Rhondda Cynon Taf, 23.8 road miles from Newport and to its west
Skylight and rooflight installation in Beddau
- 10-year workmanship guarantee
- We handle the Building Control notification where notifiable
Y Beddau, a mining village grown large
Beddau, in Welsh Y Beddau, a word that means 'Graves', is a large former mining village and an electoral ward in the South Wales Valleys. Rhondda Cynon Taf is the county borough that holds it. House type is the safer guide to a roof.
Older terraces, mid-century semis and estate houses of a newer date each carry their own roof and their own loft. A back room added to any of them may sit under a flat roof of its own. The survey begins with the covering, moves to the timbers beneath it and ends in the room itself, because a good result comes from the three agreeing with one another. Houses of any age can have been altered since they were built, and a roof that looks original from the street may have been re-covered or opened up since.
| Property | Overhead | Pairing worth discussing |
|---|---|---|
| Terrace with a tired roof window | Slate or tile on a steep slope | A matching VELUX replacement, or a different glazing choice in the same opening |
| Semi with a dining room added at the back | Flat roof over the extra room | A lantern, where the room can take the extra height |
| Detached house with a bedroom in the loft | Concrete tile | Two roof windows and blinds for the dark hours |
| Terrace whose landing has no outside wall | Tile or slate, loft above | A sun tunnel dropped from slope to ceiling |
VELUX windows, lanterns and light for the landing
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Rhondda Cynon Taf and rooflights in Wales
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council is the council for Beddau, and planning decisions rest with it. Welsh permitted development lets a house take a rooflight within limits, and the limits are explained in the planning guide's chapter on Wales.
Permitted development is settled property by property. A flat has no householder rights at all. A house may have lost them to an Article 4 direction made by its council, or to a condition attached to its first planning permission.
On a listed building, work that affects its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest needs listed building consent. You apply to the planning authority, and for a Beddau address that is Rhondda Cynon Taf. Cadw recommends what is listed, and the Welsh Ministers compile the list.
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More pages close to Beddau
The roof window that has seen better years
Reading the label, and choosing between new glass and a new window.
Replacing an old roof window starts with a label. Open the sash and look along the top of it: VELUX has fixed a metal type sign there on all its windows from after 1968. The size code on the sign gives the width and the height, and VELUX's own table shows examples, MK04 at 78 by 98 cm, MK06 at 78 by 118 cm and UK04 at 134 by 98 cm. A photograph of that sign saves a good deal of guessing before the survey.
A swap is not always the same job. Approved Document L (Wales) treats a change of glass alone, with the existing frame left in place, as outside the energy rules for building work. Putting in a whole new window or roof window counts as building work, even when it matches the old one, while a simple repair does not. Condition of the frame is the deciding factor, and swapping only the glass of a VELUX is the page that weighs the two jobs.
The new unit should then meet the figures of its day. The guidance in Approved Document L (Wales) for a new or replacement roof window in an existing home is a U-value no worse than 1.4 W/m²K, or Window Energy Rating band B.
Glazing deserves a little thought. Among the VELUX options are a dirt-repellent coating, laminated safety glass for the inner pane and a variant that softens the sound of rain; which of them you can specify varies with the window and glazing you pick.
Sizes help. VELUX makes its roof windows to a set range of sizes, so an opening that has held one for years may be matched by a new one, and a match can spare the roof structure around it. The survey confirms whether the opening and the timbers allow it.
Where the work is notifiable, we handle the Building Regulations notification with local authority building control or a registered building control approver, and you can choose either kind of body.
| The job | Building work? | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| New glass, frame kept | Not for the energy rules | The frame has to be in sound condition |
| Whole window swapped, same size | Yes | The size code points to the replacement |
| Simple repair | No | Nothing changes in the opening |
A lantern over the dining table
Height, the maker's details and what the room looks like once the sky goes dark.
A lantern is the glass that does most for the shape of a ceiling. It stands up from the roof with glass on its sides as well as its top, and the room beneath gains height.
The maker's details decide how it sits on the roof. Brett Martin, for its lanterns, publishes an installation document that spells out the upstand it expects, and a Brett Martin lantern gets the upstand that document describes. It is one maker's advice for one product, and no general rule about upstands.
