Prestwich villa lofts and the homes built on the old fields

Prestwich skylights and rooflights for railway-era villas and 1930s homes

Prestwich gained merchants' villas after the railway came in 1881, then houses over the remaining fields from the 1930s. We fit the rooflight to the house, the room and the habits of whoever uses it.

St Mary's and Poppythorn addresses checked with Bury Council first
Big villa lofts: windows placed in step with how the room is used
Rear extensions weighed up for a lantern or a flat rooflight

17 road miles north-west of Stockport

Prestwich is a town of about 32,000 people. The oldest part, around Bury New Road, is known as Prestwich Village, and in the 19th century another settlement grew around the junction of Fairfax Road and Bury New Road. The railway in 1881 encouraged affluent Manchester merchants to build villas in the town. From the 1930s the remaining fields were developed, and by 1961 the place had become a suburb of Manchester.

That sequence gives Prestwich two kinds of house to think about. In a villa, the question is who reaches the window and how you keep a large room dark. A later house may have an extension at the back, and the question there is glare, the blind and the outside of the glass. We start every survey with the people who use the room, and a fixed written quote follows from what they tell us.

Rooflights for villas and later homes alike

A roof window for a villa loft, a lantern for a rear extension and a conservation rooflight for an older slope are all found here. Each page covers the opening, the blind and cleaning.

A black-framed roof window and its handle in a loft, a timber beam beside it

Under a Prestwich roof, day to day

In a villa loft the top of the window sits high, so the remote or solar motor is chosen with the window, not added afterwards.
A bedroom under the roof wants blackout on every window, run from one remote. A kitchen at the back wants a lighter blind that deals with glare.
A flat rooflight over an extension and a roof window on a slate slope are cleaned in different ways, and we explain which applies before you order.
An empty house by day suits a rain sensor, which shuts the sash on electric and solar VELUX windows when drops land.

From villa lofts to rear extensions in Prestwich

Four questions from the houses that built the town: the villa loft, the family attic, the house with its extension and the oldest streets.

Our villa has a vast loft. How many windows, and who will open them?

The villas that merchants built after the railway came in 1881 can have big roofs, and a big roof can hide a big loft. If you are turning one into rooms, the window question is larger than for a small house. It is about how many, where they go and how they are worked.

One window or several

A large loft room may need two or three windows to light it evenly, and a pair on the same slope gives a good wash of daylight. A window on each slope gives cross light, which helps in summer. We mark the positions on the slope with you at the survey. We also look at where the rafters fall, because the window sizes follow them. In a loft this size the stairs also matter, because the head of the stair decides where a landing window can sit and whether the top step has daylight.

Windows you cannot reach

A tall slope puts the top of a window well above head height. A telescopic rod works for one you seldom open. A remote or a solar motor is better where the window opens daily, and a group of windows can be tied to one control. The electric or solar opening guide explains the choice.

Blinds for several windows

A single blind is simple to live with. A row of them is only simple if the controls are planned. Blackout on every window of a bedroom is a lot to close by hand. Blinds that run from the same remote make it a single press. The blinds and controls guide sets out how that works. A loft conversion also comes under the Building Regulations, including how you leave the room, and the Building Regulations guide explains the idea.

A villa loft, laid out

Windows: Two or three, placed where people stand and sit
Opening: Remote or solar for the high ones, a rod for the rest
Blinds: Blackout, all worked from one remote
Paperwork: Building Regulations notification handled by us when needed

Our teenagers have the attic. How do we keep the window safe and the room dark?

A big loft in a house built for a merchant's family can be used by a modern one: teenagers, a play space or a spare bedroom. The window has to work for people who sleep late and for a younger child who wanders in. That makes safe operation as important as the glass.

Safe opening

Ask for a restrictor that limits how far the sash opens, and a handle set out of a small child's reach. Electric and solar windows can be set to open only to a limited position, and a wall switch can be fitted out of reach. Our guide to child-safe opening rooflights lists what the makers offer.

Darkness on demand

A room that is used for sleep wants blackout. A room that is used for homework wants a blind that cuts glare and lets in daylight. One window can carry both if it has two blinds, a blackout and a pleated or roller one. We explain how that is fitted and how it runs. Ask to see both blinds drawn before you decide, because the way they stack at the edge of the glass differs between makes. At handover we show you how each one is worked, from the bed as well as the floor.

