Arundel
Landing, loft or kitchen extension in a conservation town
Arundel is 21.5 road miles west of central Brighton and Hove, inside the 30 miles that our Brighton and Hove skylight team works to. The town has one conservation area, a boundary of the South Downs National Park running very close to its centre, and an old town laid out on a slope. This page explains what that means for a rooflight on your roof.
Sheet 01
Lofts, landings and kitchens
Scale: the room
A rooflight is rarely chosen for the roof. It is chosen for the room underneath, and three rooms come up again and again when people ask us about Arundel: the loft, the landing and the extension at the back of the house.
The loft is the straightforward case. Under a pitched roof, a roof window gives a room its daylight and its view of the sky, and it can open for air. Whether the loft is a bedroom, an office or a playroom, the window height matters as much as the size. A sill set too high leaves a seated person staring at the ceiling, and one set too low is awkward to use. We mark the position from inside before anything is cut.
A landing is the quiet case. A stair with no window feels like a tunnel, and a roof window above it drops light down through the stairwell. A sun tunnel can do the same job where a full window would not fit, carrying daylight down a short tube through the roof space.
An extension is the ambitious case. A rear kitchen or dining room under a flat roof suits a flat roof rooflight, or a lantern where the ceiling height allows one. The roof lantern turns a plain flat ceiling into a raised, glazed volume. It also needs the most from the roof structure, so the survey looks at the joists, the upstand and the roof edge before a size is agreed.
If you are replacing a unit that is already fitted, the light usually does not change. What changes is how well the room holds its heat and how it feels in the afternoon sun. That is a good time to look at energy efficient rooflights, since the old frame is coming out anyway.
Think about the evening as well as the day. A rooflight over a kitchen island or a desk looks different after dark, when the glass turns to a black panel unless the room is lit well. Blinds, a glass that reflects less indoors, or a position away from the main work area can all help. It is cheaper to talk about this at the survey than after the unit is in.
Sheet 02
An old town on a slope
Scale: the slope
The old part of Arundel climbs a slope, with the newer town to the south, divided from it by a main road. The two halves ask different things of a rooflight job, so which side you live on matters before you reach the survey.
On a sloping street, the ground level changes from front to back, and that affects everything about the roof. A house that looks two storeys from the street can be three at the rear, and the eaves that were an easy reach at the front become a long way up at the back. A rear scaffold may stand on ground well below the front door, and a tower from the street may be the better route. We take the levels from the site, not from the plan.
We will not describe your street for you. What we can say is that on any tightly built slope, the survey checks what the roof shares with its neighbour, where chimneys and returns break up the slope, and where a flashing meets a shared wall.
On the newer side of the main road, the same rule applies: the product choice follows the shape of the roof. A pitched roof takes a roof window, with VELUX among the makes we fit. An extension takes a flat unit. A sheltered garden room might take an electric opening rooflight, so a warm room can vent without a ladder.
Before the glass: what the roof must carry
Before a rooflight can go anywhere, the roof has to be able to take the opening. That is the second thing the survey is for, after finding out what you want. Three questions decide it.
What is the structure?
A pitched roof is carried on rafters. Cutting one for a roof window means trimming it between two others with new timbers across the top and bottom of the opening. A flat roof is carried on joists, and a lantern or large rooflight needs a kerb that sits squarely on them. If the existing timbers are sound and sized well, the work is straightforward. If they are undersized, the quote says what strengthening is needed.
What is the covering?
Tile, slate, felt, single-ply membrane and asphalt all want different flashing and different handling. A slate roof wants a flashing kit made for slate. A single-ply membrane wants a skirt that can be welded or bonded to the new kerb. We match the method to the covering already on the roof.
What is underneath?
The room below sets the finish. A lining that splays up into the opening spreads light across the ceiling, while a straight-sided lining is tidy but darker. We agree the finish with you at the survey, with the plasterwork scope written into the quote.
On the ground
The River Arun runs through the eastern side of the town, which makes ground near it worth asking about when a scaffold or platform has to stand on soft or sloping verge. That is a ground-conditions question for the survey, not a planning one, and we deal with it on the day.
