Brick extension with a roof lantern seen from the lawn

Measham

Measham landings and kitchens lit by skylights and rooflights

26.2 road miles south of Derby; the National Forest is all around.

Measham grew along a canal and a railway, and its houses have been added to ever since. Point us at the dark corner and the survey starts there.

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Estate semis, older cottages and rooms that stay grey

Loft bathroom with a basin and bath under a roof window — A loft bathroom with a basin and bath, shaded away from the roof window.

A landing with a bedroom door on each side and no window of its own.

Rooflights that suit Measham roofs

For a house in a sensitive street, conservation rooflights sit low in the slope; Roof windows and VELUX windows suit most pitched roofs, extensions at the back take a flat roof rooflight, while a sun tunnel lights a hall that has no window.

A village that has grown in layers ends up with several kinds of roof in one postcode. There is an older centre, and the twentieth century added large council and private estates. That mix means no single product fits every street. We look at the roof covering, the rafters and the room beneath it, then choose the rooflight that gives the best daylight on the spot you care about.

The full guide

A Measham house, from the landing up

Householders in Measham who name the gloomiest corner of the house often point upstairs, to the landing. It has no window, the doors around it are closed and the stairs below borrow what little there is. This is how the landing, the slate or tile above it and the planning rules fit together.

Top step
Tile and slate
Pane and frame
Permissions

Callout 1

Why the landing needs a roof of its own

On a typical two-storey house, the stairs climb through the centre of the house, which leaves the landing out of reach of every other window. Windows in the end walls light the bedrooms, not the corridor between them. Close two doors and the landing is dim at midday.

What the landing survey writes down

Where you stand: the spot, marked on the plan
Stair and ceiling height: decides how far the light travels
Loft above: empty, boarded or lived in
Rafter-to-rafter distance: caps the frame width
Roof slope facing: which side catches the sun

The roof is directly above, which makes the fix short and direct. A rooflight placed over the stairwell drops its daylight onto the top step and the landing floor, and some of it reaches the hall below. Place it over a bedroom instead and the landing gains nothing. That is why we ask you to stand where the gloom bothers you, and we mark that spot on the floor plan before we look at the roof.

Height matters too. A tall stairwell spreads the light wider than a low ceiling does, and a plasterboard light well splays outwards to push more of it into the room. Painted white, the splayed sides act like a reflector.

Not every loft is empty. When the space over the landing has been boarded for storage, the light well must pass through it, and we draw that route during the visit so you can see what gets lined, insulated and sealed.

Think about the day as well as the room. A landing that gets morning sun from an east slope feels different from one lit at teatime from the west, and we bring that into the conversation. If you mostly use the stairs at night, the daylight matters less than the way the glass looks in the dark, and a blind can be fitted to the unit for that.

Many people ask whether one rooflight is enough for a landing and a hall together. Often it is, because the stairwell is a single open volume, and we confirm that when we stand on the stairs.

Stand where the gloom bothers you and we start the survey on that exact square of carpet.

Callout 2

Reading the roof before choosing a unit

The covering decides how a rooflight is flashed into the slope. Concrete tiles, clay tiles and slate each need their own flashing kit, and an older roof may have been patched with mixed materials that need to be understood before a hole is cut.

We look from the ground, then from the loft and, where it is safe, from the roof itself. We check the battens, the rafters and the felt, and we note any sag that would stop a new frame sitting square.

Where a roof faces a street and the house sits in a conservation area, the choice changes. A low-profile unit that lies flush with the covering keeps the roofline changing as little as possible, and the slimmer frame suits older stock.

Pitch changes the choice of unit. A low pitch limits how far a roof window can open and how much glass is visible from below, while a steep pitch gives a more upright view and more usable light. Both are workable, and we match the frame size to the rafter spacing so as little timber as possible is cut. Any rafter that is cut gets a new header and doubled timbers either side, so the loads travel round the opening.

Flashing is where a roof can fail, so we treat the junction as the main task and not as an afterthought. Each kit is made for the covering it meets, and lead or aluminium soakers are lapped so water runs away from the frame in every direction.

Callout 3

A flush pane or a raised sash

A conservation rooflight is a slim, metal-framed unit that sits flat with the covering, usually with a central glazing bar. A standard roof window stands a little proud, has a deeper frame and opens on a pivot. Both can be the right answer, and which one depends on the street, the roof and what the room needs.

Opening matters in a landing or bathroom, where fresh air helps, and some conservation units open as well. Fixed units suit places where ventilation is already managed. We list what each room needs before recommending anything.

