Rooflights for Knutsford's period houses and overspill estates

Skylights and rooflights for Knutsford's period houses and 1960s estate homes

Knutsford has larger period houses, some on Legh Road designed by Richard Harding Watt, and overspill estates built after the Second World War for families from Manchester. Our job is to match the rooflight to the room and whoever has to open it.

Larger period homes get the heritage position checked with Cheshire East Council first
Lower 1960s estate roofs and rear extensions suit a flat rooflight or a lantern
Windows set high in a big house need the rod or motor decided at survey

19 road miles south-west of Stockport

Knutsford is a market town on the Cheshire Plain. Its older streets include larger period houses, and Legh Road was designed by Richard Harding Watt. After the Second World War, overspill estates were built to rehouse families from Manchester. One of them, the Longridge estate in Over Ward, was put up by Manchester City Council in the 1960s.

The two kinds of home ask different things of a rooflight. In a big period house the questions are height and heritage: a window set well up the roof, and a roof that may deserve care. On a 1960s estate house they are the lower roof, the rear extension and the flat roof over the kitchen, where people want to know how the outside glass gets cleaned and whether a blind is worth having. We begin every survey with who will use the room. The fixed written quote follows from that.

What suits Knutsford's roofs

Five kinds of rooflight that fit the period houses and the estate extensions here, each chosen for the room beneath it and the person who will open it.

A man holding a sample of triple glazing at his kitchen table

Living with it in Knutsford

A window in a tall room is out of arm's reach, so a rod, remote or solar motor is settled at the survey and not afterwards.
A bedroom under a 1960s tiled roof usually wants blackout. Over a kitchen extension, a lighter pleated blind is often enough for bright afternoons.
A low flat rooflight on a rear extension and a roof window high on a period house are cleaned differently, so we go through the method for each before you choose.
Rain sensors are a feature of VELUX electric and solar roof windows, closing the window at the first drops while the house is empty.

Tall rooms and low roofs in Knutsford

From the larger period houses to the 1960s overspill estates, these are the questions that come up when a Knutsford homeowner starts thinking about a roof window or a flat rooflight.

How will anyone reach a roof window set high in a large period house?

Knutsford's larger period houses, Legh Road designed by Richard Harding Watt among them, bring big rooms, and a roof window in the room above can sit well out of reach. A window you cannot touch is a window you stop using, so the way it opens is worth settling before the size.

Match the opening to the habit

A manual window can be opened with a telescopic rod from the floor. That suits a landing or a box room where you open it now and then. If the window is in a bedroom or a study and gets used every day, a motor makes more sense. Electric windows are wired in, which is easiest when the ceiling is already open for other work. Solar ones carry their own power, which suits a swap where you would rather leave the plaster alone. Our guide to electric and solar opening sets the two side by side.

Think about the blind at the same moment

Out of reach, a blind simply stays where it is. On a high window, choose one that works from the same remote as the motor, or from the same rod. Blackout suits a bedroom, while a stairwell window often needs nothing at all. The choices are laid out in our blinds and controls guide.

Who is in the house

Ask who will use the room. A teenager's bedroom, an older relative's room and a spare room that is rarely opened each end up with a different answer, even under one roof. Where children are about, a restrictor matters too, and the child-safe opening guide explains what is available.

Choosing how a high window opens

Opened now and then: A manual window and a rod from the floor
Used every day: An electric or solar motor
Cable or no cable: Electric is easiest while the ceiling is open; solar needs none
The blind: Worked from the same remote or rod as the window
Children in the house: A restrictor or a child-safe setting, agreed at survey

Does an older Knutsford house need a different kind of rooflight?

Before we quote on any Knutsford address, we check it with Cheshire East Council. A map record is a useful start, but it can be incomplete, and a designation that affects your roof is exactly what you want to hear about before the work, not after it.

When a house carries a listing

Historic England keeps a list of protected buildings in Knutsford, from the Brook Street Unitarian Chapel at Grade I to the Church of St John the Baptist at Grade II*. If your own house is listed, adding or changing a rooflight almost always means applying for listed building consent first, and the consent settles the design. For how that route runs, read listed homes and conservation rooflights.

A rooflight that blends in

Even where nothing demands it, a conservation rooflight is worth a look on an older roof. It is made to lie flush with the roof covering and usually has a thin glazing bar, so from the street it blends into the roof and does not look added later. Our guide to choosing one goes through the options.

For an ordinary house

For a Knutsford house, a new rooflight generally falls under permitted development, inside national limits. A slope that faces the side brings conditions of its own, and both are set out in the planning guide. We confirm your position at the survey, before any price is fixed.

