Skylights and rooflights in Seaton

Seaton grew up as a resort. The older part of the town lies along and behind the front, with Victorian and Edwardian terraces, boarding houses and villas that were built to catch the holiday trade, many now split into flats or turned back into family homes. Their rooms are tall, their stairs are steep and their upper floors often have a small landing or a box room that has never had much daylight.

Much of the rest of Seaton dates from the twentieth century. Bungalows and chalet bungalows climb the slopes above the town, and there are estates of semis and detached houses from several decades, built in brick or render under concrete tile. Many of these suit people who want to stay in their homes for a long time, which is why the jobs tend to be about making a house easier to live in: a bright hallway, a bathroom that doesn't need a light on at noon, a loft room that is not an oven in July.

so before anything else we want to know where in Seaton the house stands and how old it is.

Down towards the Axe the ground is low and flat, and the building there is mostly newer, with roofs that are simpler to reach and ceilings that are usually plasterboard. Between the beach, the river and the hills, the town has a lot of different homes in a small space, so before anything else we want to know where in Seaton the house stands and how old it is.

Most houses in Seaton can take a rooflight under the general householder allowance, which limits how far the unit projects, how high it sits and how any side-facing glazing is treated. East Devon District Council can confirm the position for your house if you are unsure.

Some of the picture varies by street. The town has older buildings of real character, and there may be conservation area controls or an Article 4 direction on some streets, which would take permitted development away. We check with East Devon before we promise anything on a seafront house rather than assume it is free. A listed building needs consent before anything changes on the outside. The coast here is part of the Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site, and the countryside around the town includes protected landscape, so a property on the edge of town is worth checking with the council too.

a rooflight in the top flat of a block needs planning permission, and often the freeholder's agreement too.

Flats are the big exception. Seaton has a great many converted and purpose-built flats, none of which can use the householder allowance, so a rooflight in the top flat of a block needs planning permission, and often the freeholder's agreement too. The detail is in our planning and building rules page.

The answer follows the house, and in Seaton it tends to run like this.

• Bungalows and chalet bungalows usually take a pair of roof windows, which turn the loft into a bedroom or study, with the inner pane laminated for overhead use.
• On a Victorian or Edwardian house, a roof window on the rear slope does the job, and a conservation rooflight suits a slope facing the street, where the council expects restraint.
• Extensions with flat roofs are best served by a flat rooflight, or alternatively a roof lantern, over the kitchen or dining area.
• Where a hallway or bathroom is dark and sits well away from any outside wall, a sun tunnel needs only a small opening in the roof and a tube down to the ceiling.
• If a unit has misted or failed, a replacement of just the sealed unit or the whole rooflight is possible, depending on the frame.

A top floor facing the bay gets strong afternoon sun, so solar control glazing keeps the room comfortable in summer

The glass needs choosing for the position. A top floor facing the bay gets strong afternoon sun, so solar control glazing keeps the room comfortable in summer, while a north-facing landing is happier with clear glass that insulates well. Where traffic noise from the front is an issue, acoustic glass is an option, though the main choice is usually about heat and light.

Opening rooflights let out the heat that gathers under a roof, and they can also count as the rapid ventilation Part F expects. An electrically driven unit with a rain sensor suits a house where nobody wants to climb a ladder every time the weather turns.

Seaton is at the eastern end of the area we cover, near the Dorset border, so we plan survey visits for the town together with those in the neighbouring parts of East Devon. We start outside, looking at the roof. Inside, we work through the roof space and the room, recording the depth between roof and ceiling, the type of ceiling and how it has held up, plus any trusses, wiring or chimney breasts in the way.

Access in Seaton varies a lot. On the seafront and in the older streets there is little room to unload, and a tower or scaffold may need to stand near the road, and Devon County Council, as highway authority, licenses anything that stands on the public highway. Up the hill, the plots are larger, but the drives can be steep and tight. For a flat, we agree access with the freeholder before the work is booked.

A written price follows the survey, and nothing is booked until you accept it. Seafront houses get salt and sand tracked through them, so we protect the floor, keep dust to one room and leave it clean, with ten years of workmanship cover on the installation. To book, fill in the quote form, send a WhatsApp, or use the address info@brightviewskylightsexeter.co.uk. Along the coast we are also fitting in Beer and Sidmouth, and you can see the whole area on our areas page. Every service we offer is listed on the homepage.