Skylights & rooflights in Worksop
Older streets near the middle and big estates round the edge, including Gateford, Kilton and Manton, make up Worksop, a market town. Whether a skylight is going in or a tired one is coming out, the job comes with a written plan for the parts that will need changing later.
Where Worksop's roofs make the work harder
As the largest town in Bassetlaw, Worksop has roofs of every age sitting within a short drive of each other. A rooflight chosen for a terrace by the centre would be wrong for a 1960s estate semi, so we work from the house and not from a standard specification.
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Older houses near the centre
Close to the middle of town the housing is older, with brick terraces and larger houses that have seen several rounds of repair. Roof timbers on those buildings have moved over the years, and we sight along the slope before fixing a frame, since an opening cut in a roof that has dipped needs packing or the sash will bind.
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Estate semis with a dark middle
The large estates around the town are rows of semis and short terraces whose original plan gives a deep kitchen and a landing with no window. They are straightforward roofs to work on, and a roof window, a sun tunnel or a flat rooflight usually fits without much argument.
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Conservation areas inside the town
Worksop has conservation areas close to its centre, so some roof slopes that face the street are looked at more closely than others. Every survey begins by checking your address on the council's map, because the result changes the type of unit we propose.
What Worksop is built of
Near the middle of town, the houses are older. There are terraces in brick, some larger villas and a few buildings that have been converted from other uses, all with roofs that have been repaired and patched by generations of owners. A roof window in an older slope has to be sized to the rafters on either side, and a slim frame sits more quietly in an old roof than a deep one.
Around the centre the town has grown out into big areas of housing. Gateford, Kilton and Manton are among the places that make up this ring, and their streets are mainly semi-detached and terraced houses dating from the mid twentieth century onwards. Roofs are usually concrete tile on regular rafters, with access from a loft hatch on the landing. That makes them easy to survey and straightforward to fit into.
Many of these houses have been extended, with a kitchen built out over the lawn or a garage made over as a room. A lantern or a flat rooflight does the most good on those low flat roofs, because the extension is deep and the nearest wall window is a long way off. We check the joists and the covering at survey, and tell you what would have to be done before a rooflight could be joined to them.
The town centre and the streets near it also hold flats above shops and conversions of larger houses into several homes. These are a different case from the family houses around them. Roof alterations over a flat need consent from the freeholder as well as the council, and the roof may be shared with the people upstairs or next door. We ask who owns the roof early on, since the answer changes who has to agree to the work.
Worksop is a big enough place to hold plenty of newer building too, especially round the edges, where trussed roofs are normal. Those need a different approach. Trusses are designed as a frame, so an opening that cuts through one is a structural job, with an engineer's calculation in front of it. We find out which kind of roof you have before we say a word about price.
The larger villas and converted houses near the centre have taller roofs, and height changes the choice of window. Reaching a roof over three storeys means scaffold, and scaffold is best used once, so we put forward units that can be looked after from inside. A centre-pivot sash can be turned for cleaning from the room, and the blind and handle are replaced without climbing out. The parts that live on the roof, the flashing and the valley linings beside the opening, are checked at the same time as the rest of the roof covering. On the visit we check the slates or tiles for slip and cracking, the lead in the valleys, and how sound the rafters are on both sides of the window position.
What goes where in Worksop
Worksop's range of housing calls for roof windows in estate lofts, sun tunnels for dark landings, flat rooflights and lanterns over extended kitchens, and slimmer units for older slopes. The quote lists the wearing parts and how each comes out, so the choice rests on the long run and not just the fitting day.
Roof WindowsFor the lofts of semis on the estates around Gateford, Kilton and Manton, fitted in the gap between two rafters and flashed into concrete tile.
Sun TunnelsFor interior landings and bathrooms in terraced and semi-detached houses, lit from above by a tube through the loft.
Flat Roof RooflightsOver kitchen extensions and converted garages on the estates, where the back of the room gets little light.
Roof LanternsFor taller rear extensions on larger houses, giving a room lit through glass on every side.
Conservation RooflightsFor older houses near the centre, inside the town's conservation areas, where a slim frame set flush with the slope keeps its outline.
Misted & Failed Rooflight UnitsFor lights gone cloudy or leaky, where the first thing we weigh up is new glass in the existing frame.
Worksop: consents, conservation areas and sign-off
Bassetlaw District Council
Planning decisions for Worksop sit with Bassetlaw's district council. In many houses a roof window can go in without an application at all. Those rules are national, and our guide to planning and Building Regulations explains them. Lanterns are the item we examine hardest, because a tall one can fall outside them.
