Skylights and rooflights in Hemyock

Hemyock has a long history for a village of its size. The ruins of a medieval castle stand close to the church, and the older houses cluster around that core and along the roads that climb away from it. Many of the cottages are cob on a stone footing, limewashed or rendered, with thick walls and small windows set deep in the reveal. Local stone from the Blackdown Hills, including chert, turns up in walls and outbuildings, and brick came in with Victorian and Edwardian additions.

Farmhouses and farm buildings spread out across the valley floor and the hillsides above. Some of the barns have been converted into homes, with tall open roofs, exposed trusses and a lot of internal height. Their roofs rarely follow a standard rafter spacing, because they were framed for hay and cattle rather than for plasterboard.

We start by asking which part of the village the house is in, and how old its ceiling is.

Later growth is more modest than in the larger Mid Devon towns. There are small groups of postwar council houses, cul-de-sacs of bungalows and detached houses from the 1970s onward, and a scatter of recent infill. These newer homes have trussed rafter roofs under concrete or clay tile, plasterboard ceilings and loft spaces where either a roof window or a light tube goes in without fuss.

That mix is why a product is never our first question in Hemyock. We start by asking which part of the village the house is in, and how old its ceiling is.

Hemyock planning applications are for Mid Devon to decide. For most houses a new rooflight needs no application at all, provided it stays within the general permitted-development limits on how far it projects and how high it sits.

The Blackdown Hills are designated as a National Landscape, the name that replaced Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. That designation shapes how development is judged, but on its own it does not remove a house's right to fit a rooflight without applying. A rooflight on a rear slope that cannot be seen from the road is usually a much easier conversation than a large one on a slope facing the lane.

Some older buildings in the village are listed, and a listed house or barn needs listed building consent before any outside alteration, whether that is a rooflight or the cutting of old roof timbers or plaster. Flats have no householder permitted development rights. A converted barn may also have lost them through a condition on the original conversion permission, so read the decision notice before assuming anything. If you are not sure whether an Article 4 direction or a conservation area touches your lane, ask the planning team before you order.

The wider rules are in our planning guide for Devon rooflights, and the conservation rooflights service page describes the slim, low-profile units that suit protected buildings.

Hemyock has every type of house, so the choice of unit divides roughly as the table sets out.

Under a tile roof, a bedroom facing south may call for solar control glazing to take the sting out of afternoon heat

Dark landings, stairwells and bathrooms with no outside wall suit a sun tunnel, which carries daylight down a tube and needs only a small opening in the ceiling.

The glass depends on the room. Under a tile roof, a bedroom facing south may call for solar control glazing to take the sting out of afternoon heat, while a landing on the north side is happier with clear, high-performance glass. Renewing frame and glass as one is notifiable to Building Control, a job we take on, but a new sealed unit dropped into a good frame is not.

Hemyock is close to the far edge of our patch, and the last stretch is on narrow country roads. A survey is still straightforward to arrange, and we plan it so that one visit covers the roof, the room and the loft.

The visit starts outside, with the slope and the covering. Indoors we measure from ceiling up to roof, check what the ceiling is built from and record whatever will shape the finish, whether that is a beam, an old crack or a cornice. Village access is easier than a town centre, though lanes can be tight, so we also check where deliveries can be set down and where a tower or scaffold could stand.

A written quote comes after the visit, listing the room's finishes, and nothing begins until each figure is agreed. Dust is contained during the work, the room is handed back tidy, and the installation comes with a ten-year workmanship guarantee. Whether it is a thatched cottage or a barn with a deep roof build, a visit settles more than a phone call, so fill in the quote form or email info@brightviewskylightsexeter.co.uk.

The housing on either side of the Blackdowns is different again, and our pages for Cullompton and Honiton cover it. Everywhere else we work is on the areas page, and the homepage describes the full range of work.