Flat roof rooflights in Newport
Fixed and opening rooflights for flat roofs and extensions across Newport, with a free survey first.
- 10-year workmanship guarantee
- We handle the Building Control notification where notifiable
After dark a flat rooflight is a black pane that repeats the room.
That is simply glass at night, and the blind is worth deciding before the order goes in. Good after dark sets out what each product does once the lamps are on.
- Roof
- flat or low-pitched, on a house or an extension
- Opening
- fixed, manual or electric
- Glazing
- double or triple
- Frames
- aluminium or uPVC, and can be made to measure
- Rules
- Welsh planning and Building Regulations checked
- Guarantee
- 10 years on workmanship, in writing
A free survey on the roof and in the room
The room below and the roof above are both looked at before any rooflight is chosen.
A flat roof hides a lot from the room underneath. The ceiling looks plain, yet above it sit joists, insulation, a deck and a covering, and each has a say in where glass can go. So the survey covers both sides of the question. No charge is made for it, and it happens before any figure is named.
Indoors, we start with how the room is used. A kitchen extension has a worktop that wants bright, even light, a dining table that wants something softer, and a corner by the doors that already gets plenty. A bathroom or a landing under a flat roof asks for something else again. A rooflight earns its place over the part of the room where people stand and sit, and that spot is easier to find on the floor than from the garden.
Then we go up. We look at the covering and its condition, whether it is felt, single-ply membrane, GRP or another material, and at how the surface drains towards its outlet. We check which way the joists run, because an opening that follows them can disturb fewer timbers than one cut across them. When an extension is mid-build, the opening can be framed into the roof from the start, which is simpler than cutting into a finished deck.
Aspect and surroundings come next. A south-facing roof takes strong sun through a summer afternoon, and a roof in the shade of a tall neighbour or a mature tree gets less sky than its size suggests. A flat roof over a loft bedroom or a flat-roofed dormer starts a different conversation, since the room below is slept in and the morning light arrives early.
What the survey notes
- Room
- where people sit, cook and wash
- Covering
- felt, single-ply, GRP or another material
- Falls
- how rain reaches the outlet
- Joists
- which way they run, and the gaps
- Light
- aspect, shade and sky
- Afterwards
- a fixed written quote
Ceiling height matters as well, because it tells us how deep the lined shaft will be between the ceiling and the glass. A single-storey extension with a slim roof build-up gives a shallow shaft and plenty of sky. A deeper build-up gives a longer reveal. Either can look good, and each looks different from the sofa.
Areas covered from Newport
Surveys, fitting and replacement of flat roof rooflights are available in Newport itself and across a radius of 30 miles by road. Welsh examples include Caerleon, Cwmbran, Caerphilly, Chepstow and Cardiff. Across the Severn bridges the list continues with Bristol and towns in South Gloucestershire, which follow the English rules instead. Every place is listed on our areas page.
Anyone planning an extension can book the visit before the roof is finished, and a visit to a finished extension is just as useful. A fixed written quote follows the visit. Ordering waits until we have seen both the room and the roof, and the rooflight can be built to the size of the opening.
The kerb, the falls and the covering around the glass
A rooflight stands on a raised kerb, and the way water leaves the roof shapes how that kerb is built.
What keeps rain from settling around a flat rooflight? The kerb comes first. A rooflight on a flat roof is carried on a raised kerb, a low collar around the opening that lifts the glass clear of surface water. The roof covering is taken up the face of that collar and sealed, and the rooflight is fixed on top.
A flat roof is not usually dead flat. It is normally laid to a fall so that water runs to a gutter or an outlet, and the position of the rooflight is checked against those falls so the water has a clear way round the kerb. Slope can also be a detail inside the maker's design. Rainclear's installation guide for its flat glass rooflights advises at least 5° of slope on the kerb, to cut down pooling, while VELUX designed its flat roof dome for pitches between 0 and 15°. Those are the makers' own figures for their own units, and the instructions for the unit that is chosen are the ones followed.
The covering matters as much as the kerb. Felt, single-ply membrane, GRP and liquid-applied roofs each finish against an upstand in their own way, so the junction detail varies with the roof's existing surface. Where a roof is being laid new around the opening, the kerb is best planned before the covering goes down, so the two meet cleanly.
Insulation belongs in the kerb as well as in the deck. If the kerb arrives as part of the rooflight, as one assembly, the rooflight U-value limit in Approved Document L (Wales) takes in the kerb too. A kerb built on site is a separate piece of work. It needs insulating on its own account and a tidy finish where the covering turns up its face.