The council's data lists two conservation areas near the middle of Worksop. One bears the town's own name, and the other is named Mr Straw, though neither carries a designation date in the data. We do not guess which streets they take in. At the survey we lay your address over Bassetlaw's map, and if you are inside one, we bring a slimline conservation frame to set against the standard choice.
A flat or maisonette comes with no permitted development rights over its roof, which means a rooflight over a divided property needs planning consent and normally the freeholder's agreement too. Houses are simpler. If you are not sure which category yours falls into, say so when you first ring and we will sort it out before anyone visits.
Conservation areas
The council's data lists two conservation areas near the centre of Worksop, one named after the town and one named Mr Straw, neither with a designation date. Bassetlaw's map is checked against your address at survey, and anything extra that attaches to your street is explained before a unit is proposed.
In most cases a new or replacement rooflight is notifiable to Building Control, and we send that notification. The certificate that follows is worth filing with the house papers, because whoever buys the house later will want it, and it is far easier to hand over than to go and find.
Worksop and the villages of Carlton in Lindrick and Creswell
Worksop is Bassetlaw's biggest town, and it sits among others we cover. Carlton in Lindrick is about 3.5 miles north, with Creswell 4.5 miles south-west. North Anston and Dinnington lie to the north-west, and Clowne is six miles to the west. Kiveton Park is north-west, Market Warsop to the south and Retford to the east. Carlton in Lindrick is a village with an older core and later suburban housing around it. Dinnington mixes older colliery streets with later estates, North Anston is mostly later housing, Retford is a market town with older streets of its own, and Creswell and Clowne bring terraced rows and later estates. The places that Worksop itself takes in, Gateford, Kilton and Manton, are covered on this page, and the others each have their own.
Worksop
A Worksop rooflight through its first five years
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Survey
The Worksop survey, roof by roof
Worksop is 19.8 road miles east of central Sheffield, a 29-minute drive, and we put the survey where it suits you. In an older house we check the slate or tile, the rafter spacing and whether the slope runs true. On an estate semi we look in the loft, then at the flat covering of any extension. We also note where scaffold or a tower can stand and what might stop it, which matters on tight terrace streets.
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Fitting day
Opening a roof while the household carries on
Tiles round the opening come off in rows and are stacked for reuse. The rafters are trimmed where needed, the frame is set and flashed so that water runs over each joint, and the rooms below are sheeted. A careful job shows in the straight overlaps of the flashing and an even bead of sealant, both of which you can see from the garden once we have packed up.
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First winter
Winter one: what to check
Look at the reveals after heavy rain and run an opening sash through its whole travel. Glass that mists on the inside on a cold morning usually means the room is damp, not that the unit has failed. Opening the sash a little each morning, or adding a trickle vent, tends to clear it, and the kitchens and bathrooms of a busy house show it first.
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Year 5
The year 5 check
Year 5 brings the first planned check of seals and opening gear. Your life plan lists each wearing part, glazing and any motor included, and says how it is changed. Most changes can be made from inside the room or by working from the roof, and the surrounding covering is left as it is.
What Worksop homeowners ask first
Does a conservation area cover my Worksop house?
That depends on your street. The council's data lists two areas near the centre, one named Worksop and one named Mr Straw, with no designation dates. At survey we match your address to Bassetlaw's map and tell you what applies before recommending a unit.
Is an estate semi's loft suitable for a roof window?
Usually, yes. The window is set between existing rafters where possible, flashed into the tile and finished inside with a lining. At survey we check the clear height, the rafter spacing and what is in the loft, and tell you honestly whether the room will be usable.
Do you work in Gateford, Kilton and Manton?
Yes. All three are part of Worksop for our purposes and are covered on this page. We work the same way in each, reading the roof first and choosing the unit after, because estates of one age can still hold very different lofts.
Can you put a lantern on my kitchen extension?
In many cases the flat roof can take one. We frame the opening in the joists, form an insulated upstand and dress the covering up to it. The survey shows us the way the joists run and the state of the covering.
Who deals with Building Control?
Building Control is ours to deal with whenever the job is notifiable. Notification goes to Bassetlaw's team, or to a private registered approver if you prefer; either way the certificate that follows is a paper a future buyer's solicitor will want, so it should stay with the deeds.
The roof over my flat is shared. Who has to agree to a rooflight?
The freeholder has to agree before any roof is altered, and the lease may also need the consent of the other leaseholders. Permitted development rights for roof windows apply to houses, not flats, so planning permission may be needed as well, and we suggest asking the council early. Ask for the lease terms before you book a survey, because they usually say who owns the roof. We look at the structure, give a written quote, and handle the Building Control notification once consent is in place.