MAXIMISING DAYLIGHT

Not until you actually experience a roof being opened to daylight for the first time can you fully appreciate the amazing transformation brought about by bringing light into a dark space.

Natural light is the essential element in transforming a loft into bright, airy living space and roof windows are the simplest and most natural way to achieve this.

The dormer window, which juts out from the roof, undoubtedly has a place in traditional-style house design, but for the vast majority of situations a VELUX roof window wins hands down:

• VELUX roof windows admit up to 40% more light than dormer windows.
• VELUX roof windows are much simpler and quicker to install: they are easily fitted within a day, doing away with the need for temporary weatherproofing.
• VELUX roof windows can usually be fitted from the inside: no expensive access or scaffolding is required.
• VELUX roof windows usually don’t need planning permission.

In contrast, dormers are complicated and time consuming to construct. Supplied and fitted, a dormer window is typically two or three times more expensive than a VELUX roof window.

Surprisingly, in many sensitive locations such as barn conversions, planners actually prefer the unintrusive elegance of a roof window. Designers rate them because of their low visual impact from street level.

PLANNING THE RIGHT TYPE AND NUMBER OF ROOF WINDOWS

J. Churchill Construction Limited can provide the right style and size of window to suit the pitch of your roof. For instance, the lower the pitch of roof, the longer the window needs to be to get the best possible view.

VELUX roof windows can be coupled together side-by-side and/or one above the other to provide additional light and to create an attractive design effect.

As a general rule, you need to provide glazed areas equivalent to 10% of the room’s floor area to achieve adequate natural daylighting.

The overall effect is usually improved dramatically by increasing this ratio to around 20% and also by using several smaller windows rather than one or two large ones.