Light into lofts and extensions
Nothing changes a dark room like a window in the roof. Lofts, stairwells, bathrooms and the deep end of an extension all benefit, and a roof window lets in considerably more daylight than a vertical window of the same size because it faces the sky. Plenty of older houses across Leeds have loft space that earns its keep once it is properly lit.
The window itself rarely causes trouble. The weathering around it does. A roof window that leaks has almost always been fitted with the wrong flashing kit for the covering, or with the flashing dressed badly into the slates or tiles around it. Fitting the unit is the easy part. The re-laying around it is what you are actually paying for.
Our approach
We strip the covering back around the opening, trim the timbers where the frame needs it, and set the frame at the correct height for the covering, because slate and profiled tile need the window sitting at different depths. The underfelt collar is dressed into the roof membrane so any wind-driven moisture drains away, then the flashing kit goes on: one profile for slate, another for tile. Where a standard kit does not suit the covering, we dress lead by hand instead.
Then the slates or tiles go back, cut tight to the frame. The re-laying is what separates a neat installation from an obvious one, and we photograph the finished weathering from the scaffold so you can see it.
Conservation rooflights and tired old units
Older slate roofs suit a conservation rooflight: a slimmer frame, a black external finish, a central glazing bar and a recessed flashing that sits the window low in the roofline. Planners often ask for them in conservation areas, but they are worth choosing anywhere the look of the roof matters.
Old units that have misted, stiffened or started to rot are usually a simple swap. Manufacturers make current windows to fit the openings their older models left behind, so a replacement rarely disturbs much of the surrounding covering, and the difference in glazing performance between a twenty-year-old unit and a new one is considerable.
