Smallfield
Tandridge decides, Article 4 areas lie nearby: check your address
Smallfield sits at the far northern edge of our area, 29.1 road miles from central Brighton & Hove, heading north over the Surrey line. This page belongs to our Brighton & Hove hub, where you can see how a free survey turns into a fixed written quote.
Sheet 01
Streets, drives and the way up
Scale: the street
Smallfield sits in the commuter belt, with Horley station within reach. Where a house has a drive or a front garden and a back garden behind, that layout is helpful. It often means there is a way round to the rear of the house, and the rear slope is a common place for a rooflight.
How we reach that slope is the first thing we settle. Each quote contains a written access plan. The plan records how people and materials get up to your slope, from the side gate, over the drive or by a lifting platform, and names whoever applies for a licence. For a house in Smallfield the highway authority is Surrey County Council, and where a licence is needed we apply for it, not you.
The steps we follow
- Visit and measure. We look at the roof from the ground and from inside the loft, and record the opening you want.
- Plan the route. Garden, drive, side path or road: whichever gives safe access with the least disruption.
- Settle the paperwork. Any highway licence, a note to neighbours, and the Building Control route.
- Quote in writing. One fixed price, with the access plan attached.
- Fix a date. Work is booked, not guessed, and you know when we are arriving.
If you are out at work during the day, we agree arrival times, who has the keys, and how the scaffold will sit relative to the front door before anything is fixed. Every conversation happens at your house or by phone and WhatsApp, which keeps things direct.
Parking is the other point to settle early. A tower or a delivery of glass needs a place to stand. If the drive is the obvious spot, we ask you to leave it clear on the day. If it is not, the plan says where else the vehicle goes, and whether any neighbour needs to be told.
The page on scaffold licences and parking suspensions describes highway licences in general terms. In Smallfield the authority that issues them is Surrey, so its rules apply to your road.
Sheet 02
Smaller houses and a few Georgian-style ones
Scale: the houses
The parish was purely agricultural in 1911, and smaller homes were built over the decades that followed. That has two consequences for a rooflight job. Smaller houses tend to have shorter rafters and less loft height, so there is less room to fit a large unit. And houses built in different decades carry different roof construction, which we need to see before we size an opening.
Smallfield lies in the parish of Burstow, on the Surrey side of the county line. Because the village grew in stages, one practical point follows: a roof built in the 1930s and a roof built in the 1980s on the same lane can use quite different timbers, felts and tiles. We note which one we are looking at before we suggest a size, so the opening is trimmed to suit the actual rafters rather than a guess based on the house next door.
There is a different group too. Georgian-style classical houses stand on Weatherhill Road. Roofs on houses of that style usually have a symmetrical pitch, formal proportions and a particular tile or slate. A new rooflight on that sort of roof needs more thought about where it sits, because the front slope is the face the house presents to the street. We would usually steer a unit to the rear slope, or choose a conservation-style unit that sits low in the roof.
Whichever type of house you have, the loft is where we learn the most. We look at the rafters, how they are spaced, what insulation sits between them and whether the ceiling below is plasterboard or something older. All of that decides how the opening is framed, and how much making good is needed on the inside once the new unit is in.
Short rafters, small lofts
In a compact roof, a roof window often works best when it is a single unit placed centrally, not a wide one pushed to the edge. We measure the head height at the survey. A window you cannot stand under is less useful than a smaller one placed where the floor is highest.
Flat roofs on later additions
Over time, some of these homes have gained a flat-roofed addition at the back, such as a kitchen extension, a porch or a garage conversion. Those roofs suit a flat roof rooflight or a larger roof lantern, and the choice is mostly about the span and the structure.
Sheet 03
Choosing a unit for the house you have
Scale: the glass
The table below sets out how we usually match common Smallfield roof situations to products. It is a starting point for the conversation at the survey, not a substitute for one.
| Your roof | Where we start | Page to read |
|---|---|---|
| Pitched with loft room | Roof window | Roof windows |
| Formal front slope | Conservation unit, rear slope preferred | Conservation rooflights |
| Flat extension | Flat roof rooflight | Flat roof rooflights |
| Windowless hall or landing | Sun tunnel | Sun tunnels |
If you have a roof window already, it might be a VELUX, and our page on VELUX windows covers what replacement involves. Where a unit is out of reach, an electric opening rooflight is easier to live with than one on a pole.
