In South Gloucestershire, east of Newport: Thornbury is 23.6 road miles away
Rooflights and skylights fitted in Thornbury
- 10-year workmanship guarantee
- We handle the Building Control notification where notifiable
A market town in the lower Severn Valley
Thornbury is a market town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, in the lower Severn Valley. It was once the end of a Midland Railway branch from Yate, with stations at Iron Acton and Tytherington on the way. The station building has gone and the old line is now a footpath, while the station site and the line have been redeveloped into a supermarket, a housing estate, a bypass road and a long footpath. The ancient parish covered an area extending to the River Severn.
Roofs of very different ages can stand in one market town, and each age wants something different from a rooflight. Older roofs can suit glass that sits low and quiet, newer roofs can take a bolder shape, and a back addition on any house raises its own questions. The table sets out what we would look at first for each kind.
| Kind of house | Roof | Lead candidate |
|---|---|---|
| Cottage or terrace of an older date | Pitched, in slate or clay tile | A conservation rooflight |
| Interwar or post-war semi | Pitched, with a loft above | VELUX roof windows |
| Estate house of recent decades | Pitched, with a shallow loft | Roof windows chosen for energy performance |
| Garden room or kitchen extension | Flat, or a low pitch | A roof lantern |
Old glass, new glass and a lantern for Thornbury
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South Gloucestershire's rules for a Thornbury roof
Thornbury is in England, so the council to speak to is South Gloucestershire Council. For a house, a rooflight or roof window can usually go ahead as permitted development under Class C, within the limits explained in the England part of our planning guide.
Thornbury Conservation Area is among the conservation areas the council lists, and its conservation area page links a map. In England, living inside a conservation area does not remove Class C on its own. An Article 4 direction can remove it, and a condition tied to the house's own permission can do the same. For that reason the council is asked about your address before we price the job.
Listing works differently. A listed house keeps Class C, and listed building consent is what decides a new or altered rooflight there, because that work will almost always need it. Doing work that needs consent without it is a criminal offence. Flats carry no householder permitted development rights, and a home that was created through a change-of-use permitted development right has no Class C rights.
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Close by, still on the English side
A garden-room lantern in May
Daylight on four sides of a glazed roof, and a blind for the rest.
May mornings begin early. By six the sky is bright, and a garden room or kitchen extension with a lantern fills with light before the kettle is on. Think of a lantern as a glass crown standing proud of a flat roof: it lets daylight in from several sides at once.
That is its appeal and its challenge. A lantern is a tall, bright feature, and the room under it can be dazzling early in the day. A blind or a different layout for the furniture can tone it down, and a survey visit gives room to talk through the options for the particular space. The footprint matters too: a lantern that is too small for the room can look like an afterthought, while one that is too large can leave little flat roof around it for the upstand to stand on.
Think about who shares the room. A lantern over a family kitchen is stood under by the cook, the homework table and the dog's bed in turn, and glare falls differently on each. Over a quiet garden room used for reading, the same glass has an easier life. Where the room serves several jobs, a blind that covers part of the glass can give the best of both.
After dark a lantern is a different object. With the sky black above it, the glass reads dark and shows the lit room back, and from the garden a brightly lit room shows through the glass. Where overlooking is a worry, the evening view is worth thinking about as carefully as the morning one.
Planning can treat an extension and a lantern together. With a new extension the lantern is judged along with it, and the council hears about the position before any work begins. An older flat roof is a separate case, which the survey takes up directly. The roof lantern planning and building regulations answer goes into the detail.
Where a lantern is only one option, roof lantern or flat rooflight compares the two, and whether roof lanterns are worth it weighs the extra cost against the extra light. The hub itself is at roof lanterns.
Changing a VELUX window in the afternoon
What to settle before the old one comes out.
Is the VELUX window in your roof the right size for the room, or is it simply the size that was available? Replacing it is the moment to ask. Changing a roof window opens a chance to reconsider the size, the position and the blind in a single move, and it costs nothing to ask the question even if the answer is to leave things as they are.
The VELUX range is built in standard sizes, which means a like-for-like swap starts with reading the code on the old frame. Size codes explained sets out how to read it. If you would rather move to a different size, the rafters and the roof covering decide how much room there is.
