Skylights & Rooflights in HaxbyBuilt for the village of bungalows and busy family kitchens

Haxby is about 7.5 road miles north of York, and bungalows give many of its streets a long, low look.

Walk through Haxby and you notice the roofs first: low, wide and tiled, over single-storey houses with generous frontages. There are chalet bungalows with a room or two in the roof, post-war and 1960s semis, and newer estate housing built round closes. Many of these houses have been altered over the years, so the original plan is often hidden behind a rear extension, a converted garage or a loft that was once all rafters.

Another feature of the village is how many roofs are close to one another. Houses on a close or a short street often face each other across a few metres, so the question of who can see a new rooflight, and from where, comes up more often than on a wide, leafy road. A rooflight on a rear slope usually settles that question without further discussion.

That history helps when a rooflight is on the cards. The house has usually changed before, and the roof can change again, with good planning about where the new glass goes.

A bungalow roof is gentler than a house roof, and that changes how a roof window is chosen and fitted.

Every roof window has a range of pitches it was designed for, and the standard flashing is made for a particular range. On a shallow bungalow slope the window may need a different flashing kit, or a window with a different hinge position, so that rain runs off properly and the sash opens without catching the roof. We measure the pitch on site, because a drawing is often a degree or two out, and a degree matters here.

Sizes follow from the rafter spacing. A window is made to fit between rafters, or to replace a short section of one with a proper trimmer, and on bungalow roofs the rafters can be narrower than you would find on a Victorian house. We check this from the loft, mark the opening there, and only then confirm the window size and the price.

The low roofline helps in some ways. The glass is easy to reach for cleaning from inside, the opening is closer to the eaves than on a tall house, and the work is physically calmer on the roof. For a bedroom in the roof, there is a further point: the sill height above the floor decides whether the window can double as a way out.

Our page on roof window installation sets out the styles and sizes in detail.

Haxby may carry a North Yorkshire address, but its planning decisions come from City of York Council.

Haxby belongs to the council that governs York itself, so enquiries and applications go there. On a typical Haxby house the right to add a rooflight is usually there, with limits on height above the roof and on side slopes, which the skylight planning permission guide sets out. Flats and maisonettes are outside those rights.

The twist for a bungalow is a dormer. A rooflight is one thing, but a dormer window is a bigger change to the roof and has its own rules, so a plan that mixes both is best raised with the council early. Where a lantern is proposed on an existing bungalow roof, a council confirmation is often wise.

On a bungalow, the question to ask first is whether the roof is changing shape, because a rooflight sits within the roof and a dormer does not.

From a survey in Haxby

A common addition on a Haxby bungalow is a larger kitchen at the back, and the roof over it is usually flat.

A single-storey extension needs only a flat roof to be built, so the rooflight is a decision about how the finished room should feel. One large flat rooflight lights a room from a single spot. Two smaller ones can split the light. A lantern brings height and a more architectural centre, and suits an extension wide enough to carry it without crowding the walls.

Choose the glass as carefully as the frame. A south-facing room can gather more heat than it needs, so the glazing specification deserves attention, and we talk it through before ordering anything. Whatever is chosen, the upstand is built to the right height and insulated, and the membrane is dressed up it as a single careful piece.

Compare flat roof rooflights with roof lanterns before you settle on a shape.

A garage turned into a utility room, playroom or study rarely has a window where one is needed.

Garages sit against a side wall or a neighbour's fence, and their front is a door that was bricked up and replaced with a small window. The result can be a dim room with a single source of light at the wrong end. A flat rooflight over the middle changes that quickly, and a larger fixed unit lights a room from above without touching the neighbour's side.

Light from above has one more advantage in a converted garage. The old door opening is usually the only window, and furniture tends to be pushed along the walls. Overhead light leaves those walls free for shelves, desks and storage, which suits a room that has to work hard.

The roof needs inspecting first, because garage roofs are often built to a lighter standard than house roofs, with smaller joists at wider spacings. We check what is there before we quote, and say plainly if the roof wants strengthening around the opening.

Many Haxby owners plan to stay put, so the house has to keep working while the fitting goes on.

Our team treats the home as the priority. Floors, stairs and furniture are protected from the front door onwards, and the work area is separated from the rest where it can be. Each day ends with the roof secured, rain or no rain, and we remove all the waste. The same team stays on the job to the end, so the person who opens the roof is the person who finishes the reveal.

Behind the plaster and under the tiles we also take care over trimmers, upstands, flashings, membranes and insulation. We photograph them as we go, and the pictures come to you at handover together with the product information, the makers' warranties and the 10-year workmanship guarantee.

We come to the house, look at the roof and the room, and leave you with a written quote.

There is no need to tidy the loft or the cupboard under the stairs. We work around what is there, and we only need access to the roof space and to the room below. If you prefer, you can show us a Haxby neighbour's rooflight that you like and we will talk through how a similar one would suit your roof.

The visit is free, and we have no premises, so it takes place at your address. Notifiable work is arranged with Building Control by us, and the paperwork is part of the handover. Because Haxby is a short run from York, there is rarely a wait to see us beyond the usual diary.

If you are between villages, we also cover Sutton-on-the-Forest, Wigginton and Huby. Fill in the form below, or message us on WhatsApp, and we will arrange a time that suits you.

Bungalow owners often ask about the loft hatch and ceiling height before anything else. Both are easy to check at the survey, and they decide whether a room in the roof is realistic or whether a rooflight over the existing ceiling is the better route.