Position near walls deserves a look. Close to a parapet or the wall of the house, there may be little room to turn the covering up the kerb and finish it well, and that can move the rooflight a little further out into the roof. A rooflight set too tight to a wall is hard to reach and hard to keep clear.
Maintenance access is worth a thought too. A kerb that stands clear of the covering lets you reach the glass for cleaning from the roof edge or a ladder, and leaves leaves and debris somewhere you can see them. Where a flat roof is also used as a balcony or terrace, the rooflight position is planned with the way people use the roof, and glass that people stand on is a separate subject.
Height is the last detail. The kerb has to stand high enough for the covering to rise up it, and the finished rooflight needs to look at ease from the garden and from upstairs windows next door. A roof lantern stands higher above the deck than a flat rooflight does, which suits some rooms and extensions better than others, and the choice between them has its own guide in roof lantern or flat rooflight.
Fixed, hinged or electric: how a flat rooflight opens
Some units stay shut, some open by hand and some open at a switch. The room settles which.
Fixed units are the simplest. The glass does not move, so there is nothing to wear, nothing to reach and nothing to forget to close. A fixed rooflight suits a landing, a hall or a room that already has windows that open, where the roof is there for daylight alone.
An opening unit adds air. In a kitchen or bathroom, where steam builds up, a rooflight that opens lets damp, warm air leave from the top of the room. Some open by hand and some by motor, depending on the model. A manual one wants to be within reach, which makes it awkward over a stairwell or a double-height space. An electric one opens at a switch, or by remote control on models that offer one, so the height of the ceiling stops mattering.
Electric units need a power supply to the roof, and where that comes from is a question for the survey, along with the route a cable can take through the build-up. It is far simpler to settle on an extension that is still open than on one finished and decorated. Our page on electric opening rooflights goes into the choices, and fixed or opening flat rooflight compares the two for the room in hand.
People ask about rain sensors. VELUX describes a built-in sensor for its INTEGRA solar and electric range, which shuts the window itself when rain starts. Those are roof windows, so for a flat rooflight the features of the chosen model are checked before ordering, and no sensor is assumed.
| Type | How it works | Where it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed | stays closed and lets daylight in | halls, landings and rooms with other windows to open |
| Manual opening | opens by hand | a kitchen or bathroom where you can reach it |
| Electric opening | opens at a switch or, on some models, by remote | high ceilings, stairwells and glass out of reach |
How large a flat rooflight can be
Size is settled by two things. The first is the opening the joists allow. Where an opening has to be wider than the gap between two joists, the cut ends are usually carried on trimmer timbers, and those timbers are part of the structural work. The second is the unit itself, since a maker supplies a defined range and a bespoke unit can be made to the size the opening needs.
A long rectangle suits a galley kitchen or a run of worktop. A square works over an island or a reading corner. Two smaller units side by side can light a wide room with less disturbance to the roof than a single large one, and they leave a strip of ceiling between them for a beam or a run of cables. None of this is guesswork, since the room and the roof both set limits, and the survey measures them.
The pitch of the roof matters too. A true flat roof, a low-pitched one and a shallow monopitch each ask for a slightly different kerb detail, and a flat rooflight that is right for one may not be right for the next.
Glass and materials: frames, glazing and the question of heat
Double or triple glazing, aluminium or uPVC, and what the Welsh guidance says about the figure.
Glazing comes first, because it sets how much heat the room keeps. VELUX offers its flat and curved glass rooflights in double or triple glazing, and links both to better energy efficiency and less noise. More panes generally mean less heat lost through the glass. They can also add weight, and the roof has to be able to carry the rooflight's weight or be strengthened.
A U-value rates heat loss: the smaller the figure, the less heat leaves. Approved Document L (Wales) is guidance on meeting the regulations. It says a new or replacement rooflight in an existing home should have a U-value no worse than 2.2 W/m²K, and it describes a rooflight as a glazed unit set out of plane with the roof on a kerb or upstand, which fits a flat rooflight well. The calculation uses the unit's whole developed surface, frequently bigger than the hole cut for it. Heat escapes by the weakest route, so the kerb and the reveal count alongside the glass.
Frames can be aluminium or uPVC, and a unit can be made to measure. An aluminium frame can be colour-finished to match the house. Choosing between them depends on the house, the extension and the finished look, and seeing a sample of the profile can help before the decision.
