Stone roofs on the Holmfirth valley slopes

Skylights and rooflights for Holmfirth's stone cottages and hillside terraces

Holmfirth's cottages climb the eastern slopes of the Pennine hills, with stone roofs and lofts under them that can be tight. We choose the rooflight for whoever has to open it.

Holmfirth and Underbank conservation areas checked with Kirklees Council before we quote
Stone slate or Welsh slate roofs flashed to suit the covering you have
Roof windows that close themselves in rain, for houses empty by day

24 road miles north-east of Stockport

Holmfirth sits in the Holme Valley, and the town mostly consists of stone-built cottages on the eastern slopes of the Pennine hills. Holmfirth grew around a corn mill and bridge in the 13th century, a railway station opened on a branch line in 1850, and the town then expanded fast as the cloth trade took hold and stone and slates came out of the quarries around it. Later came houses from the 1960s onward, and the printing works on Station Road has been converted into flats.

A rooflight in Holmfirth meets stone slate, Welsh slate or concrete tile. Rooms in the roof can be tight. The daily questions are plain ones: can you reach the window, does the blind close, and what happens when rain comes down the hill and nobody is in? We ask them at a free survey, before any price is written.

Rooflights for Holmfirth's stone, slate and tile

These four suit a town of stone roofs and older cottages, with a sun tunnel for the landings that never see daylight.

A fitter fixing a timber trimmer beside a roof window opening in a loft, insulation between the rafters

Living under a rooflight up the valley

A cottage loft has little floor to stand on, so opening it by rod, by remote or by solar motor can be done from the bed or the desk.
A blind in a small sloping room needs to sit close to the glass and work from a handle you can find in the dark.
Outside glass on a steep stone slope is cleaned from the inside where the window turns, so we show you how it moves.
Rain sensors come on some VELUX electric and solar models, so the sash can close itself in a wet valley.

What Holmfirth's roofs ask of a rooflight

Stone cottages, valley rain, later estates and a converted works: four questions we meet when a Holmfirth roof gets a new window.

Can a roof window go into a stone cottage loft without spoiling the roof?

Stone-built cottages in the Holme Valley are commonly roofed in stone slate or Welsh slate. Stone slate in particular is a heavy covering, and the window that goes into either is flashed to suit. A conservation-style rooflight sits low in the slope, often with a slim bar across the glass. From the lane it looks like part of the roof rather than something added to it.

Small rooms, close to the slope

A cottage loft has little standing room, and a window that opens inwards or outwards at the wrong height gets in the way. The way it swings is chosen with the room in mind. The difference between pivot and top-hung windows is set out in our guide. Turn the loft into a living floor and it needs a safe route out; details are in the Building Regulations guide.

Conservation areas and the church

Kirklees Council has conservation areas in Holmfirth that include Holmfirth itself and Underbank. Sitting in one leaves the right to add a rooflight to a house where it is, but Kirklees is asked about the address before we quote. The Church of the Holy Trinity is listed Grade II. Should your house be listed, a rooflight on it almost always needs listed building consent; see our page on conservation rooflights and listed homes. The wider rules are in the planning guide.

Fitting into stone

Stone slates are not like thin modern tiles, so the fitter lifts and relays them with care around the frame. We look at the covering at the survey, because it decides which flashing kit is used and how much of the roof is disturbed. Holmfirth expanded as the cloth trade grew and the quarries round it turned out more stone and slate, so the older roofs here deserve a careful hand.

A Holmfirth roof rule of thumb

On a stone roof, choose the window that sits lowest in the slope, then spend the saved attention on the opening method.

Rain comes down the valley while we are at work. What does that mean for an opening window?

Holmfirth sits in the Holme Valley on the River Holme, and the river has burst its banks in storms before, in 1777 and again in 1821. That is history, but water still runs downhill here. The daily-use point for a roof window is plain. Rain on an open window is a problem only if nobody is there to shut it.

Closing without you

Rain sensors come on some VELUX electric and solar models, closing the sash as drops fall. For a house empty during the day, that is the setting worth asking about. Our guide to rain sensors on rooflights explains what a sensor does and what it leaves to you. A manual window depends on a habit: shut it on the way out.

On a slope, a little goes a long way

Because the town sits on hillside ground, a window left wide open takes more weather than one left on a small opening. The ventilation setting lets some air in with less rain. We show you how your window does it.

