Rooflight on a flat roof in front of a row of brick semis

Kirkby-in-Ashfield

Skylights and rooflights over Kirkby-in-Ashfield dining tables

20.9 road miles north-east of Derby, in a former mining and railway town.

Dining rooms behind extensions and landings under the roof both run short of daylight. Show us the table or stair and we survey it first.

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Dining tables at the back of the house and landings without a window

Stair landing with a roof window in the sloping ceiling — A stair landing under a roof window in the slope, dim around its edges.

Top of a stairwell with green walls and a small rooflight — The top of a stairwell with green walls, kept in shade beneath a small rooflight.

Rooflights to consider around Kirkby

The usual candidates are VELUX windows, roof windows, roof lanterns over an extension table, conservation rooflights near the church area and sun tunnels for landings.

A town of this size has roofs of many ages, and what suits one will not suit the next. A dining table in a rear extension with a flat roof takes a lantern or a flat rooflight. Under a pitched roof, a landing takes a roof window. The area around St Wilfrid's Church is a conservation area, so slopes there call for a different, lower-profile approach. The survey settles which of these applies to your house.

The full guide

A Kirkby dining table, lit from the roof

The table is where a household gathers, and it is often the last place to get proper daylight. The sequence below follows a rooflight over a table, the options set side by side, one note on protected streets and the rules that apply.

Seated area
Four ways up
Church conservation area
Mining town houses

Callout 1

Setting the glass over the dining table

A dining table moves. It is pulled out for guests and pushed back on a Tuesday. But the area it occupies is fairly fixed, and that is the spot we mark. A rooflight over the table gives a bright, even light on faces and food, which side windows rarely manage when the table is far from the wall.

A dining-table rooflight, start to finish

Mark the table
Chairs, table and any pendant light are placed on the floor plan.
Look at the roof
We see the covering, structure and any flat roof build-up from above.
The quote in writing
The unit, lining and Building Control notification sit in one figure.
Open and fit
The roof is opened, the frame fixed and weathered, in one or two days.
Finish and tidy
The ceiling edge is lined, plastered and left clean for decoration.

At the survey we ask how the table is used. If it is a place for homework by day and meals by night, the light should be soft and not glaring. If it sits in an extension that connects to the kitchen, the light should carry across both. We measure the table and chairs, mark them on the plan and place the glass so it is centred on the seated area, not on the room.

Where the roof allows it

Dining rooms sit in many positions. A rear extension with a flat or low-pitched roof is the simplest. A dining room in the main body of the house may sit under bedrooms, which rules out a rooflight above it. A single-storey or chalet-style house is different, and a roof window in the slope can light a table beneath it.

The steps show how a job at the table runs, in plain order.

Centre the glass on the seated area, not on the room.

Callout 2

Four roofs, four ways to bring light to the table

The roof above the table decides the product more than the table does. Here are the usual cases, set out side by side so the logic is easy to see. In practice a house may have two or three of these roofs at once, which is why the survey looks at the whole house.

Notice that the roof lantern and the flat rooflight both belong to flat roofs, but they do different jobs. A lantern is a raised glass roof that lights a larger area and gives a view of the sky. A flat rooflight is a lower-profile unit that is simpler and suits a smaller opening.

For energy, the limits are clear. A roof window takes the window limit of 1.4 W/m²K, or Window Energy Rating band B. A rooflight, which includes a lantern, takes 2.2 W/m²K. Any unit we recommend meets the relevant figure.

What suits which roof over a dining table

Roof type against the unit that fits it.
Roof	Unit	Strength	Check
Flat extension	Roof lantern	Lights whole room	Height and view
Flat extension	Flat rooflight	Neat, simple	Upstand detail
Pitched, room in roof	VELUX window	Opens for air	Sill height
Pitched, loft above	Sun tunnel	Reaches inner spots	Tube length
Protected slope	Conservation unit	Low profile	Council view

Callout 3

Near St Wilfrid's, and the rest of Kirkby

Planning here sits with Ashfield District Council, whose website is ashfield.gov.uk. A rooflight on a house usually falls under permitted development, with conditions. We link those rather than restating them, in our planning guide.

One local fact needs mentioning. The area around St Wilfrid's Church is designated a conservation area, and it consists of former farm buildings built from local stone, some of them listed. In a conservation area, permitted development can be removed by an Article 4 direction, and a listed building needs listed building consent for most changes. We make no claim that any particular property here has an Article 4 direction. Ask the council first, and use our survey to prepare a clear proposal.

