Gable end of a brick cottage with a clay-tiled roof

Fradley

Daylight for Fradley kitchens from skylights and rooflights

20.8 road miles south-west of Derby, beside the Coventry Canal.

Newer houses can still leave a kitchen worktop in shadow. Tell us which spot works hardest and we survey that before any quote.

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Deep kitchens and hallways in houses built for efficiency, not daylight

Turning staircase with a timber balustrade under a roof window — A turning staircase with a timber balustrade, shaded below the roof window.

Basin and mirror in a small white cloakroom — A small white cloakroom with a basin and mirror, lit only by a bulb.

What goes on a Fradley roof

Over a pitched roof, roof windows and VELUX windows; over a flat extension, flat roof rooflights or a roof lantern; and energy efficient rooflights for well-insulated homes.

Fradley has seen housing development and more is in progress north of the canal, so we expect a number of homes with modern roof structures. A well-insulated roof is good news for comfort, but it also means a rooflight should be chosen with its thermal performance in mind. The glass, the frame and the lining of the opening all matter, and each of them is set out in the survey and the written quote before work starts.

The full guide

A Fradley kitchen, from the worktop up

The worktop is the place in a kitchen where the light is most needed and least often supplied. The chapters start there, then moves up through the glass and the cost to the rules for the roof itself.

Prep zone
Pitch or flat
Glass and cost
Lichfield rules

Callout 1

Finding the right place over the worktop

In a kitchen, the worktop is where the knives, the chopping board and the hob meet. It is where you look hardest and where a shadow from your own head is most irritating. Ceiling spotlights help, but they do not match the quality of daylight, and a deep kitchen can feel dim at the back even at noon.

A kitchen rooflight, from the worktop outwards

Start at the hob
We mark where you work, the hob and the sink on the floor plan.
Survey the roof
We check the structure, covering and any loft or flat roof above.
One price, on paper
Unit, lining, finish and Building Control are all in the one figure.
Cut and weather
Covering is lifted, the frame set and made weathertight, usually in one or two days.
Ceiling and clean-up
The lining is plastered or boarded, and the kitchen is left clean.

So we begin by standing at the worktop. We ask which side you prepare food on, where the hob sits and where the sink is. Then we look up. Light that arrives from above and slightly in front of you does not throw your shadow onto the board, which is why the position of the glass matters more than its size.

What the roof allows

A pitched roof over a kitchen, say a two-storey house with the kitchen at the back under a bedroom, has a room above and no roof space to use. In that case a rooflight is not the answer for that room and we say so. A single-storey kitchen with a pitched roof, or an extension topped by a flat or shallow-pitched roof, takes a roof window or flat rooflight directly above the worktop. The steps below show how the job runs in a kitchen.

Think too about what shares the room. A hob under a rooflight is fine, but an extractor hood may sit where the opening would go, and a run of wall cupboards may rule out one position and favour another. We note these at the survey, and the glass is placed in the clear space that remains.

Light from above and slightly in front keeps your own shadow off the chopping board.

Callout 2

A roof window or a flat rooflight over the worktop

Both can light a kitchen. The difference is the roof they sit in. A roof window is made for a pitched roof, where the glass follows the slope. A flat rooflight sits on a kerb over a flat or low-pitched roof, and the glass is level or has a slight fall. Choosing between them is a matter of what the roof is, not of preference.

On a pitched roof, a roof window is fitted into the slope, with flashing that matches the covering. Interior finishing is a sloped light well running from the glass down to the ceiling. On a flat roof, the opening is formed in the deck, a kerb is built, and the rooflight is fixed on top with a weathered upstand. The light well is short, and the ceiling opening is usually straight.

If you are planning a kitchen extension, a roof lantern is another option. A lantern stands proud of the roof and lights the whole room, which suits a table or island. For a single worktop, a flat rooflight is often enough and simpler to fit.

Condensation in a kitchen is real, so the chosen unit should either open or sit beside a working extractor. The survey notes which fittings are already in the room, and the quote lists the unit with that in mind.

Over a worktop, a slope or a flat roof

Window set into the slope

Fits a pitched roof
Sloped light well inside
Can open for steam
Flashing to the covering

Rooflight on a flat roof's kerb

Fits a flat roof
Short light well
Fixed or opening
Upstand and waterproofing

Callout 3

What shapes the cost of a Fradley kitchen rooflight

Nobody can honestly name a figure before the roof has been seen, so none is offered up front. Following the free survey, a fixed written quote arrives, and the sum stays put when the fitters turn up.

The list of things that shift it is short. Opening width comes first, since a wider unit calls for a heavier trimmer and a bigger frame. Glass comes next, because each type must clear its Part L figure, which is 1.4 W/m²K for a roof window and 2.2 W/m²K for a rooflight, and anything better than that is an upgrade. Covering and ceiling height follow, the second of which sets how long the light well must be.

