Skylights & rooflights in Stannington
Stannington is part of Sheffield, climbing the hills on the city's western side, and its roofs take the weather before most of the city does. We fit skylights and rooflights with that in mind, from stone cottages to 1930s semis, and plan the replacement of each wearing part from the start.
Why a Stannington slope is a hard place for a rooflight
Height and aspect do the damage here. Houses on the hillside face open air to the west, with nothing between the roof and the weather coming over the ridge, and a sash that would sit happily in a city-centre terrace works harder on these slopes. Our checks begin with the direction a roof faces.
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Roofs that face the prevailing rain
A west-facing slope on a hill takes rain driven nearly sideways. The head of a roof window frame, where water runs down onto it, is the place that matters. We use a flashing kit made for the covering and fit it so the water leaves the frame at the top and sides, not at the bottom.
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Stone and slate that cannot be rushed
Older houses are stone, and their roofs carry stone slate or heavy natural slate. These coverings are brittle and valuable, and an uneven bed of old mortar under them means a slate that looks sound can still crack when its neighbour is lifted. We lift them gently, keep every piece we can and set the flashing to the real coursing, not to a catalogue drawing.
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Sloping plots and awkward access
A house on a steep road may have its rear at the height of the neighbour's roof, with scaffold needing to stand on a slope. Access is planned at survey, so the day of the work is not the first time anyone finds a problem with the pavement, a parked car or a drop at the back of the house.
Stone, brick and the hillside between them
The oldest houses in Stannington are stone, built close to the lanes that run along the hillside. Walls are thick, windows are small and the rooms under the roof are low, which is why a roof window is so often wanted. Where the roof is stone slate, the covering is heavy and the timbers beneath it are old, so the opening has to be planned around what the loft really holds.
Between the wars and after, the hillside filled up with semis and short terraces in brick, often with a bay at the front and a hipped roof in clay or concrete tile. These houses have decent lofts. A fair number have had a bedroom put in already, and one roof window, or two side by side, is a natural next step for the rest.
Bungalows and chalet bungalows sit along a number of the roads, taking advantage of the slope and the outlook. Their roofs are wide and shallow, and their lofts are often put to use. A roof window in a chalet bungalow can serve a bedroom as an escape route if it falls within the height the regulations allow, and we measure that at survey.
Newer closes fill the gaps between the older roads. They have trussed roofs, flat-roofed garages and rear extensions, and they call for the usual care with trusses: the opening goes between them or an engineer designs it. Rear extensions on the sloping plots often have a flat roof set below the first-floor windows, which suits a flat rooflight or a small lantern very well.
Because Stannington is a part of Sheffield and not a separate town, it is easy to treat it as just another suburb. The slope, the wind and the stone say otherwise. A roof here sits on higher ground than the city centre, with more weather arriving from the west, and we choose frames, seals and glass for that exposure and not for the sheltered streets lower down. Cloud and rain can reach a west slope for days on end in autumn, so a unit that copes in a dry August is not the test. The flashing, the drip at the head of the frame and the condition of the covering beside it are what we look at hardest, and they are what the life plan returns to later.
Take the stone-slate roofs first. A slate that has been lifted for a frame has to go back where it came from, because stone slates are graded by size and the larger ones sit low on the slope. Over the life of a unit on that roof, the flashing and the soakers are what wear, and the stone beside them stays put. From inside, the glazing pane and the blind can be changed without touching the covering, so the fixed part and the replaceable part are kept apart on purpose. At survey we count the courses above and below the opening, look at the state of the battens and ask whether the old timbers will take the fixings. If they will not, we say so before any unit is chosen, so the timber question is settled first.
Six rooflights that suit the Stannington hillside
The choice follows the hill and the housing: windows for stone and brick lofts, a conservation-minded frame for stone slate, lights for the flat roofs on sloping plots, and a stronger case for good glazing. Every quote spells out which parts age, with the way each one is renewed.
Roof WindowsFor brick semis and chalet bungalows with a usable loft, with the head flashing chosen for a west-facing slope.
Conservation RooflightsFor stone-slate and natural slate roofs, where a low-profile frame sitting level with the covering keeps the hillside roofline quiet.
Flat Roof RooflightsFor the flat extension roofs that sit below a bedroom window, where a low profile does not spoil what you see from upstairs.
Roof LanternsFor a wider rear extension that looks out over the slope and needs light from above to reach the back of the room.
Energy Efficient RooflightsFor exposed roofs where a poor unit loses heat quickly, and better glazing makes a room under the roof easier to heat.
VELUX WindowsFor owners who have chosen a model and size already, fitted with a flashing kit that suits stone slate or tile.