What drains, and what we do not touch

Flashing round a roof window is built to carry water away from the frame. Gutters, downpipes and the state of the stone roof around it are another matter, and we will tell you what we see from the roof at the survey. A window that sits below a valley gutter or a blocked chute is a poor place to start.

Our house dates from the 1960s or later. Does a flatter roof change the window?

Houses built from the 1960s onward in Holmfirth typically carry concrete interlocking tiles, and the pitch is lower than on the older stone houses. The window sits at a gentler angle, and that changes how the room feels and how the window works.

Pitch, reach and the view

On a low slope a roof window faces more of the sky and less of the street. A top-hung window opens at the bottom edge and swings out, while a centre-pivot turns on a bar through the middle so the top edge comes inward. Which suits you depends on the pitch and on what stands near the sash in the room. On a lower roof, the top-hung type can give a better outlook when open. We confirm it at the survey rather than from a photograph.

Replacing an old one

If an older window is being replaced, a new one of the right size can usually be fitted in the same opening, which saves disturbing the lining. The label on the old frame carries a code, and finding your VELUX size code explains how to read it. For a new position, the new opening or same opening page sets out how the two differ.

Blinds on a low slope

A blind on a shallow roof catches the full sun at midday. VELUX makes pleated and roller blinds that run in side channels, close to the glass. Our guide to blinds and controls shows how the controls pair with each one.

A later Holmfirth house at survey

Roof: Concrete interlocking tiles at a lower pitch
Window: Top-hung or centre-pivot, picked for the angle
Replacement: Same opening where the size allows, read from the old label
Blind: Side-channel type for a sunny shallow slope

We have a flat in a converted works. Can we add a rooflight?

The printing works on Station Road has been converted into residential flats, so one roof there covers a number of homes. A flat is a different case from a house. The permitted development right for a house does not extend to a flat, so adding a rooflight there is a planning application, with the freeholder's consent usually needed too.

Who to ask first

Start with the freeholder or the managing agent, because the roof is rarely yours alone. Then comes the planning application to Kirklees Council. We can describe what is being proposed and which rooflight would suit, and the planning guide sets out how the rules differ between houses and flats.

What the daily use looks like

Under a pitched roof, the top-floor flat may take a roof window over a bedroom or a sun tunnel over a bathroom or landing. A sun tunnel diffuser sits in a hole cut in the ceiling, so it goes where the tube runs clear of the structure. For the rooms where one makes sense, read choosing a room for a sun tunnel.

Controls for shared roofs

In a block, the opening method matters more than in a house. A rod is easy to lose in a flat, while a remote can be kept on the wall. We also look at how the outside glass gets cleaned, since access to the roof may be shared.

Words from a Holmfirth flat survey

Freeholder: The owner of the building and its roof, whose consent a flat usually needs before a rooflight goes in.
Stone slate: A heavy roofing slate cut from local stone, common on older roofs in the Holme Valley.
Diffuser: The frosted panel in the ceiling at the bottom of a sun tunnel that spreads the light into the room.

Reaching the Holme Valley

Holmfirth

That ring is only a straight-line radius around Stockport, drawn for reference; the service area itself is measured by road.

Does our survey reach your street?

We cover all of Holmfirth, 24 road miles north-east of Stockport, from the lanes of stone cottages on the slopes to the later streets and the Station Road flats.

Nearest town pages

Holmfirth roof questions, worked through

Where do planning questions for a Holmfirth roof go?

Kirklees Council is the planning authority. A registered building control approver can do the building control instead of Kirklees, whichever you prefer. We check your address with Kirklees before we quote, and a fixed written quote follows once the survey is done.

Is there a rooflight that does not show from the lane?

A conservation-style rooflight sits low in the slope and usually has a slim central bar, so it blends with a stone or slate roof. Our page on choosing a conservation rooflight explains how to compare them.

Can a sun tunnel brighten a landing in a cottage?

It can, where loft space sits above the landing. A small dome on the roof feeds a tube down to a diffuser, which needs an opening cut in the ceiling. It gives daylight but no view and does not open. See sun tunnels.

How do I know whether my street is in a conservation area?

The council publishes its conservation area maps, and the boundaries are also on planning.data.gov.uk. We check your address at the survey and tell you what applies.

Do you handle the paperwork for a roof window in a loft room?

When a notification is needed, we make the Building Regulations notification for the window we fit. For a new loft floor the safe way out is part of the design, and the Building Regulations guide explains it.

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