Town in the Caerphilly county borough, an 11-mile drive from Newport
Rooflights and skylights for Bedwas homes
- 10-year workmanship guarantee
- We handle the Building Control notification where notifiable
From four coal pits to a town of many roofs
Bedwas is a town that sits inside the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, today part of the Caerphilly county borough. It owes much of its development to the South Wales coalfield and the Welsh coal mining industry. In the late 19th century it was home to four coal pits, and a large-scale colliery, Bedwas Navigation Colliery, had been completed by 1913. Reaching Bedwas from Newport means 11 miles of road, going west.
Houses of different ages carry different roofs. Older terraces are commonly roofed in slate or tile, later houses in tile, and flat-roofed extensions turn up behind both. Whichever it is, the room underneath tells you what the glass should do: bring daylight into a stairwell, make a loft room comfortable to work in, or give a ground-floor bathroom some sky. The survey starts from the roof and the room together, so that the answer fits both. A landing or a bathroom with no outside wall, a loft room that is turning into an office and a cloudy rooflight in a back bedroom are different jobs even on the same street.
| Type of home | What is on top | Glass worth a look |
|---|---|---|
| A terrace that still has its original rooflight | Pitched, with a window or rooflight already in place | A replacement unit, or new glass in the existing frame |
| A loft room used as an office | Tile on a pitched roof over a boarded loft | A VELUX window that opens, with a blind |
| A ground-floor bathroom behind a flat roof | A flat roof around a raised edge | A small flat rooflight |
| A landing with no outside wall | Pitched roof with a loft above | A sun tunnel, if the loft has a clear run |
Three jobs that come up in Bedwas homes
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Caerphilly County Borough Council and Wales
Planning in Bedwas is a matter for Caerphilly County Borough Council, which also handles listed building applications for the town. In Wales a rooflight in a house can be permitted development within limits, and those limits, together with the ways a direction or a condition can remove them, are written up for Wales in our planning guide. Flats and maisonettes have no householder rights of this sort.
A listed building in Bedwas needs listed building consent for work that would affect its character, and Caerphilly County Borough Council is where that application goes. Cadw recommends which buildings are listed, and the Welsh Ministers compile the list. Cadw publishes each listing in Cof Cymru, and says that replacing traditional windows with uPVC on a listed building will not normally be acceptable.
If you want to be certain about a house, the council's planning team can advise, and a Lawful Development Certificate, issued by the council, puts the position on formal record. For the Building Regulations, we handle the notification through local authority building control or a registered building control approver where the work is notifiable.
12:00
Next to Bedwas
A rooflight that has gone cloudy
Replacing the glass, or the whole unit.
Bedwas Navigation Colliery was complete by 1913. A rooflight that has been in place for years can be a plain pane that has clouded, or a double-glazed unit with condensation between the panes, and that second case is what people call a misted rooflight.
Two routes lead out of it, and the frame decides which. If the frame is sound, the glass can be replaced and the frame kept. If the frame itself has had its day, the whole rooflight is replaced. The comparison between a new sealed unit and a new rooflight is laid out on its own page.
The Building Regulations see the routes differently. Both windows and roof windows are controlled fittings, so swapping one for the same again is building work. For the energy rules, fitting new glass to the old frame sits outside building work. Where the work is notifiable, we handle the Building Regulations notification with local authority building control or a registered building control approver.
Measure before you order, because a window that is a few centimetres out is a window that has to be reordered. On a VELUX window the type sign carries a size code, and that code gives the width and the height; VELUX publishes MK04 as 78 by 98 cm, for instance, and MK06 as 78 by 118 cm. Send us a photograph of the sign before the visit. If the old window is another make, the opening is measured on site.
Then look at the room the window serves, and at who uses it. A cloudy rooflight in a back bedroom and one over a kitchen worktop are not the same job. Over the kitchen, steam and cleaning matter most; over the bed, a new blackout blind may be the real reason for the change. We lay both routes out at the survey and let the state of the frame decide.
A replacement window also inherits obligations from the one it replaces. Escape and air carry over too: where the old window was a way out in a fire, the Welsh escape guidance applies to the new one (see the planning guide), and under Approved Document F (Wales) the room should not end up with poorer ventilation than before. Pilkington also lists roof glazing among the places its Activ self-cleaning coating is used, which is relevant for glass that is hard to reach.