Coatings and glass types extend the choices. Sunny roofs bring solar-control glass into the conversation, particularly over a room that already runs warm. A coating that cleans itself is a further choice, and Pilkington names roof-lights and roof glazing as applications of its Activ coating, which relies on daylight to break dirt down before rain rinses it off. Where nobody can reach the glass easily, that is worth a question before the order goes in.
Glass and frame at a glance
- Glazing
- double or triple
- Guidance
- a U-value no worse than 2.2 W/m²K
- Frames
- aluminium or uPVC, and can be made to measure
- Coatings
- self-cleaning and solar-control options
- Safety
- Approved Document N in Wales
VELUX's wider list covers an easy-to-clean coating, safety lamination on the inner pane, a feature VELUX describes as preventing glass from falling indoors after an accidental break, and quieter rain. Each belongs to particular models and glazing variants, so we ask about them per product.
Overhead glass has to be safe, and the unit sits on the kerb sealed so that the joint stays watertight. In Wales, glazing safety is covered by Approved Document N, and the specification of any rooflight is settled with that in mind. For glass that people will walk across, rather than look up through, see walk-on rooflights, which is its own subject.
Weight is a factor in every choice above. Triple glazing, a larger unit and a heavier frame can each add load to the roof, and the survey looks at the deck and joists with that in mind before a specification is agreed. A smaller unit with better glass can beat a larger one with ordinary glass in a room that does not need the extra area.
Energy is only part of the picture. Our guide to energy efficient rooflights goes further into U-values, and a rooflight that is well chosen helps keep the room comfortable in January as well as in July.
The installation process, from the first cut to the finished lining
How the work runs on a flat roof, in the order it happens.
Access decides how the work runs. The rooflight has to reach the roof, either up through the house or up from the garden, and a route that keeps clear of the finished rooms makes the day easier on everybody. Inside, the room below needs clearing and protecting, because cutting a roof deck sends down dust.
The opening is then cut to the agreed size. Where a joist crosses it, the joist is trimmed and the cut end carried on new timbers, so the roof still carries its load around the hole. The kerb goes up around the opening, built to the maker's details and insulated, or the supplied kerb is fixed in place and checked on every side.
Next the roof covering is dressed up the face of the kerb and sealed. This junction is the one that keeps water out, so the detail depends on what the roof is covered with today, since felt, single-ply, GRP and liquid-applied surfaces each finish differently, and a weatherproof joint is the aim. Then the rooflight is set on the kerb, fixed to the maker's instructions and sealed to it, and the trims that close the joints are added.
Electric units have one more task. The power supply has to arrive before the lining closes, because the cable runs behind it. That is why the choice between fixed, manual and electric is made at survey and not on the day.
Inside, the reveal is lined, insulated where it needs to be, plastered and left ready for paint. A shallow reveal is neat, and a deeper one wants a little more care in the finish, since it will be seen from the sofa for years afterwards.
On the roof, in order
- AccessReachA route for the unit, and the room below covered.
- OpeningCutThe deck opened and the joists trimmed and carried.
- KerbRaiseBuilt to the maker's details and insulated, or the supplied kerb fixed.
- CoveringSealTaken up the kerb face and sealed against water.
- GlassSetRooflight fixed to the maker's instructions.
- InsideLineReveal lined, plastered and ready for paint.
A new extension runs in a slightly different order. The roofer leaves the opening framed and the kerb formed, and the rooflight is set once the covering is complete. On an extension that is finished already, the opening is cut into the deck, and the covering is made good around it. Replacement follows much the same path, except that the old unit comes off the kerb first and the kerb is looked over before the new one goes on. Our answer on replacing a flat rooflight takes that case in detail.
Building control has a part to play, because fitting a rooflight counts as building work under the regulations, and the notification is handled by us where the work is notifiable. How long the whole job takes depends on the size of the opening, the covering and the state of the extension, so no duration is given before the roof has been seen.
The guarantee after the work
Once the rooflight is in, the work is backed by our 10-year workmanship guarantee, in writing, for new installations and replacements alike. The terms sit on the guarantee page.
Benefits: natural light and brightness from above
What overhead glass does for a deep room, and what a June afternoon asks of it.
By mid-afternoon the back of a deep kitchen-diner can be dim while the glazed doors are bright. Light from a wall window falls away quickly with distance. Overhead glass lets natural light reach the centre of the room, which a wall window struggles to do, and the worktop is lit without a lamp.
