Roof windows are ideal for letting large amounts of natural light stream into your abode and brighten otherwise murky corners of its interiors.
However, arranging for windows to be installed on a residential property’s roof can also be a surprisingly ambitious undertaking in terms of both time and cost. Here are just a few questions you should ask yourself if you are mulling this particular move.
Do you need planning permission to add roof windows?
The answer to this question will very much depend on the roof window designs you have in mind. Usually, altering a house’s roof is deemed permitted development – meaning that, in most instances, you would not need planning permission just to insert roof windows.
However, this particular right is only in place subject to numerous limits and conditions specified on the Planning Portal website. You would also need to apply for planning permission if permitted development rights have been removed from the property.
Is your home a period property?
If so, any new roof windows you prepare for the property should be carefully tailored to suit its existing design. Roof lanterns, for example, are timber-framed, roof-mounted windows that have traditionally often been chosen for Victorian and Georgian townhouses.
Nonetheless, you should avoid choosing roof lanterns if your house is very modern in design – as even supposedly ‘contemporary’ roof lanterns can lack a certain wow factor on a property like this.
What is the pitch of the roof where the windows will be integrated?
You should know this pitch before you start perusing the various roof window options available, lest you accidentally choose one incompatible with it.
The roof in question might not actually be pitched at all – in which case, you will be reassured to know that flat, curved and domed windows are all available for flat roofs, as Build It explains. Meanwhile, Instaloft offers innovative windows for roofs with pitches of15° to 90°.
Could you afford the particular type of roof window you want?
According to numerous figures shared by House Beautiful, it would cost you about £5,400 plus VAT to have a top-quality timber-framed roof lantern measuring two by five metres fully installed.
While a smaller PVCu roof lantern would be available for roughly £1,500 sans installation, the cost of a roof window project can end up much higher than that of just the roof window itself. For example, you can anticipate paying as much as £4,000 for bespoke blinds you might need for privacy reasons.
Would you be able to installthe roof windows yourself?
Though you might be tempted to take the DIY route, the safety and feasibility of doing so could depend heavily on what roof windows are to be fitted.
If the roof is a pitched one, would you be able to get onto it without putting yourself in danger? Do you have the necessary tools and experience to install roof windows to the same standard as a professional fitter? If you have any doubts, look for an experienced roof window installer.
