Brick extension with a roof lantern between terraced houses

Leek

Skylights and rooflights where Leek meets the Peak District

27.7 road miles north-west of Derby, at the foot of the Peak District.

Leek's houses date from many periods and many have a gloomy corner. Name the spot that bothers you and the survey starts there.

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Old walls, deep plans and small windows in Leek

Loft study with a desk and shelves under a roof window — A loft study with a desk and shelves, dim beyond the one roof window.

A back bedroom under the slope where the only window faces a neighbouring wall.

Rooflights that suit Leek's roofs

Older houses suit conservation rooflights and roof windows. A stairwell under a loft can take a sun tunnel. Behind the house, a rear extension takes flat roof rooflights or maybe a roof lantern, while a loft room that needs a view gets a VELUX window.

A town this old holds roofs of many kinds. The product follows the roof and the room. A slim, low frame suits a roof where the slope is seen from the street. A roof window suits a loft room that needs air and a view. A sun tunnel suits a landing that has no loft worth converting above it. Only once the survey has shown us the room, the dim patch and the roof above it do we pick a product.

The full guide

A Leek stair landing, seen from the loft

In an older two-storey house the head of the stairs is usually the darkest place. With the roof directly overhead it is easy to light, though it can be a sensitive thing to alter. Here is how the cost, the planning check and the build-up fit together on a typical house.

Head of the stairs
Slope and covering
Glass and frame
Moorlands planning

Callout 1

Finding the dim spot before the product

People describe a dark house by the room, but the problem is almost always one place in it. On a landing it is the top step, where you pause with an armful of washing. In a back bedroom it is the corner by the wardrobe. In a bathroom it is the mirror. The survey begins by standing on that spot, with the lights off if it is daytime, and looking up.

Why two Leek landings never price alike

Loft depthA tall loft means more lining and insulation for the well.
Roof tile or slateStone or slate needs careful flashing, which takes longer to form.
Width of the openingWide units call for longer trimmers and heavier frames.
Route up to the slopeNarrow side access alters how glass is lifted to the roof.
Finish insidePlastering and decorating the reveal adds a visit.

That look up decides a lot. Where the roof is directly overhead, a rooflight can put the daylight on the exact patch of floor you use. Where the room sits below a loft that is boarded or full of boxes, the light has to travel through it, and that changes the shape of the job. A lined well through the loft ferries the daylight down, and a sun tunnel does it with a slimmer pipe.

The spot goes on the floor plan, together with the ceiling height and the distance up to the roof. Those three facts decide the size of the opening far more than the catalogue does. A unit that is too big for a small landing floods one wall and leaves the stair dim. A unit sized to the spot lights the step you need.

Stand where you stand. Look up. The roof is usually closer than you think.

Callout 2

Reading an old roof before cutting into it

An old roof is rarely one roof. Over a long life the slope has been patched, a chimney has been taken down, a section has been recovered. Before a rooflight goes in, we look at what is actually there, from the loft side and from the ridge side if it is safe to do so. Brittle slates around an opening are replaced with sound ones, so the new frame is set into sound roof.

The slope matters as much as the covering. We usually begin with the back slope, which is less visible from the street and often the better one for daylight. A slope that faces the road may call for more thought, both for how it looks and for what the council expects. The surrounding hills can also shade a rear slope, and a unit may be sized up a little to make up for it.

Rafter spacing sets the width. Purlins, where they cross the line of the opening, decide the height. Where old timbers wander, the opening follows them. That is the kind of detail a drawing from a catalogue cannot show and a survey can.

Inside the loft we also look at what else shares the space. Water tanks, cables, old insulation and stored boxes all affect where a well can run and how it is lined, and it is far easier to plan around them with the written quote in hand than to discover them on the day.

Callout 3

Choosing glazing that matches the house

Once the spot and the slope are settled, the glass is a simpler question. Under Approved Document L a roof window follows the window limit, while a rooflight, lantern included, works to 2.2 W/m²K with glazing picked to suit. We choose a unit that meets the right one and tell you which it is in the written quote.

For the sensitive end of a street, a conservation rooflight has a slender frame with one glazing bar, and sits low in the slope. For a loft room that needs air, a roof window opens on a pivot and gives a view. Over a flat rear extension, a flat rooflight, or perhaps a small roof lantern, rests on an insulated upstand. Each of these is a different object, and each gives a different light.

Glazing choices inside the unit are practical. Laminated glass on the inside protects against a dropped object. A self-cleaning or easy-clean outer pane helps where the roof is hard to reach. If you want blinds, we settle them during the survey so fixings can be set before the lining.

