Skylight/velux in loft

Drew210385

We are having a new roof shortly and wondered what the pros and cons were of a skylight in the loft. 

This is not a conversion, we are keeping it as a loft - insulated and boarded and used for storage. We asked our roofer and it’s only a very small amount extra to include and thought it might give some natural light up there and we can open for extra ventilation should we want to. I was expecting it to be loads more and help me in making a decision but it’s literally only an extra couple of hundred. Any thoughts would be great, whenever I look online everything comes up with loft conversions.  

Section62

Drew210385 said:

I was expecting it to be loads more and help me in making a decision but it’s literally only an extra couple of hundred. Any thoughts would be great, whenever I look online everything comes up with loft conversions.  

In principle it isn't a bad idea, although it depends on the type and quality of the proposed window.  The cheapest standard Velux is around £250, to which you'd need to add a flashing kit which would typically be in the £50 to £100 range.  You'd save by needing slightly fewer tiles, offset by some needing to be cut.  There would be additional labour involved in fitting the window compared to just tiling.

The main issue is one of safety.  You'd need to make sure the window complies with building regs in terms of it not allowing people (primarily children) to (easily) climb out onto the roof. Depending on the roof pitch it may be difficult to meet the minimum requirements.

IMV the window would need notification to building control, but as the work to reroof is already subject to notification (is the roofer doing this?) There's not much more effort required in adding the window to the notification.

You should also check there are no planning restrictions/constraints on you adding a window in the roof.

kipsterno1

I get that it will add some natural light but if you are only using the loft for storage will you need it? How often are you really going to go up in the loft to open it (and back up to close it)? It will need cleaning a couple of times a year. If I had no future plans for the loft space I don't think I would bother. 

Drew210385

kipsterno1 said:

I get that it will add some natural light but if you are only using the loft for storage will you need it? How often are you really going to go up in the loft to open it (and back up to close it)? It will need cleaning a couple of times a year. If I had no future plans for the loft space I don't think I would bother. 

Agreed, but for the price it’s hard to say no! It’s quite a warm house in general, in the summer a bit unbearable, I wondered if it might make it hotter. I wondered if opening it would help or hinder with that?!

Doozergirl

Drew210385 said:

kipsterno1 said:

I get that it will add some natural light but if you are only using the loft for storage will you need it? How often are you really going to go up in the loft to open it (and back up to close it)? It will need cleaning a couple of times a year. If I had no future plans for the loft space I don't think I would bother. 

Agreed, but for the price it’s hard to say no! It’s quite a warm house in general, in the summer a bit unbearable, I wondered if it might make it hotter. I wondered if opening it would help or hinder with that?!

The daylight will make it hotter.  You'd need a through-draught in the form of another window for it to really help ventilate the space, but where's the insulation going?   

If you're only using it for storage then are you really going to go up and down to ventilate it? What happens when the inevitable thunderstorm arrives after a hot spell? 

It's not much extra in the grand scheme but it's also another thing to go wrong, not that it should. Are they including the actual window in that couple of hundred pounds?  It doesn't sound quite right.  There is extra labour in trimming rafters and fitting the thing as well as buying it and the flashing kit.  

I'd rather have a bulb and a light switch by the hatch unless I was planning a conversion. 

Drew210385

The house has no storage so we do tend to be up and down to the loft probably once a week so it's not some no man's land we only visit once a year to get the Christmas decs down! We already have a light up there too.

I just thought it might be good to be able to release some hot air on those really hot summer nights we've had over the last few years. I'm just a little unsure if that would actually do anything though.

droopsnoot

Drew210385 said:

I just thought it might be good to be able to release some hot air on those really hot summer nights we've had over the last few years. I'm just a little unsure if that would actually do anything though.

I've thought of fitting one in an upstairs bedroom for exactly that reason - allowing the hot air to escape a little better - but I don't have a decent-sized loft because of the design of the house so it would be in an actual bedroom*. The one comment that's giving me reason to pause is that it can be very noisy during heavy rain, which of course will make more difference in my situation than in yours.

( * It's a "chalet bungalow" so the upstairs rooms have sloping walls where they sit inside the roof line.)

Drew210385

Thanks all, not sure I'm much the wiser though

Eldi_Dos

Have you thought of cabrio balcony style, nice and airy when opened.

plumb1_2

Are you sure the roofer isn’t just leaving a few tiles off the roof and cutting a hole in the felt for £200.
Its a £400 job min, unless he’s got one spare off a job, 

Drew210385

The quote includes a full Velux with all fittings and it adds £500 to the quote, sorry I didn't think me saying 'a couple hundred' would be taken so literally, I was being vague on purpose - what I really meant to say was that, if money isn't the issue here so take that out the equation, what would you do? Is it beneficial in a practical sense or not?