can sit between rafters, and how the room will be used. Nothing is charged for coming out, and the price we then write down stays fixed.
A loft room is the job where small measurements carry the most weight. We come and look at it, and the visit costs you nothing at all.
In the roof space
We begin in the loft itself. Rafter size and spacing show where a window can be placed without cutting more timber than the structure allows. The pitch tells us whether a centre-pivot or a top-hung window will give a comfortable view and enough headroom at the sill. We also note the covering outside, since that dictates the flashing.
In the room itself
Standing in the room, we judge how high the sill will fall above the floor, which wall the bed or desk is likely to go against, and whether light will reach the corners that need it. If two windows would serve better than one, we say so. The more of the room a window lights evenly, the less you feel the slope.
Escape and the rules behind a loft
If the loft is being converted into a bedroom, the way out in a fire matters. 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. We raise this at survey so the design reflects it.
From survey to quote
After we have seen roof and room alike, our fixed quote reaches you on paper. The number on the quote stays where it is unless the work changes. Cutting a new opening in a roof is building work, so where it is notifiable we handle the notification to Building Control, whether that is Newcastle City Council or a registered building control approver.
What we measure in a loft room
- Rafter size and spacing where the window is to go
- Roof pitch and the headroom it leaves at the sill
- The covering outside, since it sets the flashing
- Sill height above the finished floor
- How the room will be used and where the furniture sits
What happens once the Throckley rooflight is in and the work is finished?
Short answer
Building Control is notified where the work is notifiable, the sign-off follows, and the 10-year workmanship guarantee reaches you in writing along with the operating details for whatever was fitted.
A rooflight job ends with paper as well as glass. Three things follow the last fixing, and none of them needs you to chase.
Notification and sign-off
New openings in a roof are building work. Where the work is notifiable we deal with it through Newcastle City Council's Building Control, or through a registered building control approver, so the opening is recorded as built to current Building Regulations. If your job swapped one unit for another in an existing opening, the paperwork depends on what changed, and we tell you which applies.
Your guarantee
The workmanship guarantee lasts a decade and is written down, so you hold it in your hands rather than on a promise. Put it somewhere you will find it when the house is sold. If you ever sell, a buyer's solicitor may ask what was done to the roof and who stood behind it. Ask us to walk you through what the document says.
Everyday use of the window
A new window changes how a room behaves, usually for the better, and a few habits help.
Afterwards the questions are about use. Where do the blinds attach? How does the handle work? What should you do about condensation on a cold morning in a bedroom? We go through these with you before we leave, and the manufacturer's instructions stay with the unit. Blinds designed for roof windows keep a bedroom dark on bright mornings, and an opening window lets a warm room breathe in the evening. If the unit is electric, we show you how the controls respond.
If you want another one
Some people light one room, then come back for a landing or a bathroom. Everything learned at the first survey stays useful, and a second quote starts from there. Book a free survey and quote whenever you are ready, or message us on WhatsApp. If your home is nearer Newburn, the same steps apply.
Throckley roof queries answered
Does Throckley's mix of old and new housing change the choice of rooflight?
The roof matters more than the age of the street. A slate or tile slope wants a roof window, while an extension with a flat roof wants a flat rooflight or a lantern. We identify the covering and structure at survey, then match the unit to them.
Can the view from Bank Top be part of the choice?
Yes, where the room faces that way. Parts of Throckley look across the Tyne Valley, so a roof window set at a good height can frame it. We settle sill height with you at survey so you can sit and look out comfortably.
Who decides whether I can fit a rooflight on a Throckley house or flat?
Newcastle City Council is the local planning authority. A house usually falls under permitted development, explained in our planning guide. A flat needs planning permission, and listed houses need listed building consent.
Can a loft bedroom use a roof window as its way out in a fire?
Only in certain cases. A roof window counts as an escape window for a room within 4.5 metres of the ground, while a loft conversion on a two-storey house needs a protected stair instead. We look at this when we survey.
How do I find out what a Throckley job will cost?
We charge nothing for the survey, then put a fixed quote on paper. Size, roof covering, access and the type of rooflight all move the figure, which is why we see the roof first. Our costs page explains the factors.