Roof windows and skylights

New openings in a pitched roof

Forming an opening means thinking about rafters, the underlay, insulation and the lining, not only about placing a frame on the battens. Some openings fit between existing rafters; others need a trimmed opening. We discuss what is involved, and where a wider building or carpentry conversation is needed we will say so rather than force the window into a space that does not suit it.

Flashings are the job

Most leaks around roof windows come from the flashing or from a covering that was poorly fitted back to the frame, not from the glass. A proper flashing kit for the covering — slate, tile or profiled — and a tidy finish at the head, sills and sides is the difference between a dry window and a recurring stain on the reveal.

Replacing a tired unit

Older skylights can mist, seize or simply come to the end of their seals. In many cases a replacement can use the existing opening, which keeps the disruption down. We still check the flashings and the surrounding covering rather than dropping a new frame onto a detail that is already failing.

Flat-roof rooflights

On flat roofs the usual weak point is the kerb and the way the membrane turns up to it. A cracked dome or a failed seal may be a unit replacement; a puddle against a low kerb is a drainage and upstand problem. Those are scoped as flat-roof details, not as a catalogue window on its own.