Rooflights for Liverpool house types, from terraces to new builds

The best rooflights for Liverpool house types are the ones chosen after looking at the roof they are going into. A Welsh slate slope on a Victorian terrace, a hipped tile roof on a 1930s semi and the felt flat roof on a kitchen extension each call for different handling: a different unit, a different flashing, a different amount of work inside. The same goes for skylights for terraced houses compared with a new-build on an estate, where the roof is built from factory trusses rather than cut timber.

This page walks through the homes we work on most across Merseyside, the Wirral and the surrounding towns. For each one it covers what the roof is usually made of, which rooflight tends to suit it, and the things to watch out for ahead of the order being placed. Every house is its own case, so treat this as a starting point for the conversation at the survey rather than a substitute for it.

Terraces are the backbone of Liverpool and the older towns around it: two-up two-downs in long rows, bay-fronted terraces a step up in size, and three-storey houses on the wider streets. The roof is usually natural slate, much of it Welsh, laid on battens over cut timber rafters with a purlin carrying them midway. The front slope faces the street and the rear slope often looks over a back yard or alley and the outrigger, the narrower rear wing that holds the kitchen and back bedroom.

What usually suits

For a loft room or a dark top landing, a pitched roof window on the rear slope is the usual answer. Rafter spacing in cut roofs varies, so the width is chosen to suit what is there, and trimming one rafter is normal. On protected streets, or where you want the window to sit low and neat in the slate, a conservation rooflight with a slim frame and a central glazing bar looks right on these roofs. The flat or shallow roof over a single-storey outrigger kitchen is often the best place for a flat roof rooflight, bringing light into the room that tends to be darkest.

What to watch

• Access: back entries can be narrow, and a front-slope job may need a scaffold licence for the pavement.
• Old slate breaks when lifted, so we allow for matching replacements.
• Party walls run up through the roof; a window positioned too near one causes problems with flashing and fire separation.
• Front roof slopes facing a road are what Article 4 directions most often cover, and councils usually make those in conservation areas.

The big semi-detached and detached houses of places like Oxton, Birkdale and the streets around Liverpool's parks were built with steep slate roofs, hips, valleys, gables and dormers. Their lofts are often tall enough to stand in, which makes them good candidates for loft rooms, but the roofs are complex and many sit in conservation areas.

What usually suits

Conservation rooflights are the natural fit, set low in the slate and sized to the proportions of the house. On a rear slope out of public view, a standard roof window may be fine. Where a loft room is being formed, two windows side by side or one above the other often light the space better than one large one.

What to watch

• Conservation area status, Article 4 directions and listed status. Speak to the council before planning anything, and read our guide on rooflights in a conservation area to see how the rules work.
• Valleys and hips limit where a window can go without awkward flashing.
• Height. Three-storey roofs need full scaffold.

The semis of Crosby, Maghull, Wallasey and dozens of other suburbs typically have a hipped roof, sloping on three sides, in clay or concrete plain tiles, though many have been re-covered over the years with concrete interlocking tiles. The roof is cut timber, and the hip means the loft narrows towards the side of the house.

What usually suits

A VELUX or equivalent roof window on the rear slope, lighting a loft space, landing or a bathroom formed in the roof. Many of these houses already have an older roof window or two from an earlier loft conversion, which are good candidates for a like-for-like swap when the glass mists.

What to watch

• The hip slope limits where a window can go and how big it can be.
• Plain clay tiles need careful cutting and the right flashing kit for their profile.
• Side-facing roof windows have to meet the obscure glazing and opening conditions for permitted development; see planning permission for a skylight.
• Headroom: in a hipped loft the best place for headroom is not always the best place for light.

Large estates were built after the war in places such as Kirkby, Huyton, Halewood and the newer parts of St Helens and Runcorn. Many are now privately owned. Most are brick semis and terraces with concrete tile roofs, but some were built using non-traditional methods, with concrete panels or steel frames, and their roofs and walls do not always behave like a standard house.

What usually suits

A roof window on the rear slope for a loft or landing, or a sun tunnel into a dark inner hall or bathroom. A kitchen extension at the back is something many of these houses have since gained, and it suits a flat roof rooflight or a roof lantern well.