Access also counts. A kitchen extension reached only by a side passage means materials are carried through by hand, and a scaffold or taller ladder may be added.

Things that raise or lower a kitchen quote

Opening sizeA wider unit needs longer trimmers and a bigger frame.
Glass type chosenSolar control or acoustic glass adds to the unit.
Type of roof tileSlate and clay tile take longer than concrete tile.
Length of the light wellA taller room needs more lining and finishing.
How the vent opensElectric operation adds controls and wiring.
Site accessA tight route to the roof can add equipment.

Callout 4

Lichfield District's rules for Fradley roofs

Planning in Fradley falls to Lichfield District Council, in Staffordshire, which publishes guidance at lichfielddc.gov.uk. For houses, permitted development normally covers a rooflight; the limits that apply are gathered in the planning guide rather than repeated here.

Neither flats nor maisonettes benefit from that allowance. A listed building tends to need consent of its own, and a council may remove the allowance from a protected street with an Article 4 direction; ask about that before anything is ordered. We put that question to the council for your Fradley address and report back at the survey.

Cutting through rafters is building work, so approval comes from Building Control, either the local authority or a registered building control approver, and we take care of filing it wherever it applies. The like-for-like swap of an old unit follows Part L's controlled-fitting route instead, with the same glazing figures as a new unit, and a competent person scheme is one way such a swap gets signed off.

A canal-side village with new roofs going up

Fradley, a civil parish in the Lichfield district of Staffordshire, has about 3,600 people. It was once a township and chapelry in the parish of Alrewas, and became a civil parish in its own right in 1866. The Coventry Canal runs through the village and meets the Trent and Mersey Canal at nearby Fradley Junction. Several bridges cross the Coventry Canal in Fradley, including Bell Bridge, which carries the A38. There is no railway station in the village. Bus services run to Lichfield and Burton upon Trent.

Housing that is still being added

Further housing development is in progress to the north of the canal. Whether your street is one of the newer ones or part of the older village, the work goes differently on a recent house and on an older one.

Recent roofs

A house of recent construction tends to have a well-insulated roof and may use trussed rafters, which are not cut as freely as separate rafters. A rooflight on a trussed roof needs a careful look at the structure, and sometimes a unit sized to sit between trusses. The roof space may also be crowded by a tank or by services, which we plan around.

Older cottages and farm buildings

A more established house may have uneven timbers and a covering that has been mended. The opening is cut to suit what is there, and the flashing is detailed for the covering. A cottage kitchen with a low ceiling may gain most from a small, carefully placed unit over the sink or worktop. The light well there is short, so the opening can stay modest and still put daylight on the board. Where the roof carries an old slate or tile, matching pieces are used around the frame so the new work blends into the roof.

Extensions

Kitchen extensions with a flat roof are common additions to houses of any age. A flat rooflight or a lantern lights the new part and the old room beside it. The upstand and the waterproofing decide how well the junction lasts, so those are the parts we check most carefully.

That is all general. Your own roof is only seen on the visit, and the quote is fixed after it.

Fradley kitchens and roofs, answered

Can a rooflight go in a kitchen under another bedroom?

Not when another bedroom stands over the kitchen, since a rooflight needs open space under the roof, not a room. We say so plainly on the visit. A single-storey kitchen, or an extension with a roof of its own, can take one.

Is a roof lantern better than a flat rooflight over a kitchen?

A lantern lights a whole room and suits a table or island. A flat rooflight is smaller and simpler, and suits a single worktop. Neither is automatically better. We compare them against the spot and the roof at the survey, and the written quote shows the one that fits.

Can rooflights be put into a house with trussed rafters?

Sometimes. Trusses carry the roof differently from separate rafters, so cutting one without support is not safe. We inspect the structure, and should a designer's view be needed, that comes up before the quote is fixed. A smaller unit sized to sit between trusses may need no cutting at all.

Who decides if I need planning permission for a rooflight?

Under permitted development a house can generally take a rooflight, within limits explained in our planning guide. Lichfield District Council handles planning for Fradley, so put anything unusual to them. Building Control notification is dealt with by us when the work needs it.

How long does fitting a single kitchen rooflight take?

A single straightforward rooflight usually means fitters are up top for just one or two days. Indoors, the shaft is lined and the ceiling finished. A big opening, a lantern or a hard-to-reach site stretches the schedule, and the quote says so first.

What happens to the kitchen while the roof is being worked on?

The floor and worktops are protected before anything starts, and the ceiling is opened last to keep dust out of the room. A simple meal on the roof days saves fuss. We plan the order of work at the survey so you know what to expect.

Nearby

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Where do you want the light? Tell us in the form: the worktop, the stair, the desk.

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We cover Derby and 30 miles around.