What the life plan is
Every written quote we send carries a short document called the life plan. It sits behind the price and says what the rooflight we are proposing will be like to live with, not on the day it goes in, but in the second decade.
A rooflight is a long-lived thing on a roof made of parts that are not long-lived. The frame and the kerb can last for decades. The seals, the motor, the sealed glass unit and the blind will each need attention at some point, at their own pace. The life plan names those parts before you buy, and says how each one is dealt with when the time comes.
It is not a sales brochure and it is not a promise that nothing will ever wear. It is a plain record of what is going on your roof and how it can be looked after.
Part one: the unit
The plan starts with the unit itself, named and sized. That means the make and model, the overall size, the type of kerb or upstand it sits on, the glazing specification and how it opens, if it opens at all. If it is electric, the plan names the motor, the rain sensor and the controller.
This sounds simple, and it is. It is also the first thing missing when someone goes looking for a replacement part years later and nobody knows what the unit is. With the plan in the house papers, whoever deals with it next starts with the right information.
Part two: what wears
Next, the plan lists the parts of that unit that will age. Which parts appear depends on the product, but they usually come from this set:
- Seals and gaskets. The rubber and synthetic seals between the glass and the frame, and between an opening sash and its frame. Sunlight and frost harden them over time.
- Motors, sensors and controllers. On electric units, the actuator that opens the sash, the rain sensor that closes it, and the controller or remote that drives them.
- Sealed glass units. The double or triple glazed panes. When the edge seal fails, moisture gets between the panes and the glass mists from inside.
- Blinds. Fabric, cords, springs and motors on blackout or shading blinds.
- Flashings and trims. The flashing kit or upstand detail that keeps water out where the unit meets the roof, and the external trims and cappings.
We do not put dates on these. Wear depends on which way the roof faces, how exposed the house is, how often the unit is opened and how it is looked after. A south-facing rooflight on an exposed Peak edge village roof lives a different life to one on a sheltered north slope in a city terrace. Instead, the plan gives checkpoints: what to look at, and the signs that a part needs attention.
Part three: how each part is replaced
This is the part that matters most in later years. For every wear part, the plan says how it is replaced and whether doing so disturbs the roof.
Some replacements happen entirely from inside the room. Others mean working from outside but leave the roof covering untouched. A few, on some products, mean lifting the frame and opening up the roof around it. That last kind is the one we try to design out at the start, by choosing products whose glass units and wear parts can be swapped in place, and by fitting and flashing so the detail can be opened again without wrecking the roof.
Where a product makes a part harder to replace, the plan says so, so you can weigh that up before you choose.
An example life plan for a flat rooflight
This is the layout we use, shown here for a generic fixed double glazed flat rooflight on a timber kerb, chosen so its glass unit can be changed in place. Your own plan names the real product and is written for your roof.
| Part | Look at it | Signs it needs attention | How it is replaced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit | Named make, model and size, kerb height, glazing | Not a wear part | Recorded so later parts can be matched |
| Glazing seals | When you clean the glass | Hard, cracked or shrinking rubber at the glass edge | From outside, in place, roof covering untouched |
| Sealed glass unit | On bright mornings, from inside | Mist or droplets between the panes | Glass unit lifted out of the frame, roof covering untouched |
| Kerb and upstand | After a hard winter, from a window or the ground | Lifting covering at the kerb, staining on the lining inside | Covering opened and resealed at the kerb only |
| External trims | Once a year, with gutters | Loose or missing cappings, debris lodged at the edge | Refixed or swapped from outside |
For an opening or electric unit, the plan adds rows for the opening seals, the motor, the rain sensor, the controller and any blind. For a roof window in a pitched roof, the kerb row becomes the flashing kit.
Why we do it
Most people choose a rooflight on looks and price, and that is fair. The trouble tends to show up in year ten or twelve: the motor is no longer made, or a misted pane can only be dealt with by taking the whole unit out of the roof. A small fault becomes a big, disruptive job.
Writing the life plan forces the question at the start, when it is easiest to answer. It shapes what we recommend, it lets you compare options with the long run in view, and it leaves you with something useful long after the fitting day. If you sell the house, it tells the next owner what is up there.
It also keeps us honest. A plan that says a part can be swapped in place has to be true for the product we fit.
Where the life plan fits with the guarantee
The life plan and our 10-year workmanship guarantee do different jobs. The guarantee covers the work we did: the fitting, the flashing, the weatherproofing and the making good. The life plan covers the parts that age normally, which no installer can stop, and tells you how they are handled. The product itself is covered by its manufacturer's own warranty.