What to watch

• Non-traditional construction: we check what the house is built from before planning any opening.
• Low-pitched roofs on some designs, which limit the choice of roof window.
• Asbestos-containing materials in soffits, roof sheets or older flat roofs on some properties, which must be tested before work.

From the late 1960s onward, and on the estates being built today around towns such as Warrington, St Helens and Ellesmere Port, roofs are usually built from factory-made trussed rafters, often at regular spacing, with concrete interlocking tiles. The loft is crossed with diagonal webs that hold the truss together.

What usually suits

Pick a roof window slim enough to slot between neighbouring trusses so neither is cut. Roof window makers produce widths that suit common truss spacings, and that is usually the simplest route. Sun tunnels suit these houses well too, because the tube can be routed through the loft between the webs to an en suite or landing.

What to watch

• Trusses must never be cut without a structural engineer's design. A wider window means engineered trimming and more work.
• Some estates have planning conditions that remove permitted development rights. Check the original planning permission.
• If the house is still within the builder's warranty period, check what that warranty says about alterations before work starts.
• Loft insulation is often thick and loose; it has to be moved and put back properly around any new opening.

Bungalows across the Wirral, Formby and West Lancashire range from 1930s pairs to later detached designs. Many have generous lofts, but the roofs can be shallow, and some have been extended with dormers or a chalet-style first floor.

What usually suits

A roof window for a loft room, if the pitch allows, or a sun tunnel for a windowless bathroom or hall. Where a room is formed in the roof, a roof window can be the escape window for that room. Approved Document B sets the size: a minimum unobstructed openable area of 0.33m², at least 450mm high and 450mm wide, with the bottom of the opening no more than 1100mm above the floor. Our answer on roof windows as a fire escape covers it in full.

What to watch

• Minimum pitch: each roof window has a lowest pitch set by its maker, and some bungalow roofs fall below it.
• Bungalow roofs are easier to reach, which helps, but extensions and conservatories underneath can complicate access.
• Check which way the window will open in relation to the escape route if it serves as an escape window.

Almost every house type above has one: a single-storey extension at the back, usually a kitchen or garden room, with a flat roof. The roof may be torch-on felt, EPDM rubber or GRP fibreglass, laid on timber joists with a deck, and it should have a fall to a gutter or outlet.

What usually suits

A flat roof rooflight on a raised kerb, fixed or opening, or a roof lantern for a bigger room that wants more sky. Electric opening units suit kitchens, where steam and heat need somewhere to go; see electric and opening rooflights.

• The kerb is tall enough for the roof covering to be dressed up it
• The unit's glass sheds rain rather than holding it
• The covering is in good enough condition to take a new opening
• The joists can be trimmed to carry the opening
• The complete unit complies with Part L, with a limit of 2.2 W/m²K for rooflights

If the flat roof covering is old, putting a new rooflight into it can be the moment to re-cover it. Our guide on kerbs and upstands explains why that detail matters.

Liverpool's waterfront and commercial districts are full of warehouses and offices converted to flats, and the suburbs have plenty of large houses split into flats. Top-floor flats sometimes have a roof terrace or a flat roof over them, which can take a flat or walk-on rooflight to bring light into a room below.

What to watch

• Consent from the freeholder. In a leasehold flat the roof normally belongs to the freeholder, not to you. Their written consent, and often the management company's, is needed before any work.
• Planning. Flats and maisonettes do not get permitted development rights for rooflights. Any change that alters the outside of the building may need planning permission from the council.
• Listed buildings. Many of the older dock and commercial buildings are listed, which means listed building consent is also needed.
• Fire separation and structure. Roofs over flats often have fire separation and structural design that a new opening must respect.

We can survey and quote in advance so you have something specific to take to the freeholder and the council.

Every house type above can take a rooflight. What changes is how much care the roof needs to receive it. Our costs page explains what moves the price for each, and our areas list covers the towns we visit. When you are ready, tell us what kind of house you have and where you want the light. Book a survey