When it rains

A teenager is unlikely to close a window before leaving for the day, and a parent working elsewhere cannot do it either. A rain sensor on an electric or solar VELUX window closes it as drops fall on the glass. The rain sensor guide explains how it works and where it stops, since it will not stop a draught on a day the window was left open.

For the attic

A restrictor, a blackout blind and a rain sensor cover most of what goes wrong with a teenager's window.

Our semi has an extension at the back. What will the kitchen need from a rooflight?

From the 1930s the remaining fields were developed, and a rear extension is one way to add space to a house of that age. A kitchen or dining area at the back is where the day is lived, and a rooflight over it needs to be comfortable at every hour.

Pick the glass for the room

A lantern gives height and sky. It suits a deeper room where the middle of the floor is far from the garden doors. A flat rooflight is slimmer and easier to keep clean. Either can be fitted with solar control glass, which cuts heat and glare in summer. A blind on a cold evening adds a little comfort. Our guide to adding a roof lantern to an existing roof covers what is involved.

The blind

Over a table, a blind softens the light on a bright morning. Over a worktop it is more about glare on the surface. A blind that runs from a wall switch is a good idea where the glass is high above the floor.

Getting at the outside

The outside of a flat pane is easy to forget, and just as easy to see on a sunny day. We talk through how you will reach it, and whether a coating on the outer pane is worth having. A tired flat roof is better renewed before the rooflight goes in, and the upstands and coverings guide explains why.

Kitchen at the back

Think about the blind and the cleaning before you choose between lantern and flat. They decide how it feels in a year.

We are near Prestwich Village. Do the conservation areas change what we can fit?

Planning.data.gov.uk records conservation areas in Prestwich that include St Mary's and Poppythorn. In England a conservation area does not by itself remove permitted development for a rooflight. Parts of Prestwich also carry Article 4 directions, so we check your address with Bury Council before we quote. What each direction restricts is for the council to confirm, and we will not guess.

Why it matters in the older streets

The oldest part of Prestwich, around Bury New Road, is known as Prestwich Village, and a second settlement took shape at the Fairfax Road junction in the 19th century. Older roofs can have chimneys and details that a new window has to sit around. A rooflight that lies flush often suits such a roof best. The guide to choosing a conservation rooflight compares the options.

General position

For most houses a rooflight is usually permitted development within limits set out in the planning guide. It is worth reading before the layout is fixed, because a window on a side slope carries extra conditions.

Terms the council uses

Designation: An area the council has marked out for its character. Alone it does not remove the permitted rooflight right.
Article 4 direction: A council order that takes away some permitted development rights in a defined area.
Permitted development: Work that needs no planning application because national rules already allow it.

Surveys across Prestwich

Prestwich

Prestwich falls within the 30-mile survey area.

Prestwich postcode check

Prestwich is 17 road miles north-west of Stockport. We survey the village streets, the villa roads and the later houses alike, so type your postcode to see if you are inside our area.

Nearest town pages

Prestwich rooflights, the practical side

Who handles planning in Prestwich?

Bury Council. You can have the Building Regulations checked by its building control team or by a registered building control approver, and we set out both.

Can a window go into a villa roof with old slates?

Usually. The flashing is made for the covering, and the window size follows the rafters. We look at both, then tell you what the roof will take. See flashing for slate and tile.

Is a lantern allowed on a new rear extension?

On a new extension, the lantern is assessed with the extension; we confirm the position with the council before work starts. One added to an existing roof usually needs a planning application. See lantern planning permission.

Why do you ask who uses the room before you suggest a window?

Because the room decides the rest. A bedroom, a study and a kitchen each want a different blind, a different opening and a different way of cleaning the glass. Starting from the person under the window gets the choice right the first time.

Does an old roof window need replacing with the same size?

Not always, but matching the size keeps the lining inside as it is. Look at replacing an old VELUX window and new opening or same opening.

Does a rooflight change what the house costs to keep warm?

Modern double glazing is built for the job, and a blind helps on a cold evening. See the energy efficient rooflights pages.

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Tell us about the room and the roof. We visit, measure and send a fixed written quote for the job in Prestwich.

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