Daylight also changes the feel of a room through the day, which is the wellbeing case for a rooflight in a dim space. The gain shows in small ways. A newspaper can be read at the table on a grey day. Cloud passes overhead and the room brightens and dims with it. A flat rooflight sits low on its kerb, so from the garden it is a flat plane of glass and from inside it is a clear patch of sky rather than a tall glazed feature.
Not every room is a kitchen. Over a landing, a flat rooflight can pull daylight down a stairwell that would otherwise rely on a lamp all day. A flat-roofed dormer over a loft bedroom can take one too, with a blind chosen for the room's sleeping hours. Where the roof above is pitched instead, a roof window is the usual form, and a sun tunnel can bring daylight through the roof to a hall or bathroom that sits far from any window.
Some extensions are built as orangeries or conservatory-style rooms with a solid flat section over the main space, and the same survey questions apply to those: joists, falls, covering and the room below. The glass can also sit alongside a roof lantern on a larger extension, with each one placed over a different part of the room.
Heat is the summer question. A south-facing rooflight over a kitchen can make the room warm on a long June afternoon, particularly with the oven on. Solar-control glass, an opening unit and a blind are the tools, and the best combination depends on the room and its aspect. An electric opener makes sense once the glass is beyond arm's reach.
Ventilation in the room matters as well. A kitchen with a working extractor and trickle vents in its windows copes better with steam than one sealed tight, and the rooflight then has less moisture to deal with when the evening cools.
Whether a rooflight is worth fitting depends on the room. For a deep extension whose middle stays dim, the case is strong. For a shallow room that is already bright, it is weaker, and money might be better spent elsewhere. The survey weighs that with the room and the roof both in front of us. A lantern changes the same arithmetic, because it usually stands higher, and roof lanterns is the page to read for that case.
By day
After darkPlanning and Building Regulations for a flat rooflight in Wales
Both planning and the Building Regulations ask something of a flat rooflight in Wales.
Two separate sets of rules touch a rooflight, and Wales writes both for itself. Planning permission asks whether the alteration may go ahead without an application. Building Regulations ask whether the work is safe, sound and energy efficient. A flat rooflight can raise both questions.
Planning comes first. Under Class C of the Welsh householder rules, an alteration to a house roof can be permitted development, within limits. A rooflight can qualify if it projects no more than 150 mm (15 cm) beyond the plane of the original roof slope, measured at right angles to the roof surface, and it must sit no higher than the highest part of the original roof. Whether a rooflight on its kerb stays within those limits depends on the roof, so we take the position to the council for confirmation at survey.
Protected land is treated differently. Where a house stands on article 1(5) land, a rooflight in its roof slope falls outside permitted development in Wales. That land takes in conservation areas, National Parks (Bannau Brycheiniog is one), Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (the Welsh side of the Wye Valley is one) and others. A World Heritage Site such as the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape is a separate category with the same result. Only houses inside the boundary are affected. Newport City Council's conservation areas include Stow Park, the Town Centre and Caerleon, and the city council posts maps of its conservation areas.
A council may withdraw householder rights through an Article 4 direction, and the house's first planning permission may carry a condition with the same effect. Flats and maisonettes sit outside householder rights altogether. A listed house is a further case: if a rooflight would affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest, listed building consent is needed, and it is applied for through the local planning authority, which is the Park Authority inside Bannau Brycheiniog.
| Situation | Welsh position | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Rooflight on a house roof, within the 150 mm and height limits | can be permitted development | taken to the council for confirmation at survey |
| Rooflight on a new extension | checked case by case | council check before work begins |
| House inside a conservation area, National Park, AONB, other article 1(5) land or a World Heritage Site | no permitted development for a rooflight in the roof slope | a planning application |
| Listed house | listed building consent where the work affects its character | apply through the planning authority |
| Building Regulations | a new rooflight generally needs approval | notification handled where the work is notifiable |
A new extension gets its own check with the council before any work begins. Extensions and roof alterations sit in different parts of the same schedule, so the answer is worked out for the house in question.
Building Regulations form the second question. A new rooflight generally needs approval under them. The opening disturbs the roof structure, which usually has to be altered. Extra weight from the unit means the roof either copes already or is reinforced. Energy efficiency is expected of the glazing, and a rooflight sitting near a neighbour's boundary raises the fire question. A like-for-like swap counts as building work too. Where the work is notifiable, we handle the Building Regulations notification with local authority building control or a registered building control approver.
