Skylights & rooflights in Shoreham-by-Sea

Once a unit has failed, it is assessed and replaced. A new whole unit has to reach today's thermal values, which an older one will not, and that is why it goes through Building Control. A new pane in a good frame is treated more lightly. We tell you which situation you are in before you commit.

What failure usually points to

What you see	Likely cause	Usual answer
Cloudy glass, droplets between panes	Failed edge seal	Replace the sealed unit or the whole rooflight
Staining on the ceiling around a flat roof rooflight	Kerb or membrane junction	Survey the kerb, then replace the unit and rebuild the upstand if needed
Frame distorted or soft	Rot or movement	Replace the whole unit
Roof window stiff or will not seat	Worn hinges or a settled frame	Assess, then replace the window and flashings

What the survey looks at

When we come to look at a failed unit, we do not only look at the glass. We check the inside of the frame for staining, press the timber for softness, and look at the flashing or upstand where the unit meets the roof. We look at the ceiling reveal below for signs that water has been getting in. On a flat roof we walk the membrane around the kerb, because a lifted edge there tells us more than the unit does. Then we measure, so that the replacement is ordered to suit the opening and not the old catalogue number.

Sometimes the old opening is the wrong size for the room it serves. A small unit over a large extension makes the room feel shut in, and the replacement is a chance to enlarge it. That needs a new structural opening, which means trimming the timbers and a different Building Control conversation. We set that out in the quote so you can compare keeping the opening with changing it.

The centre of Shoreham-by-Sea is laid out on a grid that has survived since about the early 12th century. That layout shapes the work. Plots are tight, the streets run straight and many properties sit close together. After the railway arrived in 1840 the port grew, with shipyards and coastal trade, and a good deal of Victorian housing followed.

From that history we can say a few practical things. A Victorian house is likely to have a pitched roof of tile or slate, with the possibility of a loft room that wants daylight. The older core is likely to have smaller, tighter roofs where the position of a roof window has to be worked around the rafters. And a town that has grown over many decades will have rear extensions with flat roofs, which are the usual place for a rooflight or a roof lantern.

We do not assume. Each roof is surveyed, and the survey records the covering, the pitch, the state of the timbers and the room below. What follows from that survey is a quote for the actual roof, not a typical one.

Flat-roofed additions at the back

On later rear extensions, you can choose between a flat roof rooflight and a roof lantern. The lantern needs more headroom and structure but brings light in from the sides as well as above.

Old roofs, tight valleys

In older housing, roofs are often broken up by valleys, chimney stacks and the small hips that come with extensions. Those details decide where a roof window can sit. A unit must be clear of the valley gutter and of any chimney, with room for the flashing to do its job, and it needs rafters on both sides to trim between. Some positions that look good from the street are impossible once you see the structure from inside the loft. We show you the options that work and say why the others do not.

The loft room

For a pitched roof the product is a roof window. If the loft is a bedroom, think about getting out in a fire: a roof window can only be the way out on a bungalow or chalet bungalow, because the room's floor must sit within about 4.5 m of the ground. On a two-storey house a loft conversion needs a protected stair.

So the sensible step is to check your own address with the council before you commit to a plan. The rooflight planning guide shows what permitted development allows and the point where it ends. Flats have no such rights, and a listed building needs listed building consent on top. If your roof is on a street the council protects, a conservation rooflight, which sits flush with the slope and has a slim frame, is often the unit that fits the context.

The park to the north

The South Downs bound the town on the north. Some outskirts may fall inside the National Park, where the park authority is the planning authority. The centre does not. Check your address.

The Adur and Worthing building control desk

A new opening, or a whole-unit replacement, is notifiable building work, and the notice is ours to send. Part L sets the thermal target, and a roof window in a slope must reach 1.4 W/m²K or band B. A flat roof rooflight or a lantern is held to 2.2 W/m²K. The guide to Building Regulations for skylights and rooflights covers the rules in full.

Listed buildings

A listed building needs listed building consent for any alteration that affects its character, and that is on top of any planning permission. Any rooflight in a listed building starts with the council. We can survey and price a like-for-like replacement, but we will not tell you consent is unnecessary when it is not.

What to ask the council

Three questions cover it: is my address in a conservation area, does an Article 4 direction apply to it, and are there any conditions on my property's planning permission. Ask also whether your address is inside the park boundary. If the answer to any of these is yes, fitting is not stopped, but the route to it changes, and a planning application may come first.

Close-set houses make access the hard part. Every quote we write contains the access plan, a written page that shows how we reach your roof, who applies for any licence, what the freeholder needs to agree if your building is converted, how neighbours are told and how Building Control is handled. The price sits at the bottom of the same page.

On a street where front gardens are shallow and parking is tight, a tower from the street might need a licence for the pavement, and perhaps a parking bay suspended. Shoreham-by-Sea is in West Sussex, so highway licences come from West Sussex County Council. We make the applications ourselves. The background is in the roof work licensing guide.

Where houses form a terrace, a rear scaffold through the garden can be the cleanest route, if the garden is open from the back. Where it is not, a mobile platform might reach what a tower cannot.

If you own a flat in a converted house, check your lease. The roof is usually the freeholder's, and written consent is normally needed. Shared roofs and freeholder consent are covered in our leasehold rooflight guide.

Working in a street, not a site

Roof work on a terraced street is noticed. Scaffold boards, deliveries and a skip all take space that other people use. We aim to keep the footprint small and to tell neighbours in advance, which the access plan records. Materials are lifted to the roof by hoist or by hand, not thrown down. Where a roof is shared, we check whether a party wall is touched. Most rooflights do not touch one, but if yours does, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies and a notice to the neighbour is required.

1. Survey An appointment is agreed, then we inspect the roof inside and out and take the measurements for the opening.
2. Access plan We choose the route to the roof and write it down, with any licences and consents.
3. Quote You get a fixed written price with the plan attached.
4. Install We fit the unit, flash it into the roof and make good inside.
5. Building Control The notice goes in with Adur & Worthing, or a registered building control approver, where one is due.

Light that suits the room

Think about what the room is for. A kitchen at the back of the house wants even daylight over the worktops. A loft bedroom wants light but also the ability to darken it. A hall wants whatever it can get. A roof lantern gives height and spreads daylight, while a flat rooflight gives a plain opening that suits a low ceiling. For rooms facing south, ask about glazing that limits solar gain. For a dark north slope, clear glass with a good frame does the most.

Heat loss and gain count too. Energy efficient rooflights explains the glazing choices. The price of any of these depends on size, access, structure and how many openings are involved, so see our page on costs, then book a survey at the quote form for a fixed figure. Our 10-year workmanship guarantee covers the installation. Call 01273 282313 or message 07880 284133 on WhatsApp.