Rain on the glass of a rooflight, brick semis in the background

Old Tupton

Skylights and rooflights near Chesterfield, in Old Tupton

20.0 road miles north of Derby, beside the A61 south of Chesterfield.

Which corner of your house stays gloomy? Point it out and we survey that spot, with the roof over it, before pricing anything.

Book a free survey

Inner landings, dim halls and rooms that borrow their light

Dark unconverted loft with timber trusses and a single roof window — A dark unconverted loft of timber trusses, with a single roof window.

Bed under a roof window with a pleated blind — A bed under a roof window with a pleated blind, in a room that stays muted.

Rooflights we fit around Old Tupton

Depending on the roof and the room, the choice is between roof windows, VELUX windows, sun tunnels, conservation rooflights and flat roof rooflights.

Every roof here comes down to a few practical questions. A pitched roof over a stair or landing suits a roof window or a VELUX. A landing with a boarded loft above it suits a sun tunnel. At the back, a flat-roofed kitchen or garage extension takes a flat rooflight, while a protected slope may need a slim conservation unit. The survey decides which one applies to your roof, and you can ask for the position to be marked on the plan so you can check it before anything is ordered.

The full guide

An Old Tupton landing, read from the top step

Many houses keep one corner that never quite gets daylight, and the landing is the usual suspect. This is how we work out what goes above it, what the glass has to do, what changes the quote and which rules apply to the roof.

Landing, looking up
Loft visit
Glass and quote
Rules for the roof

Callout 1

Reading the landing from the top step

Hardly anyone asks for a rooflight by name. They say the stairs are dark, or that they carry the washing up with one hand on the wall. The landing is where that complaint lives, and it is where we begin the survey.

Landing light, by slope or by loft

Roof window in the slope

Wide view of sky
Needs open roof space above
Can open for air
Larger opening in the roof

Sun tunnel via the loft

Fits where a loft floor intervenes
Small neat ceiling disc
Fixed, no ventilation
Less disruption to rafters

We stand at the top of the stairs and look up. If the roof slopes over the stairwell, a roof window can send daylight straight down the flight. If a loft floor or a boarded storage area sits in between, the light has to travel further, and a sun tunnel with a short tube or a lined light well becomes the sensible route. The question is never which product is the best in general. It is which one puts light on that top step.

What the landing tells us

Landings differ in width and in what opens off them. A wide landing with bedroom doors on three sides takes a larger unit and shares its light through glazed or open doors. A narrow one needs a smaller opening set precisely over the stair, so the light falls where a foot lands. The intended patch of daylight goes on the floor plan, and from inside the loft we see whether the timbers will let the opening sit there.

When the landing is directly under the ridge, the opening may need to sit higher in the slope than you would like, which changes the angle of the light. We explain this on site and show you the alternative before you decide.

The request is for a landing you can see, not for glass.

Callout 2

What the loft shows before anything is ordered

A rooflight is a hole in a roof, and a roof is a working structure. The visit into the loft tells us what the opening can be and where it can go. We look at the rafters, the insulation, any wiring or pipework crossing the line, and the condition of the covering outside.

If the rafters are sound and the spacing suits a standard frame, the opening can be cut and trimmed in the usual way, with a doubled rafter on each side and a header and sill across. If the spacing is awkward, we can often choose a unit width to fit it rather than cutting more timber than the job needs. Where a covering is brittle around the position, we flag it on the visit and the quote reflects it. It is no help to anyone to find that out when the first tile lifts.

We also look at which direction the slope faces. A roof window facing the sun gives a bright landing and, in summer, may need a blind. One facing away gives gentler, more even light. Neither is wrong. The decision depends on what the room is for.

Finally, we note how the loft is reached and where materials would be carried in. A narrow hatch or crowded landing is no obstacle, though it shapes the plan for the day, so we sort it out on the visit.

Notes taken in the roof space

Space between timbers: sets the widths on offer
Insulation depth: decides the light well lining
Cables and pipes: moved or avoided
Covering condition: tile or slate around the opening
Sun reaching the spot: how much sun reaches the spot

Callout 3

What makes one Old Tupton quote differ from another

Two houses on the same road can need quite different work, so we do not hand out a standard figure. The fixed written quote comes after the free survey, because the survey is when the real variables become visible. After it is written, that figure stays put when the fitters arrive.

The glass is one of the choices. In the Part L tables for existing homes, a roof window must achieve 1.4 W/m²K or, alternatively, Window Energy Rating band B, new or replacement. Lanterns and other rooflights are capped at 2.2 W/m²K. Whatever unit goes into the quote already sits inside those limits. Beyond that, you can choose between clear, tinted or self-cleaning glass, and between fixed and opening versions.