Sheffield's rules as they apply on the hillside
Sheffield City Council
Stannington is inside the city, so Sheffield City Council is the planning authority and also the council whose building control team can inspect the work. The national rules for houses are gathered in one guide on this site, covering planning and Building Regulations, and we point there instead of repeating them.
Sheffield's records list no conservation area around the heart of Stannington, and no Article 4 direction either. Even so, a dataset is no substitute for looking at the street. The visit includes a check of the map for your house, and a listed neighbour or similar restriction would be raised with you.
Houses enjoy freedoms for roof changes that a flat or maisonette does not, so a rooflight in one needs an application and the freeholder's consent. If that is your home, let us know before a survey is arranged.
Conservation areas
Sheffield's records hold no conservation area for the heart of Stannington. Your house goes onto the map at the visit all the same, in case a listing or another control applies.
For the homeowner, Building Control ends with a completion certificate. The notification is filed with Sheffield City Council or with a registered approver, an inspector visits, and the certificate is addressed to you. It belongs among the deeds, ready for the day you sell.
Stannington and the places around it
Ecclesfield is the nearest place we list, 4.5 miles north-east, with Chapeltown beyond it at 5.6. On a clear day the nearer places look close from the hill, yet the roads between them wind and climb, so the drive often takes longer than the distance on a map suggests. Deepcar lies 5.8 miles north and Stocksbridge 6.5. Dronfield is 6.9 miles south-east, Waverley 7 miles east and Brinsworth 7.1 miles east. Rotherham is 8.1 miles to the east. These places differ from Stannington in height and building stone, and from one another, so each has its own page. The step from Stannington to Stocksbridge is a move from one hill town to another, while the move to Brinsworth is a drop onto lower, flatter ground.
Stannington
A Stannington skylight, from the first visit onwards
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Survey
Aspect first, then access
Stannington is only 5 road miles west of the city centre, about 15 minutes, so a visit is simple to arrange. Steep roads can make parking a puzzle, so tell us what is outside your door and we will plan around it. Each slope is noted for the direction it faces, along with the covering, the loft timbers and the spot on the hill that can take a ladder or scaffold. Access on a steep road often takes more thought than the window itself.
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Fitting day
Weathering the head of the frame
On the hillside, the head flashing is the part that decides whether the frame stays dry in driven rain. The 10-year guarantee on the weathering round the frame is why we dress the head and sides in sequence, checking each lap, before the tiles or slates go back over it.
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First winter
What the first westerly gales will tell you
The first big blow from the west is the test. Look at the reveals the morning after, check the sash is still closing firmly and listen for whistling at the seal. A pane in a cold roof may mist in the room on a frosty night, which is a sign of humidity indoors rather than any failure.
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Years 5 and 10
Where the plan sends you back to the seals
Exposed roofs ask more of the seals, so the life plan puts a check at year 5 and then looks at the hinges and any motor at year 10. Each line gives the method for changing the part, and says whether tiles or slates must come up around the frame. On a chalet bungalow the work can usually be done from the room.
Stannington rooflight questions answered
Will a roof window cope with the weather on the Stannington hillside?
Yes, if the flashing is right. On a west-facing slope we use a kit made for the covering, fit the head carefully and check the laps before the roof is closed. We also look at the pitch and the exposure when we choose the glass and the seals.
Is stone slate too fragile for a roof window?
No, if it is handled with care. Stone slates are lifted and kept, and the flashing is set to the real coursing. If a slate breaks, we say so at the time and discuss a matching replacement, so a broken slate is a planned item and not a surprise on the day. Reclaimed stone slate is sold by the pile, and finding a few that match in colour and thickness is a small task we can set going before the work starts.
Does Stannington have a conservation area to worry about?
Nothing is recorded for the heart of the district. We still check the map for your address on the visit, because a nearby listed building or some other control could apply, and we tell you either way.
Our chalet bungalow has a loft bedroom. Can a roof window be the escape route?
It can, provided the window falls within the height the regulations set for escape and the opening is large enough. We measure the height and the clear opening at survey and tell you straight away whether it passes.
Who inspects the work in Stannington?
Sheffield City Council's own team can inspect notifiable work, and so can a registered building control approver. The notification is ours to make, and the certificate that follows is yours to file.
Can stone slates be lifted and put back around a roof window on the Stannington slopes?
Stone slates can be lifted, set aside and relaid, provided they are sound and kept in their own order on the slope. At survey we check the slates and battens around the planned opening. A cracked slate is replaced with a matching one, and the flashing is cut to suit the thickness of the stone, so the frame sits snug and sheds water properly.