A home office under the slope
Opening windows, blinds and air for a room you work in.
A loft room is easy to turn into an office and harder to keep comfortable, particularly in a house that was not built with one in mind. The screen is in front of you for hours, so where the window sits relative to the desk decides whether you squint, and a blind is part of the answer rather than an extra.
Air is the other half. Approved Document F (Wales) expects each habitable room to have purge ventilation, a means of airing the room rapidly, and an opening window can do that job. The area that has to open depends on how far the sash swings: a hinged or pivot window that swings wide counts for more than one that cracks open, and an opening under 15 degrees is ignored altogether. In a room used all day, that is worth knowing before the window is chosen.
Controls come next. Some VELUX windows are worked by hand, others by a motor. VELUX builds a rain sensor into the solar and electric models, and says it closes the window when rain falls. A manual window has no such sensor and still needs closing by someone.
The blind is the control you will use most in a room you work in, so we cover the choices at the survey with the desk and the screen position in mind. Our page on VELUX windows goes through the range, and the page on size codes helps when the opening is already there.
Finally, think about the building rules for what you are doing to the loft. Converting a loft into a habitable room brings in the fire escape guidance in Approved Document B (Wales), so say at the survey what the room will be used for and whether anyone will ever sleep in it.
A ground-floor bathroom with sky overhead
A flat rooflight where no window can go.
A ground-floor bathroom can sit at the back of the house, under the flat roof of an extension, with a boundary close by. A window in the wall could bring daylight and cost privacy at the same time. A rooflight overhead gives only the first.
The rooflight stands on its upstand over the flat roof, so there is nothing at eye level to look through. In the evening the glass goes dark and the lit bathroom is reflected in it.
Air is the practical matter. A bathroom makes steam, and the glass overhead can be cooler than anything else around it, so moisture can collect there first. A unit that opens can let the steam out, and an extractor helps with the rest. The choice between fixed and opening glass is argued on a separate page about fixed or opening units.
The energy rule is a short one. Approved Document L (Wales) says a rooflight in an existing home should have a U-value no worse than 2.2 W/m²K, and it is a guidance figure, not a legal one.
How the opening is finished inside decides the look. A square, well-lined reveal makes a neat panel on the ceiling. We settle that at the survey, along with the size of the unit against the room, because the room's size shapes the choice.
Glazing is the last item. VELUX lists double or triple glazing among the options on its glass rooflights, flat or curved, citing sound reduction and energy efficiency as the gains. Which to pick is worth deciding with the bathroom's position in mind, and the survey is the place to do it. Bring any questions about the rest of the room, such as the ceiling height, the extractor, the existing light fitting and where the switch sits.
A bathroom evening
- 19:00Bath runSteam can settle on the coldest surface in the room.
- 21:50Lights onThe glass overhead turns dark and mirrors the room.
- 22:30Window openedAn opening unit can let the damp air go.
- 23:30Lights offA lined, square reveal leaves a clean dark panel.
Bedwas rooflights: the short questions
Is replacing only the glass in a rooflight building work?
For the energy rules it is not, when the frame stays. Swapping the entire window for an identical one is building work, though.
Would a loft office need an opening window?
A habitable room needs purge ventilation, which an opening window can provide, according to Approved Document F (Wales). How much opening area is needed depends on how far the window swings, and an opening under 15 degrees is ignored.
Which council receives a listed building application in Bedwas?
The application goes to Caerphilly County Borough Council. Listed building consent is needed where the work would affect the building's character. Cadw recommends what is listed, and the Welsh Ministers compile the list.
Does a rooflight need planning permission in Bedwas?
It can be permitted development in Wales on a house, within limits, and the planning guide lists them. Flats are outside householder rights, and a direction or a condition can remove the rights from a house.
How far is the town from Newport?
The town lies 11 miles from Newport by road, heading west, in the Caerphilly county borough. Nothing is priced until the free survey is done, and a fixed written quote follows it.
Where can I get in touch about a visit?
The form for a survey takes a minute. WhatsApp (07880 284133) and email (info@supremeskylightsnewport.co.uk) both reach us as well. Say which room, how the roof is finished, and whether the house is listed.
Book your free survey
10-year workmanship guarantee.
Building Control notification handled where notifiable.