Skylights & rooflights in Felpham

Felpham is a coastal village on the B2259 coast road, and it went through a redevelopment in the 1960s. Since then the oldest house on record has been Peartree Cottage, about 1500, a timber-framed yeoman's house with a thatched roof, later refaced in flint. Those two ends of the village's history sit a long way apart, and they need different handling.

A house of the 1960s redevelopment era is likely to have a roof built in a standard way for its day. It may carry concrete or clay tiles, a modest pitch, softwood rafters at regular spacing and a felt underlay of its time. A roof of that age may also have been re-covered once, extended or opened up for a loft since. We read all of that at the survey, because it tells us how the opening should be framed and what is under the covering.

Pitch matters because it limits the choice of unit. A shallow pitch needs a product made for it. A steeper one is simpler. Age matters because old timber and old felt behave differently when they are cut. Thatch is a specialist roof, and we would say so at the first call and not pretend otherwise.

Extensions are a second layer. A flat-roofed kitchen, a garage conversion or a porch added after the house was built carries its own covering, often felt or a single-ply membrane, and usually has a different life left in it than the main roof. Each roof on the property is described separately in the quote.

Flint is worth a note. Peartree Cottage was refaced in flint, and flint is uneven and unforgiving to work against. A rooflight in an old building with flint walls and thatch is a conversation about the whole structure, not only the roof plane, and we would want to understand the frame before suggesting anything. For ordinary tiled homes, the questions are simpler and the answers quicker.

Ownership varies from one building to the next. Some homes are owner-occupied houses, some are flats, and some are maisonettes with a shared roof above. We ask who owns the roof early, because that decides who must agree to the work.

Once we know the roof, the choice follows. A tiled pitch over a loft or landing takes a roof window. Over a flat-topped extension you would be choosing between a flat roof rooflight and a roof lantern. An inner room with a pitched or flat roof above it can use a sun tunnel, which carries light down a lined tube.

The coast brings its own concerns. Sun and wind can both be strong by the sea, so a unit that can open and close, or be fitted with a blind, earns its keep. The options for a unit that opens by motor are under electric and opening rooflights, and a glazing choice that controls heat gain is covered under energy efficient rooflights.

Think about the room as well as the roof. A kitchen wants bright, even light over the worktops. A landing wants a soft glow that carries down the stair. A bedroom under the slope wants light you can shut out when you sleep, which means a blind or a darkening option, and a window you can reach to open. Tell us how the room is used and we will suggest a size and a position, then mark it on the ceiling at the survey so you can judge the effect before the unit is ordered.

Where a room has no outside wall, a lined light well links the roof opening to the ceiling. Its shape matters: splayed sides spread the light, while straight sides keep it narrow. We fit these to suit the room, not to a standard template.

One extension, two ways to light it

For a pitched roof where the existing windows are already VELUX, the VELUX windows page explains sizes and how the codes read. And if you ever need to walk across glass, because a flat roof doubles as a terrace, see walk-on rooflights.

The answer goes into the written access plan that every quote carries. It also says who applies for any scaffold licence or bay suspension, and that is us. Anything placed on a Felpham road or pavement needs West Sussex County Council's consent as highway authority, and the steps are set out in the guide to licences for scaffold and parking bays.

If the front of the house faces the road and the back faces a garden, we often favour the garden side for scaffold, because it keeps the footway clear and avoids a licence altogether. That is not always possible. A terrace or a semi with a shared side path may leave the street as the only option, and then the licence or bay suspension is part of the plan.

Neighbours get a notice before work begins. Boards and a tower make noise, and a heads-up costs nothing. If your house shares a wall with the next, we also say whether that has any bearing on the work. For a rooflight it usually does not, and we only mention it where it does.

Planning for Felpham belongs to Arun District Council, which also runs Building Control as its own service. A conservation area named Felpham appears in the national planning dataset, so your address may sit inside it or close to it. That is the first thing to ask Arun about.

We could not confirm whether Arun has made an Article 4 direction that touches roofs. The only one we found there concerns houses in multiple occupation elsewhere in the district. Whether your street has a direction is something only the council can answer, and our planning permission guide explains how to ask and what to ask for.

The thatched cottage is a reminder that some buildings need an extra conversation. If your house is old, protected or thatched, tell the council that in your first message. A conservation rooflight may be the right product, and the council will want to see what you propose.

The Building Regulations guide sets out which rules apply to the building side. If you live in a flat or leasehold maisonette, check our guide for maisonette and flat owners before you plan anything.

Salt air, sun and wind age a rooflight faster than you would think. A sealed unit can mist between the panes, a frame can corrode or swell, and a flashing can lift. A unit that has misted cannot be put right by cleaning or working on the glass; it is assessed and then replaced. How we tell a tired seal from a passing film of condensation is covered under misted and failed rooflights.

The survey goes beyond the glass. We check the kerb or frame, the timber around the opening, the condition of the covering that meets it, and the ceiling light well inside. If everything is sound, the new unit takes the old unit's place and the job is quick and tidy. If something has rotted, we say so in the quote with a clear description of what the extra work involves.

A replacement is also the moment to check what is happening inside. Staining on the ceiling around the light well, peeling paint or a damp smell can point to a long-standing problem at the opening. We look for these signs at the survey and tell you what they suggest, so the new unit is fitted onto a sound base and not onto a hidden issue.

You may decide to change more than the glass. A fixed unit can become an opening one, a small window can become larger if the structure allows, and a dated frame can be swapped for a slimmer modern one. We price these as options beside the like-for-size swap so you can see the difference.

Every installation carries a 10-year workmanship guarantee, covered on the guarantee page. For what shifts a price, see the costs page.

Felpham is a village that people choose for the setting, and questions about roofs tend to be practical ones. Here are the short answers, with links for more.

What should I have ready for the survey? A rough idea of the room you want lit, any photos of the existing roof, and the name of whoever owns the freehold if the building is split into flats. We bring the tape, the ladder and the questions. The visit costs nothing, and you are under no obligation to go ahead afterwards.

Can we survey in the evening or at the weekend? We book visits by appointment, and you can ring 01273 282313 or message 07880 284133 on WhatsApp to agree a time. Every visit is arranged in advance.

Will a quote change once work starts? A quote is a fixed written figure, with the access plan inside it. If the survey turns up something unusual, it goes into the quote before you agree.

Where do I start? The quote form is the quickest route, or use the contact page.