A plain single rooflight usually needs the fitters for one or two days up on the roof. Add a wide opening, a lantern or a difficult carry to the roof and the schedule stretches, which the quote states beforehand.

Things that shift an Old Tupton quote

Opening widthA wider unit calls for longer trimmers and a heavier frame.
Your existing coveringSlate and clay need more cutting and re-laying than concrete tile.
Ceiling heightA tall stairwell needs a deeper light well and more lining.
Opening or fixedElectric or manual opening adds controls and wiring.
Scaffold and accessA tall or tight site may need more equipment.

Callout 4

Planning, conservation and Building Control here

Old Tupton sits in the area of North East Derbyshire District Council, which is the planning authority. On a house, rooflights generally sit within permitted development, though conditions apply, and we leave them to our planning guide. The council's own site, at ne-derbyshire.gov.uk, is the place to confirm anything local to Old Tupton.

Householder rights do not extend to flats or maisonettes in Old Tupton or anywhere else. Listing brings its own consent for most alterations. Where a street is protected, an Article 4 direction may strip the usual rights, which is why the council hears first. Your street may or may not be protected; the council can confirm, and we ask it before any order is placed. Should yours be protected, ask about a slim conservation rooflight that sits near the plane of the covering.

A fresh opening alters how the rafters carry load, which makes it building work, passed through the local authority or a registered building control approver. In Old Tupton, as elsewhere, our team makes that notification when it is required. A new unit set where an old rooflight or roof window stood falls under controlled fitting, held to the figures given earlier. The survey form on this page is where it starts.

Fitting rooflights to the houses of a village near Chesterfield

Old Tupton is a village of about 4,200 people, on the A61 Derby road close to Tupton and south of Chesterfield. What follows is the practical side, based on how houses of different shapes take a rooflight.

Pitched roofs over stairs

A two-storey house with a pitched roof is the simplest case. A stair sitting mid-plan, with the roof slope close overhead, can be lit by a window in the back slope that the street never sees. On a bungalow or chalet bungalow, the same unit can light a room in the roof, and if it is an escape window, the rule about height applies. Escape is a separate matter. Under Approved Document B a roof window rescues occupants only from storeys whose floor lies within reach, 4.5 m from the ground at most, and the opening that stays clear must reach 0.33 m² while no side falls below 450 mm.

Extensions and flat roofs

Some houses gain a single-storey extension behind, topped by a flat or low-pitched roof. Such rooms can run deeper than the original house, leaving the end furthest from the garden doors dim. Over the kitchen table or worktop, a flat rooflight or small lantern puts daylight where the household sits. Upstand and waterproofing get the closest inspection, since the junction stands or falls on them.

Roofs with no space above

Where the ceiling sits right under the covering and no loft exists, the well is shallow, and fixed glazing or a very short sun tunnel may be tidiest. If the loft is stacked with boxes, we talk through the options before anything is moved.

Everything above is general guidance. Your own roof only comes into view at the visit, and no figure is given before it.

Before you book in Old Tupton

Which rooflight lights a dark landing best?

It depends on what sits above the landing. With open roof space overhead, a roof window or a VELUX sends light straight down. With a boarded loft floor, a sun tunnel carries daylight through it. On the visit we stand on your landing, look into the loft and name one, with the reason set down in the quote.

Will my upstairs overheat in July with a rooflight?

It can if the unit faces strong afternoon sun with nothing to shade it. Choice of glass, a blind outside or in, and a version that opens all help. The slope direction is on our survey checklist, so the recommendation takes it into account and you know what to expect before you commit.

Is consent needed before a skylight goes into my Old Tupton house?

Houses generally enjoy permitted development for rooflights, with conditions covered in our planning guide. Flats, listed homes and protected streets follow different rules. For anything local, ask North East Derbyshire District Council. We can tell you what we see on the day.

How long is a roof left open while the work goes on?

Expect a single straightforward unit to take usually one or two days up top. The opening is cut, the frame fitted and the weathering completed within that visit. Larger openings or lanterns take longer, and the written quote says how long before you agree to it.

Can an old window in the roof slope be replaced like for like?

Yes. Putting a like-for-like unit where an old one sat counts as controlled fitting, so the new glass must reach today's thermal figure. We measure the old opening, supply a unit that fits it and fit the new flashing. Where the old unit has misted or is beyond repair, replacing is the answer.

Can I show you the problem room over WhatsApp first?

Yes. Send a photo of the dark spot and the room round it to 07880 284133, or fill in the form lower down. A photo helps us arrive prepared, but it never replaces the visit, because the roof and the loft have to be seen before a fixed written quote is prepared.

Nearby

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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.