Sheet 03
Two bodies, one conservation area
Scale: the paperwork
Planning decisions here come from Arun District Council, and the same council's Building Control team checks the construction side separately. The twist is the park. The National Park boundary passes within metres of the centre of Arundel, so a few streets near the edge of town can fall on either side of it. An address on the park side is for the South Downs National Park Authority to decide instead. So the first question on any Arundel enquiry is simple: which side of the line is your house?
Arundel has one conservation area, designated in March 1975, and it covers the historic heart of the town. We did not find any Article 4 direction on roofs among the sources we checked. The only Arun direction confirmed relates to houses in multiple occupation in other towns. That is no guarantee about your street, so ask the council. The wider rules are in the planning guide.
Flats, and listed buildings, are different cases again. If your building is listed, anything touching its character needs separate consent, and the council can tell you whether yours is. If you live in a flat, the leasehold guide explains why the freeholder comes before the planner.
- Check the address Is it inside the conservation area, and is it on the park side of the boundary?
- Ask the council Put your address and rooflight type to the right planning team in an email.
- Keep the reply A written answer is worth keeping with the house papers.
- Survey and quote We survey free, then write a fixed quote that notes any planning step.
- Notification Where the work is notifiable, we send it to Building Control for you.
What Building Control looks at is set out in the Building Regulations guide.
Sheet 04
Reaching a roof in Arundel's lanes
Scale: the climb
On a closely built street the route to the roof is the hardest part of the job. Any of three routes can work: scaffold at the back, a tower built up from the pavement, or a mobile platform. Below the castle, where the old houses stand shoulder to shoulder on the slope, only one of them may be practical.
Anything that occupies the pavement or a parked-car space needs a licence from West Sussex County Council, the highway authority. We make those applications for you and they are covered in the quote. Our guide to scaffold licences and bay suspensions goes through the process.
Neighbours are part of the plan. On a terrace, a scaffold affects the house next door, so notice goes through their door before the scaffold arrives. Where the work touches a shared party wall, we also tell you what that means under the Party Wall Act. The plan lives on a single page in every quote, which we call the access plan, and it names the route, the licence, the notice and the Building Control step.
Photographs help too, and they cost nothing to send. A few pictures of the roof from the garden and the street, taken on a phone, let the surveyor plan the visit before arriving. It also helps to know your own side of the job before we arrive. Is there a side gate, and how wide is it? Does the garden have steps, a pond or a shed against the back wall? Is there a car that always sits in the same place? Answers to questions like these let the surveyor choose a route in one visit, and they save a second trip.
Weather matters too, and a sloping site makes wind more noticeable. If the forecast turns, the opening stays covered and the day is rearranged. We would rather lose a morning than leave a roof open overnight.
Sheet 05
Swapping out what is up there now
Scale: the old unit
A house can carry units fitted years apart: a timber roof window from one conversion, a flat dome from a later extension, a framed lantern from a more recent job. They fail in different ways, and they are replaced in different ways.
| Sign | Likely cause | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Mist between panes | Failed seal in the glass unit | Assessment, then replacement |
| Stained ceiling by the opening | Water getting past the flashing or kerb | Survey of the whole unit and its surround |
| Frame stiff or warped | Age and movement in a timber frame | New roof window to suit the opening |
| Dome cloudy or cracked | Ageing plastic glazing | New flat roof rooflight on the existing kerb if sound |
For misted glass the answer is a new unit, because moisture inside a sealed pane cannot be removed. We cover the thinking on the misted and failed units page.
Replacing a whole unit, even like for like, counts as building work: the new one must meet Part L and the job is notifiable, so we send the notification for you. Once the new unit is in, our 10-year workmanship guarantee applies, and its terms are set out on our guarantee page. For a sense of what moves the price of a replacement, read the costs page.
A swap also tells us a good deal. With the old unit out, the timbers around the opening are visible, along with the state of the kerb and whatever insulation sits behind it. If something unexpected shows, we tell you at once, show you, and write any change into the figure before the work continues. Nothing is added without your agreement.
Where the roof is old enough, a replacement can be a chance to improve things: a larger opening, a unit that opens, or a lower-profile frame. Each choice is checked against the structure before it goes in the quote. There is no shop to call at, so ask for a survey visit through the quote form or by way of our contact details. The broader service is on the main Brighton and Hove page.