For the official wording, gov.wales has a page on planning permission for roof work and another on roof lights under the Building Regulations. Our planning guide covers every kind of roof opening, planning permission for a flat rooflight takes the flat case alone, and Welsh Building Regulations for flat rooflights goes deeper on the second question. Where doubt remains, the council's planning team can give an answer, and a Lawful Development Certificate settles it formally. Across the Severn, Bristol and South Gloucestershire work to different rules, and the planning guide sets out their rules separately.
After dark under a flat rooflight
Black glass, reflections, blackout for sleepers and moisture overnight.
Once the supper lamps are on, a flat rooflight turns black. The glass hands the room back to itself, so the pendants over the table appear twice, once at the ceiling and again in the pane. It is a calm effect over a dining table and a harder one over a bed, which is why the room below is asked about at survey.
Spotlights set into a ceiling beside the rooflight show in the glass as well. Their position changes how the pane looks from the sofa, and if downlights or a strip are planned for the reveal, the cables have to be run before the lining is closed. Light in the room is shown in the rooflight, and the rooflight gives none of its own.
Blinds and bedrooms
A flat rooflight over a loft bedroom or a flat-roofed dormer is a blind question before it is a glass question. A June morning is bright from very early, and blackout is what lets a bedroom stay dark. Blind compatibility differs between rooflights, so it is asked of the maker for the unit in question before ordering.
The cold side of the night
Moisture from cooking, washing and breathing meets the coldest surface first, and overnight that is often the glass. In a kitchen or bathroom a damp film or droplets can form on the inner pane by morning. Better-insulated glazing can keep the inner pane warmer, and ventilation clears moisture earlier. Fog between the two panes is another problem, which can point to a failed seal, and misted rooflights covers it.
Rain sounds louder in a quiet house after dark. VELUX names reduced rain noise as one of its glazing options on certain models, so a bedroom roof is a good moment to ask about it before the glass is specified.
Reflections and the view up
The view through the glass changes too. By day it is sky and cloud. After dark it is mostly the room, with a faint sense of the weather above, and an outdoor light on a neighbouring wall or a bright security lamp can intrude on that. A blind pulled across the glass for the evening is the simple answer in a bedroom, and in a kitchen or family room the black pane is usually left to do its own work.
Warmth is the other consideration. Heat rises, and a rooflight is often the highest and coldest surface in the room, so the kerb insulation and the quality of the glass show up as a draught-free corner on a winter evening or as a clammy one. Both are worth discussing at survey, with the room's heating in mind.
How a rooflight feels at the end of the day belongs in the decision from the first visit, and good after dark sets out the idea across every product we fit.
Guides and answers for flat roof rooflights
Flat roof rooflights: questions from Newport homes
Is a flat rooflight or a roof lantern better for an extension?
A flat rooflight sits low on its kerb and is less noticeable from the garden and from neighbouring windows. A roof lantern stands proud of the roof with glass sloping on every side, and reads as a feature from inside. Both suit flat roofs. Room height, the size of the opening and the look from outside decide, and roof lantern or flat rooflight sets the two side by side.
Can a rooflight go into a flat roof that is already built, or only a new one?
Either. On a built roof the survey checks the covering, the falls and the joists, and an opening is cut where the structure allows it. On a new extension the opening can be framed in from the start. In Wales, a rooflight on a new extension is something we confirm with the council before work starts.
Will a flat rooflight leak?
Keeping water out comes down to the kerb, the covering taken up its face and the seal around the glass, and the installation is organised around that junction. Our workmanship guarantee lasts 10 years, is given in writing and applies to every rooflight we install or replace. See the guarantee page for its terms.
What decides the price of a flat rooflight?
The size and the type of unit, fixed or opening, the glazing, the work needed to the roof and joists, and whether a kerb exists already all move it. No figure is given before the roof has been seen. The free survey happens first, then a fixed written quote arrives, while what a flat rooflight costs works through each factor.
How long does installation take?
That depends on the size of the opening, the covering and whether the extension is finished or still being built, and we do not give a duration before the roof has been seen. The survey is where the shape of the job becomes clear.
How far from Newport do you work?
Within a 30-mile road radius of Newport. Cardiff, Caerphilly, Cwmbran and Chepstow are Welsh examples, while Bristol and South Gloucestershire sit beyond the Severn, where English rules apply. The rest are on the areas page.
Good after dark.
The right light, in the right place, for the hours after ten.
Book your free survey
- 10-year workmanship guarantee
- We handle the Building Control notification where notifiable