Planning calls for a conversation. A lantern's planning position is confirmed with Rhondda Cynon Taf before work begins, so raise the idea early. The warmth side is separate: the guidance in Approved Document L (Wales) for a rooflight in an existing home, new or replacement, is a U-value no worse than 2.2 W/m²K, and that document does not name roof lanterns.
On a winter evening at six, the sky above a lantern is already black, and the room reads as a lit box with a dark cap. Nothing in the glass is glowing; what you see in it is the room, repeated. Warm lamps look warm in it, and a bare bulb looks like a bare bulb. The lamps over the dining area deserve a little thought with that glass overhead.
Summer asks a different question. A lantern gathers heat, and a model that opens, or a window elsewhere in the room, gives the warm air somewhere to go. We ask at the survey which you would rather have.
Cleaning is easier to plan before the order than after it. A lantern above a dining table is hard to reach with a cloth, so think about how far you are willing to climb.
Placement is best decided from the floor. Stand where the table will be and look straight up: the lantern wants to sit over the people, not over a wall. Note what else lives in the ceiling, such as pendant lights, an extractor or the line of a joist. A lantern centred on the room but off-centre over the table can look odd in the evening with the lamps lit. Furniture moves, and the glass does not.
A winter evening under a lantern
- 16:30DuskThe sky above the glass fades from grey to dark.
- 18:05DinnerThe glass turns black and shows the lamps of the room.
- 19:30Washing upWarm air meets cold glass and moisture can gather.
- 22:00Lamps offThe reflection goes and a dark panel remains.
The sound of rain on the slope
Loft bedrooms, the weather overhead and what a roof window can do about it.
A bedroom under the slope hears rain on the glass. A heavy shower on a roof window sounds unlike the same shower on tile above a ceiling, and some people find it soothing while others lie awake.
The VELUX glazing list carries rain noise reduction as an option. Whether a given window can have it varies, so it is a question to settle at the survey and not an assumption.
The other half of rain is keeping it out of the room. A sash left open for fresh air in the morning is exposed to an afternoon shower. VELUX describes a rain sensor in its solar-powered and electric roof windows that closes them when rain falls, and that sensor is a feature of those models only. A manual window stays open until someone shuts it, so the choice depends on whether anyone is at home.
Opening is not the only comfort question. A loft room under a dark roof in July collects heat, and glass facing the afternoon sun adds to it, so the survey asks which way the slope faces before it asks what the blind should be.
Swapping a window also touches ventilation. Approved Document F (Wales) wants the home to breathe no worse afterwards than it did before, so vents on the old window should be matched by new ones of at least the same size, adjustable by hand or automatically.
Tell us at the survey who uses the room and when. A child's bedroom, a guest room and a study ask different things of the same slope: the first wants darkness at bedtime, the second wants fresh air, the third wants daylight without glare on a screen. The glazing, the blinds and the controls follow from that answer more than from any catalogue.
A blackout blind closes the evening. The glass reads as a dark mirror with the bedside lamp in it, and the blind turns that into an even dark panel. For more on the product, the page on VELUX size codes is a useful companion.
Beddau, in plain questions
Will you survey in Beddau, 23.8 road miles from Newport?
We will. That sits within the radius we work in, and the survey costs you nothing. If you are looking at somewhere close, Llantrisant has a page of its own.
What should I look up before choosing a rooflight?
Find out whether yours is a house or a flat, and whether a council direction or a planning condition has removed permitted development from it. The Welsh rules for rooflights are covered in the planning guide, and Rhondda Cynon Taf can confirm the position for an address.
Which Beddau houses can take a lantern?
That depends on the room and the roof. A lantern needs headroom below and a flat roof to stand on, and the planning position is confirmed with the council beforehand. The maker's installation details apply as well. Ceiling height is the first thing to measure, so a rough idea of it helps when you write to us.
Does swapping a roof window involve the council?
Building control does, where the work is notifiable, and we handle the notification. Our walk-through for an ageing skylight shows the steps, and a photo of the type sign helps with sizing.
Is a rain sensor standard on a roof window?
No. A rain sensor is described by VELUX for its solar and electric models, which it says close when rain falls.
How can I arrange a visit?
Use the quote form, message WhatsApp on 07880 284133, or email info@supremeskylightsnewport.co.uk. Tell us the room and whether the roof is pitched or flat. A fixed written quote comes after the free survey.
Book your free survey
10-year workmanship guarantee.
Building Control notification handled where notifiable.