Afternoon is the time to check what the old window does badly. A room under a slope that takes the afternoon sun can get warm, and a blind on the glass is what we would look at first. A slope that turns away from the sun suits a room where glare is the enemy. Walk through the room at a few different times of day before you choose, and note where the sun lands on the floor.
A whole-window replacement usually needs Building Regulations approval. A new window should have a U-value no worse than 1.4 W/m²K, or a Window Energy Rating of Band B or better, and where the old window had trickle vents the new one should have vents no smaller. We handle the Building Regulations notification where the work is notifiable, through South Gloucestershire's building control team or a registered building control approver.
A replacement is also a time to think about opening. A window that opens a little for airing suits a bedroom, while a fixed one can be right for a landing. If the old window was fixed and you wished it were not, say so at the survey. What is possible depends on the model and the room.
For the money side, the cost of a VELUX window sets out what drives the price, and VELUX windows is the hub for the rest.
Replacing a VELUX window
- Like for like
- Read the size code on the old frame
- Different size
- Rafters and covering set the limit
- Energy
- U-value no worse than 1.4 W/m²K, or WER Band B
- Vents
- No smaller than the old window's
A period roof on a December evening
Conservation glass, a listed house and a roof that has been there a long time.
A hoard of 11,460 Roman coins, dating from 260 to 348 CE, turned up in Thornbury in 2004 while someone was digging a fishpond. A rooflight in an older roof is a very small addition to a place with that much record, but it still has to sit comfortably in the roof it joins.
That is the purpose of a conservation rooflight. On a December evening, with lamps lit and the glass dark, it reads as a plain panel in the slope, and what shows through it is the lit room below. The explanation of conservation rooflights sets out what the term means.
The first stage is checking the house. Is it listed? Is there an Article 4 direction on the street, or a condition on the planning permission? Thornbury Conservation Area is among South Gloucestershire's conservation areas, and being in one does not by itself change Class C in England, but an Article 4 direction from the council can remove it. The planning question is one for the council, and the survey is where we put it.
On an older roof the covering and the rafters are looked at first. What a given slope will tolerate is clear only when it has been seen close up, so the survey comes before any size or position is promised. Age alone settles nothing, because two roofs of the same date can differ a good deal in their condition. Look from inside the loft as well as from outside, and take note of any past alterations to the slope.
Beyond planning, an older roof has its own character. Its covering, its rafters and the way the loft has been used all affect where the opening can go. Replacing a cast-iron rooflight is a separate kind of job, covered in replacing an old cast-iron rooflight.
Listed building consent is the gate for a listed house. It is applied for through the council and carries no fee. Wherever the house stands, the conservation rooflights hub is the starting point, and the cost is set out separately.
| Check | Who answers it |
|---|---|
| Is the house listed? | The national list |
| Article 4 or a condition? | South Gloucestershire Council |
| Rafters and covering? | The survey, on site |
Thornbury questions
Is part of Thornbury a conservation area?
Thornbury Conservation Area is among those the council lists, and whether a given address falls inside it is a question for the council. In England being inside one does not by itself remove the right to add a rooflight, but an Article 4 direction can, which is why the address goes to South Gloucestershire Council. The planning guide covers the rules.
What is the road distance to Thornbury from Newport?
It is 23.6 miles by road, heading east. Surveys are free of charge, and a quote after one is a fixed written quote.
Which of your products suits a garden room?
A roof lantern or a flat rooflight, depending on the roof and the look you want. Lantern or flat rooflight compares them, and the survey settles which one the room can carry.
Can you replace the roof window in my loft like for like?
We can. The size code on the old frame points to the standard size of the new VELUX window. The Building Regulations notification is ours to handle where the work is notifiable.
What happens if my Thornbury house is listed?
Listed building consent will almost always be needed for a new or altered rooflight, and the council decides it. There is no fee for the application. Look the house up on Historic England's list.
Where do I get in touch?
Use WhatsApp, 07880 284133, or the address info@supremeskylightsnewport.co.uk. Send the address along with the room in mind. Once the survey is done you will have a fixed written quote.
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10-year workmanship guarantee.
Building Control notification handled where notifiable.