Skylights and rooflights in Feniton

Feniton sits in rolling farmland in the valley country between Honiton and Ottery St Mary, with the railway line from Exeter towards Salisbury and London running through it and a station in the village. The oldest buildings gather around the lanes of the original village: cob and stone cottages, a few farmhouses and farm buildings, some under thatch and others under slate or old clay tile.

Alongside those sit Victorian and Edwardian houses, and a good number of mid twentieth century bungalows and semis along the approach roads. Then there are the new estates. Feniton has taken a good deal of recent housing, so a large share of its homes are now new-build, with brick or render walls, concrete tile roofs and the neat uniformity that goes with them.

A cottage on an old lane, a farmhouse conversion and a three-bedroom estate home all want skylights, but they want different ones.

Many of the loft rooms in the newer streets were left as storage when the houses were built. Turning one into a bedroom or an office is the commonest reason for a roof window here, and it is also where the finish matters most, because a new-build loft ceiling is flat, plain and unforgiving of a crooked edge.

That mix makes the village a useful case study for how different one house can be from the next in the same postcode. A cottage on an old lane, a farmhouse conversion and a three-bedroom estate home all want skylights, but they want different ones.

Decisions on planning in Feniton rest with East Devon District Council. A typical house in the village has householder rights that cover a rooflight, and the main numbers are easy to hold in mind: 150mm is the furthest it may stand out from the slope, and 1.7m above the floor is the height a side-facing one must reach before it can open with clear glass. The rest of the conditions are laid out in our Devon planning guide.

Older properties carry extra conditions. A listed building, and there are listed cottages and farm buildings in this part of East Devon, cannot be altered outside without consent, and that consent covers the roof structure and the historic fabric inside as well. Some houses are in conservation areas, and the council may withdraw householder rights by way of an Article 4 direction, so check with East Devon before settling a design on an older home. Flats and maisonettes, and any house whose rights were removed when it was built, may need a full application.

New-build estates sometimes carry planning conditions of their own that limit alterations. If your home is recent, it is worth reading the decision notice, or asking the council, before a roof window goes on the order sheet. Separately from planning, cutting a new opening falls under the Building Regulations, and the Building Control submission is something we take care of.

It helps to decide early which route a job is on. A like-for-like swap of a whole roof window is notifiable but rarely needs planning. A new opening in a modern house is usually permitted development. A new opening in a listed cottage needs consent first, and the time that takes should shape when the work is booked, not the other way round.

Different houses lead to different answers:

• Thatched and listed cottages usually suit a conservation rooflight on a rear or lean-to roof, sitting flush with the covering.
• For converted barns and farmhouses, a large roof window or a pair works well, sized to the rafter spacing and set where it lights the room best.
• New-build family homes tend to take a VELUX window in a loft room, or an opening unit over a stairwell.
• Extensions call for a flat-glazed rooflight or a lantern, raised on a kerb and plastered inside.
• Internal landings and bathrooms are lit by a sun tunnel, where no outside wall allows a window.

In a cottage, the room is small and low, and a single modest conservation rooflight does more than a large window would.

A converted barn needs different thinking. The roofs are deep and often have wide rafter spacing, so a large roof window or a pair side by side can go in with modest structural work, and the lining shaft can be deep enough to carry a generous splay. In a cottage, the room is small and low, and a single modest conservation rooflight does more than a large window would.

Glass choices follow the room. Newer houses are built tight, and their heat loss figures depend on good glazing. Part L sets heat-loss limits for every new or replacement rooflight, and renewing the whole unit, glass and frame at once, has to be notified. Laminated inner panes are sensible overhead as good practice, though Part K does not require them.

Glass specification is worth a moment as well. A south-facing loft bedroom in an estate house can get uncomfortably warm in July, so solar control glazing or an external blind is worth discussing, while a north-lit stairwell wants the clearest glass available to bring in as much daylight as possible.

A survey in Feniton starts with the roof from outside, then moves into the room and the loft. We measure the space between the roof and the ceiling, identify the ceiling material, check the rafters or trusses, and look for anything that will affect the finish, from old cracks to a beam running through where the opening would go.

Because Feniton is a working village with farm traffic and commuters, we also agree when deliveries will come and where the van will stand, so neighbours are not blocked in. Dust sheets go down before the first slate is lifted.

Access differs across the village. Estate roads give easy room for a tower or scaffold.

Access differs across the village. Estate roads give easy room for a tower or scaffold. The old lanes can be narrow, with a cottage door a step from the carriageway, so we plan deliveries and where scaffolding can stand beforehand. A scaffold that needs to occupy the public highway needs a licence, and we allow time for that.

After the visit the quote arrives in writing, and on a village job it names the delivery day and the scaffold position as well as the glass. Work starts only once you have said yes. We guarantee our workmanship for ten years, keep dust contained as we go and leave the room clean. A visit can be set up through the form on this page, by WhatsApp, or by email at info@brightviewskylightsexeter.co.uk.

Neighbouring Honiton and Ottery St Mary are covered as well. Every area is listed on the areas we cover page, and the homepage shows the whole range of skylights and rooflights we install.