Skylights and rooflights in Dawlish

Dawlish grew from a small fishing village into a resort in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and the centre still shows it. Dawlish Water runs down through the middle of the town in a landscaped strip known as the Lawn, with stuccoed Regency and early Victorian terraces and villas facing it from either side. Many are painted in pale colours, with slate roofs behind parapets or deep eaves, and several have been split into flats.

Behind the front, the streets climb. Victorian terraces and semis fill the slopes up from the railway, and a lot of the older cottages are cob or local red sandstone under render. Later growth followed the hills inland: estates from the middle and late twentieth century with brick and rendered semis, detached houses and bungalows under concrete tile.

So a Dawlish survey can mean a high Regency ceiling in the morning and a bungalow with a low flat roof in the afternoon.

East of the town, Dawlish Warren is a different place altogether. Bungalows, chalets and holiday homes sit on a low sandy spit between the sea and the Exe estuary, many of them single storey with shallow pitches or flat roofs.

So a Dawlish survey can mean a high Regency ceiling in the morning and a bungalow with a low flat roof in the afternoon. We note which you have before suggesting anything.

Dawlish faces east and south-east across Lyme Bay, and the sea is never far from any street in the lower town. The railway runs along the shore on a sea wall that has taken some heavy storms, and the houses nearest the front share that exposure. Spray carries salt a surprising distance inland, and it works on metal fixings, flashings and the aluminium cappings of a rooflight over the years.

For houses within reach of the sea, we specify coated or marine-grade finishes on the outside, stainless or coated screws, and flashings chosen for both the pitch and the wind. Opening rooflights are worth thinking about carefully on an exposed slope: a rain sensor on an electric one will close it before a squall arrives from the water, and the seals should be chosen for a lot of wind-driven rain.

Away from the front, the hillside estates are better sheltered, though the top of any slope takes the wind. At the Warren, the estuary and the open beach leave bungalow roofs bare to weather from almost every side, and light buildings with shallow roofs feel it.

Damp, salty air also means condensation. In a bedroom or bathroom, a shaft that is barely insulated turns into a cold wall for moisture to settle on. We pack ours with insulation and carry the vapour barrier across onto the frame so the damp air cannot get behind it.

The glass follows the house, and Dawlish has a wide spread of housing:

• Regency and Victorian houses: a roof window in the back slope, or a conservation rooflight if the house is listed or the council prefers a slimmer profile.
• Loft rooms in hillside semis: a roof window that hangs from the top or pivots at its middle, double or triple glazed, with laminated glass on the inside because it sits above your head.
• Kitchen extensions to the rear: a lantern or a low flat rooflight, sitting on a kerb that is lined on the inside.
• Bungalows near the Warren: a flat rooflight or roof window designed for the low pitch, with a sun tunnel for the hallway or bathroom where no ceiling space allows a larger opening.

A new sealed glass unit set into a frame that is still sound needs no notification, though it only makes sense where the frame is in good order.

Holiday rooms and top-floor flats under slate can get hot in July, because heat gathers under the roof. A rooflight that opens, placed near the top of the slope, lets it escape, and under Part F such units can help with purge ventilation. A bedroom that gets sun over the water might take solar control glass, while a landing on the shady side does better with clear glass and the largest frame that suits it.

Many Dawlish houses already have a tired roof window or an old skylight. Swapping an entire unit, frame and glass together, is notifiable under the Building Regulations because the new one must meet Part L, and we look after that. A new sealed glass unit set into a frame that is still sound needs no notification, though it only makes sense where the frame is in good order.

Dawlish is a straightforward run down the A379 from Exeter, and we cover Starcross and Kenton on the way, with Teignmouth just along the coast. A survey begins outdoors, on the slope, and then moves inside to measure the loft and the room: how deep the gap is from roof to ceiling, the make-up of the ceiling and its condition, and whatever could affect the finish, whether that is a cornice or a crack that runs toward the spot where the opening would go.

Access in the older streets is part of the visit. Terraces on the slopes can have steep steps, narrow lanes and very little room to unload, and some properties are reached on foot only. We plan where materials are stored, and if a scaffold or tower goes up, whether it would rest on the pavement and so need a highway licence from Devon County Council.

The quote that follows names the unit, the lining and the finish for each opening, and it is yours to accept or question. A top-floor Regency flat and a Warren chalet will get very different numbers. To book a visit, the quote form is simplest, and WhatsApp or info@brightviewskylightsexeter.co.uk work as well. Dust is sheeted off, we hand every room back swept and tidy, with a 10-year guarantee on workmanship.

If you are comparing coastal towns, Teignmouth and Starcross are close by, and our areas page lists everywhere we cover. For the full range of what we fit, the main site is the place to start.