What we write down in a Leek loft

Spacing of the rafters: sets the maximum width
Purlin position: may limit the opening height
Slate or tile type: decides the flashing
Ceiling height at the spot: sets the well or tunnel
Insulation depth: sets the lining

Callout 4

Leek, its council and the planning check

The planning authority for Leek is Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, and its website, staffsmoorlands.gov.uk, carries the current guidance. The town sits at the foot of the Peak District National Park, so before the survey we confirm which authority covers a given address and tell you what we find.

Most rooflights on a house fall under permitted development. For the detailed conditions, follow the link to our planning guide. Owners of flats and maisonettes cannot rely on householder rights. Before altering a listed building you need its own consent. A conservation area may have lost them if the council issued an Article 4 direction, which only it can confirm.

Building Regulations run alongside planning. A fresh opening cut through rafters is building work, so permission comes either via the council itself or via a registered building control approver, and we lodge whatever paperwork the job calls for. A straight replacement is treated as controlled fitting, and the incoming unit must reach the limit Part L sets.

The houses Leek asks us to light

Leek is a market town of about 19,000 people, and its Wednesday market, granted in 1207, is still held today. A town with a market that old has been building houses for a long time, and the stock is a layered one. We expect to meet older cottages and terraces, houses from between the wars, post-war estates and recent development, and each asks a different question of a rooflight.

The town sits on the River Churnet, with the Roaches, a gritstone escarpment, a few miles to the north. Hills and valleys mean that many streets slope, and a sloping street means a roof that faces a bank, a neighbour or a long view. That is why the survey always looks at the real sky above the real slope, not just at a plan.

Older houses tend to have deep rooms with small windows, and a stair squeezed into the middle. Their darkest places are the landing, the middle of the first floor and the back of the ground floor. A rooflight over the stairwell, a sun tunnel past a boarded loft, or a flat rooflight over a rear extension each reach those places differently.

Houses from the last century and newer estates usually offer more roof to work with. Wider rooms, lofts that have been converted and extensions at the back make roof windows and lanterns an easy fit. The escape rules for rooms in the roof are covered in our loft conversion roof windows guide.

Every house gets the same sequence, whatever its age. Take a cloakroom stuck in the middle of the plan. The window cannot go in a wall, so the roof is the only place left, and a small sun tunnel or rooflight above the basin or the shower does the work without any change to the walls. Room and spot come first, the roof second, then one written quote, then a fitting date once you agree. Building Control is notified where it applies, and the work carries our 10-year workmanship guarantee in writing. Request a survey and point us to the dimmest corner of the house.

Leek homeowners ask

Will a rooflight work in an old house with a boarded loft?

Yes. A lined well from the roof to the ceiling below carries the daylight, insulated so it stays warm. Should the loft be crammed with boxes, a sun tunnel fits where a well will not, with a pipe that takes little space and still reaches a landing or bathroom.

Is Leek near enough for a free survey?

Yes. At 27.7 road miles north-west of Derby, Leek falls within our 30-mile road radius. Surveys cost nothing, and you hear a figure only after we have seen the room and the roof.

Can a cloakroom with no outside wall get daylight?

Often, yes. With no wall to put a window in, the roof is the route. A small rooflight or a sun tunnel above the basin gives the room natural light, and an opening unit can add fresh air where a fan was the only option. We check the roof and the run above before agreeing.

Who decides planning questions for a Leek house?

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council is the planning authority. Since the town lies close to the Peak District National Park, we confirm which authority covers your address before visiting. For the general position on permitted development, read our planning guide.

My rooflight has clouded between the panes. Can it be swapped?

Usually, yes. Fog inside the glazing means the seal has gone and the unit cannot be saved. We measure the opening, supply a replacement that meets Part L for its kind of unit, and fit it. Our misted rooflight replacement page has the detail.

Does a stone or slate roof change how the rooflight is fitted?

It changes the flashing, not the idea. Slate and stone lie in overlapping courses, so the surround is formed to work with them. A slender frame set low in the slope also keeps the roofline close to its old look, which is why we often suggest one for a street-facing slope.

Is there anything to sort out ahead of the survey visit?

Know which spot is dark and when it bothers you most. If you can, clear the way to the loft hatch and note any blind or ceiling finish you like. Use the form in the quote section or send a WhatsApp message.

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

No obligation. We survey before we price.
We cover Derby and 30 miles around.