Heat loss is regulated, and the rules separate a roof window from a rooflight, each with its own ceiling for U-value. We name the category and the figure on your written quote.

A room facing the sun may want a coating or a blind, because glass that works for a dark landing can overheat a south-facing bedroom. We talk about solar control at the survey, and it takes minutes to weigh up and fit into the quote.

Flush unit against raised frame

Flush-fitting rooflight

Sits flush with the covering
Slim frame, one central bar
Quiet from the street
Often fixed, some open

Raised-frame window

Sits a little above the slope
Deeper frame and larger sash
Pivots open for cleaning
Wider range of sizes

Callout 4

Roofs, the Forest and the permissions to check

Planning for Measham sits with North West Leicestershire District Council. Many houses can take a rooflight without an application, but permitted development carries conditions that depend on the roof and the property, and our planning guide links them rather than repeating them here. For flats and maisonettes the householder rights are absent altogether; a listed house needs a separate consent ahead of nearly any alteration.

Conservation areas are worth asking about, especially where a roof faces the road. The council keeps the map of any designated area, and a few minutes with it can save weeks later. Where an Article 4 direction applies, those rights may have been removed and a routine rooflight can then need an application. Only the council can say whether your road is affected, so ask before you choose which slope to use.

Building Regulations run alongside planning. A brand-new opening changes the structure of the roof, which makes it building work that must be approved, by the local authority or by a registered building control approver. The notification goes in from our side whenever one is needed. Exchanging one existing unit for another falls under the controlled-fitting rules of Part L instead, and the newcomer must reach the U-value set for its type.

What Measham's houses ask of a rooflight

Measham's records stretch back a long way. A charter from 1311 allowed a market and a fair, and the church of St Laurence dates from 1340. The older core is the reason some roofs here sit in a sensitive position, and a rooflight on a street-facing slope deserves care.

The village was reshaped again when the Ashby Canal ran through it at the start of the nineteenth century and a branch railway opened in 1873. Later, large council and private housing estates were built, and the population reached 4,849 in 2001. Today it is a village of about 5,400 people.

For a rooflight, that history means variety. Older cottages may have lower eaves, small windows and steep roofs where a unit between two rafters is the natural fit. Estate houses are more regular, with repeated rafter spacing and often a landing or bathroom that never had a window. The same standard unit can be repeated sensibly across a run of similar houses, and when neighbours compare notes, the survey for one often helps the next.

Measham sits in the National Forest, which does not change how we fit a rooflight, but it does mean the setting is green and many gardens are well planted. A rooflight that looks onto trees at the back lets in a softer light than one facing a bare wall.

The canal closed in 1957 and the railway has gone, and the old station building now houses the Measham Museum. The village is also remembered for the teapots that boatmen on the Ashby Canal ordered as they passed through, a sign of a place that cared how things were made. We bring the same care to a roof, measuring twice and cutting once.

Whatever the era, the process is the same. Send the details through the survey form, say where the dim corner is, and we come out, stand in it and look up at the roof before any price is named.

Measham rooflight queries answered

Can a landing with a loft above it still get a rooflight?

Usually yes. A boarded or lived-in loft means the daylight travels down a lined shaft from the roof opening to the ceiling. The route is drawn on the visit, so every lined, insulated and sealed section is visible before the fixed written quote.

Does a rooflight in Measham need Building Control?

When the roof structure is altered by a fresh opening, approval comes from the local authority or a registered building control approver, and the notification is filed by us. Replacing an existing unit falls under the controlled-fitting rules of Part L, with the Part L thermal limit for its type to meet.

Is the village in a conservation area?

We can't confirm that for your street from here, so ask North West Leicestershire District Council. Where a conservation area applies, permitted development may be limited by an Article 4 direction, which is worth knowing before you choose between a flush unit and a standard roof window.

How long does a single rooflight take to fit?

On the roof itself, one or two days covers a straightforward single rooflight. A visit comes first and the quote is fixed in writing, so nothing about the price moves when the scaffold arrives.

What if my old rooflight has gone cloudy?

Cloudy glass means the double-glazed unit has lost its seal, and moisture trapped between the panes will not clear. The unit is swapped for a new one, or the entire rooflight when the frame also needs replacing, and the replacement meets current Building Regulations.

Which side of the roof is best for a landing?

It depends on when you use the stairs. An east slope gives morning light, a west slope gives afternoon and evening light, and a north slope gives steady, even daylight with little glare. At the survey we check the orientation of each roof face and match it to the spot you marked.

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