Fixed, opening or electric
A fixed unit gives the cleanest line and the fewest moving parts. An opening one lets steam and stale air out of a bathroom or landing. In a compact house the extra ventilation can matter more than the extra size. If the unit sits above a stair, an electric version avoids the awkward reach. We talk through which suits each room at the survey.
Dark hallways
A hall with no window is where a sun tunnel earns its place. It needs a short run between the roof and the ceiling, which suits smaller houses well, and it leaves the loft largely untouched. In a house with a flat-roofed porch or garage, a small flat roof rooflight over the entrance is another way to brighten a gloomy passage.
What the glass does
A loft room warms quickly in summer and loses heat quickly in winter, and the glazing you choose changes both. We explain the options on the energy efficient rooflights page, and at the survey we put real choices in front of you instead of one default.
Sheet 04
What the council says about your address
Scale: the council
The planning authority is Tandridge District Council. Its Building Control is delivered through the Southern Building Control Partnership, which also covers Reigate & Banstead and Mole Valley. Where a job is notifiable, we handle that notification with the partnership.
On the planning side, we have not confirmed any conservation area for Smallfield, so we do not name one. We do know that the national register lists Article 4 direction areas within a kilometre, though it does not say what they restrict. They could be nowhere near your road, or they could touch it. The honest answer is to ask the council, giving your full address. Our planning guide explains what to ask for and why the answer matters.
If your property is a flat or a maisonette, the roof is likely shared, and you will need the freeholder's agreement as well. The page on flats and leasehold buildings explains how that works.
When you call the council, have these to hand: your full address and postcode, the type of unit you have in mind, and which slope of the roof it would go on. Ask whether the property sits under any direction or condition that affects roof alterations. Keep a note of the reply. If it turns out that a full application is needed, tell us at the survey and we will build the quote around it.
Georgian-style frontages
A house in the classical style with a prominent front slope presents its roof to the street, so a change there is more visible. A rooflight on the rear slope is seen by fewer people than one at the front. If you want one at the front, speak to the council before the survey so we can price the right thing.
For what Building Control expects of a new unit, read the Building Regulations guide.
Sheet 05
When a worn rooflight needs replacing
Scale: the old unit
Houses built in the decades after the parish stopped being farmland are old enough now to have gone through at least one round of window replacement. A rooflight fitted a long time ago may have a timber frame that has swollen, a flat roof light with a cracked acrylic dome, or a roof window whose seals have gone. The common signs are cloudy glass, a stain on the ceiling lining, or a frame that no longer closes.
A unit with cloudy glass between the panes has failed for good; the misted and failed rooflights page covers what happens next. We take out the old unit and fit a new one, with new weathering around it. Where the problem is around the frame, we check the flashing, the kerb and the surrounding roof, because the cause is not always the glass.
Water around a frame is usually telling you something about the unit's age, and the honest answer is assessment and, if the unit has had its day, replacement. At the survey we look at the whole opening, then explain what we found and what we would fit.
Replacement also gives you a chance to improve the room. A dark kitchen with an old dome can become a bright one with a modern flat roof rooflight, and a stuffy landing can get an opening unit. You do not have to take the opportunity, but it is the sensible moment to do so, because the access and the weathering are already part of the job.
Old domes and new roofs
Plastic domes on flat roofs age badly. They discolour, crack and let heat pour in. Swapping a dome for a modern flat roof rooflight with proper glazing changes the room completely. For a bigger project, a walk-on rooflight is an option where the flat roof doubles as a terrace.
You get a fixed price in writing before anything starts, and afterwards the fitting is under a ten-year workmanship guarantee. For the factors that affect the figure, see costs.
Smallfield householders ask
Does Smallfield have a conservation area?
We have not confirmed one, so we do not name one. The sure way is to ask Tandridge District Council about your address, which also tells you whether any Article 4 direction applies.
Can I put a rooflight on the front of a Georgian-style house?
You can ask, but the front slope draws the most attention. Speak to the council first. A rear slope is usually simpler, and a conservation-style unit is the quieter option on any visible slope.
Who applies for the scaffold licence?
We do. In Smallfield the highway authority is Surrey County Council, and the application is part of the access plan in your quote.
Can you replace the plastic dome on my flat roof?
Yes. We remove the old dome, check the kerb and the roof around it, and fit a new unit with fresh weathering. The survey gives you a fixed written quote.
To get a rooflight in Smallfield looked at, ask for a free survey. Or return to the Brighton & Hove page for the full picture.