Terms that come with an older house

Consent for a listed house: Permission needed for changes to a listed building that affect its character, inside or out.
A Grade II* listing: A listing grade for particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
Permitted development: Work you may carry out without a planning application, within national limits.
Flush-fitting rooflight: A low-profile rooflight with a slim bar, made for older roofs.

Which suits a 1960s estate house with a flat-roofed extension, a flat rooflight or a lantern?

The Longridge estate was built in Over Ward by Manchester City Council in the 1960s, one of the overspill estates created after the Second World War. At the end of the 20th century the homes not already sold to their occupants were transferred to Manchester Methodist Housing. Houses built from the 1960s onward typically carry concrete interlocking tiles on a lower pitch than pre-war houses, and a rear extension is where a flat roof tends to appear.

A lower roof, a different survey

A lower pitch changes which roof window and flashing kit suit the tile, so we look at the covering and the rafters on the roof itself. Our guide to centre-pivot and top-hung windows explains why the two behave differently.

Flat rooflight or lantern

A flat rooflight lies low on its upstand and suits a narrow kitchen or a galley extension. A lantern rises in a glazed frame, giving the room height and more sky, and it suits a wider room with the table underneath. Either can be fixed or opening. A lantern has its own planning guide, so read that before you set your heart on one.

If you rent

If the home is rented, the landlord's agreement comes first. If you own it, your question is simply which suits the room. The state of the flat roof matters either way, and our guide to upstands and coverings explains why we look at it before anything is cut.

For a Knutsford extension

A narrow extension usually wants a flat rooflight. Choose a lantern when the room is wide enough to want the extra height.

Can we reach the outside glass to clean it, and what happens in the rain when we are out?

People rarely ask about cleaning until the first summer, when the glass has gathered a film of dust and pollen. How easily the outside gets cleaned depends on the roof, so it is worth thinking about at the survey.

Low roof or high roof

On a modest estate roof the outer pane of a roof window is sometimes within reach of a ladder from a safe position, and a flat rooflight over a single-storey extension can often be wiped from a step. On a taller period house, the outside of a high window may be out of reach. Some makers sell glass with a coating that lets rain rinse the outside, and we explain what it does and does not do. Controls, blinds and cleaning are all shown at handover.

Rain and an empty house

A rain sensor is offered on VELUX electric and solar roof windows and shuts the window at the first drops. It helps with a bedroom window left open before work. It is a feature of those products only, and our rain sensor guide explains how it behaves.

Habits that make it easier

A few small choices help every day. Put the remote where you keep the light switches, not in a drawer. Ask for the blind to match the window's opening method. Decide who in the house is allowed to open a window that faces a bed. These are the points we talk through while we stand in the room, because they are far easier to change before the work than after it.

A bright room in summer

A kitchen with a large flat rooflight can get strong afternoon sun. Solar control glass or a blind keeps it comfortable, and the solar control glass guide compares them. The living with a rooflight page covers daily habits in more depth.

Where we work around Knutsford

Knutsford

Knutsford falls inside the ring drawn around Stockport on the map, which is measured as the crow flies; our service area is counted in road miles.

Is your Knutsford postcode covered?

We fit across Knutsford, 19 road miles south-west of Stockport, from the period houses to the Longridge estate. Enter your postcode and we will confirm cover and arrange a survey.

Nearest town pages

Knutsford: what people want settled

Which council handles planning and building control in Knutsford?

Cheshire East Council deals with planning for Knutsford houses, and it is the council we check an address with before quoting. A registered building control approver can handle building control instead of the council. Where a job is notifiable, we make the Building Regulations notification ourselves.

Can a roof window go into a 1960s concrete-tiled roof?

Yes. Roof windows are fitted into tiled roofs as a matter of course. The flashing kit is chosen to match the tile profile, so we check the covering and the rafter positions at the survey before the window size is settled.

What happens at the survey?

The survey is free. We look at the roof, the room below and who will use it, then talk through how it opens, which blind suits and how the outside is cleaned.

Is an old roof window replaceable without redoing the room around it?

Often, yes. When the new window matches the old opening, it goes into the same place and the lining inside can stay. The size code on the old window tells us what you have, and our guide to a new opening or the same opening explains the difference.

How do I check whether my road has a conservation area?

Boundaries are published by the council and mapped on planning.data.gov.uk. That map can be incomplete, which is why we also check the address with Cheshire East Council during the survey.

We are converting a loft. Does the roof window affect the building work?

It does. The roof windows belong to the conversion, and anyone upstairs must be able to leave the new floor safely in a fire. Our Building Regulations guide covers the rules, and the 10-year workmanship guarantee applies to the fitting we carry out.

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We handle the Building Regulations notification where the work is notifiable
10-year workmanship guarantee

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