Skylights & Rooflights in Linton-on-OusePantile cottages, brick terraces and a village by the river

Linton-on-Ouse stands beside the River Ouse, and much of its older housing is brick under clay pantiles.

Walk the village and the roofs read like a record. The cottages near the old centre have the warm, uneven pantile look common to the Vale of York. Later brick terraces sit alongside them, and the airfield nearby brought rows of houses built to one plan. Newer infill, in brick and concrete tile, fills the gaps.

Each of these asks for something slightly different from a rooflight. The table gives the usual match.

Pantiles are beautiful and awkward, because they do not lie flat and a standard flashing will not seal against them.

A flashing for pantiles is shaped to follow the wave, with soft edges that are dressed over the tile profile. The tiles around the opening are lifted individually, numbered as they come off and replaced afterwards, and any broken ones are matched as closely as we can find. Old clay is often fragile, so we work from the inside wherever the layout allows and keep foot traffic on the roof to a minimum.

Our guide on whether a roof window can go in a pantile roof goes into the detail. The short answer is yes, with the right parts and some patience.

Underneath the tiles there is often an old lining of felt or boards, and in a cottage the rafters may be spaced irregularly. We read what is there before choosing the frame width, because a window that matches the rafter spacing needs less timber cut away. Where a rafter does have to be trimmed, the opening is framed with new timbers fixed properly at both ends, so the load is carried round the window rather than through it.

On pantiles, the flashing is the part to get right: a good one disappears into the roof, a poor one shows from the lane.

From a survey in Linton-on-Ouse

The planning authority for Linton-on-Ouse is North Yorkshire Council, which replaced the old district councils in April 2023.

For most houses a roof window counts as permitted development, as long as it meets the conditions summarised in our planning permission for skylights guide. The things to check in a village like this are protected buildings and any Article 4 direction on a particular street. A cottage on the statutory list needs consent for work to the roof, and an application will want to see the product and its position on the slope. The council confirms what applies, and we can say what to ask.

Outbuildings and annexes follow their own rules, so tell us if the rooflight is for a converted barn or garden room. Houses that have been split into flats lose permitted development for this work altogether and need planning permission.

Upper rooms in an older cottage tend to be small, low and dim, and a roof window can add more than daylight.

A roof window set into the slope gives a room height as well as light, because you stand beneath the glass rather than beside a small gable window. In a main bedroom, a window that opens fully gives a view across the village roofs and fresh air in warm weather. A blind in the side channels takes care of early mornings.

For roofs where the look from outside is the priority, a conservation rooflight sits close to the covering and has a slim bar, so it reads more like a feature of the roof than an addition to it.

A cottage ceiling often follows the rafters, so a window cut into it needs a neat splayed lining to carry light into the room. We form that lining in plasterboard or plaster to suit what is already there, and leave it ready for paint. Where the old plaster is soft close to the opening, we say so before starting and agree how far the new lining should extend.

Cottage walls and ceilings are rarely straight, and a new window is. We set the frame true to the roof and let the lining take up the difference, so the finished reveal looks deliberate instead of forced. Paint colours are your choice, and we leave the surface ready to decorate. If your cottage has exposed beams, tell us early, as an opening beside a beam is planned differently from one in plain plaster.

Insulation is the other half of a cottage job. Old roofs were often built with no insulation at all, or with a thin layer added later. When a window goes in, the area around it is insulated to current standards, and we wrap the frame so there is no cold gap between glass and ceiling. That reduces condensation on the lining in winter, which is a common complaint with badly finished openings.

Think about where the new light will fall before settling on a position. A window high on the slope lights the back of a room and can leave the floor near the walls in shadow, while one set lower brings daylight further down and gives a view out as you sit. Standing in the room at different times of day and noting where the sun lands is a free way to decide.

Many village homes have a single-storey room added at the back, and those flat roofs are where a rooflight does the most good.

A kitchen built on in a narrow plot often has deep floor space and little light at its centre. A glazed unit raised on an insulated kerb, or a lantern if the room is large enough, lifts the whole room. Before we cut anything we check the covering, the falls and what lies under the roof, so the rooflight is fitted to a sound base.

A rooflight fit does not take over the whole house, and a little planning keeps everyday life going.

We cover floors from the door to the work area and keep dust out of the rest of the house where we can. Whatever is opened to the sky in the morning is made weathertight by evening. If the job runs over several days, you will know in advance which rooms we need to reach and when.

The hidden work is photographed as we go and the pictures come to you at handover, together with the product details and our 10-year workmanship guarantee. Where the job is notifiable, we arrange the Building Control notification and pass the certificate to you.

Linton-on-Ouse is about 10.9 road miles north-west of York, and the first visit costs nothing.

The team inspects the roof from inside and out, discusses the room, and advises on planning. A written quote follows with the costs set out separately, and the visit also produces a timetable for the work.

Because the village sits beside the river and the airfield was once a big local employer, many households here have lived in their houses for a long time and know every corner of them. That is useful to us: you can tell us where the damp patch shows up in wet weather, which bedroom is coldest, and where the ceiling has been patched before. Point those out at the survey and we can design around them.

Access matters on narrow village lanes. Tell us if parking is tight or the road is shared with a neighbour's drive, and the team will plan where the van and any access tower go, so nobody is blocked in for the day.

The same team works in Green Hammerton, Easingwold and Huby. The flat roof rooflights page covers the extension side of things. Use the form below to ask for a visit.

A village survey goes quicker when you can point out the slope you can see from the road and the one you cannot.

From a survey in Linton-on-Ouse