Outside the conservation area, the ordinary rules apply, and flats and maisonettes still have no householder permitted development rights. Building Control is a separate track. Cutting an opening that alters the rafters calls for Building Regulations approval through the local authority or a registered building control approver, and we complete that notification wherever the work is notifiable.

Callout 4

What a coal and rail town's housing asks of a rooflight

Kirkby-in-Ashfield was once an important centre of coal mining and railways in west Nottinghamshire, with three active coal mines and several railway junctions. The closure of the mines in the 1980s and early 1990s led to a major slump in the local economy. That history matters here only because it shaped the town's growth, and so the mix of houses we meet.

We do not claim to know which streets date from which period, and we do not attach a house type to a named estate. We can say what to expect from the roofs of a town with a long, layered history. Some will be older and show their age. Some will be later and straightforward. Each needs the structure checked before an opening is cut.

Roofs with the marks of age

An older covering may have brittle tiles or slates near the position of a new unit. We note this at the survey and include replacement of the affected pieces in the quote, so the new rooflight sits in sound roof.

Access

Terraced houses can have a narrow rear path or a shared alley. We check how materials will reach the roof, and plan the day to suit.

Loft contents

A loft in a long-settled town collects things. Boxes, tanks, old wiring and boarding all sit where an opening might be wanted. We look at what is there, tell you what must move, and agree who moves it before the day, so the roof work is not held up by a loft that is full.

A market town with roofs of many ages

Kirkby-in-Ashfield is a market town in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, with about 21,000 people. It appears in the Domesday Book and has two main churches, one of them St Wilfrid's, a Norman church that was gutted by fire on 6 January 1907. The old Kirkby East station on the Midland line between Nottingham and Mansfield has been replaced by the station on the Robin Hood Line, which opened in the 1990s. At the junction of Church Street, Chapel Street and Sutton Road stands Kirkby Cross, in the conservation area.

Around the church

The conservation area around St Wilfrid's consists of former farm buildings in local stone, some of them listed. Here a rooflight is a conversation with the council, and a conservation rooflight with a slim profile is the unit to bring to it. A rear slope that is out of public view is the usual place to start, though the council may see it differently, and that is its decision.

Elsewhere in the town

With a population this size, the housing around the centre will vary. Whatever the era, the practical questions are the same. Is there a loft, and is it open or boarded? Is there an extension with a flat roof? Is the landing under a slope? Does a room sit in the roof?

Rooms in the roof and escape rules

If a room in the roof is a bedroom, a roof window may be its escape window, but only for storeys within 4.5 m of ground level. The clear opening must be at least 0.33 m², and at least 450 mm in each direction. A loft conversion on a two-storey house needs a protected stair, not a roof window. A roof window may serve rooms in the roof of a bungalow or chalet bungalow within that height.

Extensions and conversions

A rear extension can be deep. The far end from the garden doors is the dim part, and the dining table often sits right there. A rooflight or lantern over it is a direct answer.

The survey is free. We see your roof, then write a fixed quote.

Kirkby-in-Ashfield, plainly answered

Does a house near St Wilfrid's Church need extra checks?

The area around the church is a conservation area, so the council's view matters before you alter a slope. Permitted development can be removed there by an Article 4 direction, and listed buildings need consent for most changes. Ask Ashfield District Council, and see our planning guide for the wider rules.

Will a lantern over my dining table make the room too bright?

It can if the glass is clear and the roof faces strong sun. Solar-control glass, blinds and an opening vent all help. We look at the slope direction at the survey and suggest glass to suit, so the table is bright without being harsh.

My dining room is under a bedroom. Is there any option?

A rooflight needs open space below the roof, so a room under another bedroom cannot take one directly. A neighbouring room, such as an extension, may be a better place for the table. Where that is not possible, we tell you plainly at the survey instead of offering something that will not work.

Can you replace a rooflight that has misted or leaks?

Yes. A misted pane means the sealed unit has failed, and a leaking unit may be beyond repair. We replace the whole unit like for like, or fit a new one to the same opening. It meets the current U-value, and the written quote covers the flashing and the ceiling finish.

How do I get a quote for a house in the town?

Start with the survey form on this page or send a message on WhatsApp to 07880 284133, attaching a photo of the dark corner if you have one. We visit, see the room and the roof, and then write a fixed quote that does not change on the day.

Can a small shop or workshop in the town have a rooflight?

Yes. Residential work comes first, but small commercial jobs are welcome. A back office, a workshop or a small unit can take a rooflight or a walk-on rooflight. The same free survey, fixed written quote and Building Control handling apply, and we ask what the space is used for before we recommend a unit.

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.