Shevington's cottages and bungalows above the Douglas take rooflights or skylights
Stone-built cottages and brick terraces from the coal-mining years, then bungalows and estate semis put up round them, give rooflight installation in Shevington a patchwork of roof shapes. Most sit on rising ground above the Douglas valley, so a skylight here faces open weather as often as shelter.
21.6 road miles north-east of Liverpool city centre
Which part of a Shevington house is the darkest?
- The estate bungalow loftUp in Shevington Moor, a bungalow with a roof void waiting to be converted has no outside window in the middle of the house, so the new bedroom up top needs light before anything else.
- The old-village cottageIn the older streets round the village centre, a narrow stone or brick cottage with thick walls and small windows can keep its stair and landing dim even at midday.
- The extension kitchenBehind a 1970s or 1980s semi near Shevington Vale, a rear kitchen built out under a flat roof often leaves the old dining room in the middle with no daylight at all.
Estate bungalow lofts, village cottages, extensions
Shevington's housing runs from cottages in the oldest lanes through terraces and inter-war semis to the bungalows and estate houses of later decades, so skylight installation in Shevington can mean a very small opening or a very large one.
- On the detached houses at the village edge, wide rear extensions suit a lantern, because a large glazed roof fits the plot.
- Flat rooflights for kitchens and garage conversions built out under a low-fall roof, raised on a kerb so rain runs clear of the glass.
- Loft rooms in estate semis and the roof voids of bungalows take roof windows set into concrete tile, with a flashing kit cut for that profile.
- Dormer bungalows and chalet-style houses take VELUX and equivalent windows, often one or two units to a bedroom in the roof.
Coal-era cottages and the estates that grew around them
Coal mining was one of the trades that built Shevington, alongside farming and handloom weaving. The Wigan coalfield ran under much of this part of Greater Manchester, and the oldest homes are the stone and brick cottages and short terraces that housed the families around the workings. Their roofs are small and steeply pitched, and the stair in such a house is often boxed into a narrow run with a single window at best.
Later building filled the spaces between. Shevington Moor, Shevington Vale and the parts that run towards Gathurst each have a different texture. Along the main routes the inter-war semis have hipped tiled roofs, and indoors the landing is buried at the centre of the house. Post-war and later estates brought bungalows, dormer bungalows and rows of brick semis under concrete tiles, usually on lower pitches than the older houses.
For rooflights, the split is practical. Older cottages have little roof void and shallow lofts, so a single roof window or a sun tunnel to the landing is often all that fits. The estate houses are the opposite: they have simple roof structures, regular rafters and loft space that owners have been converting for years. Bungalows get the most from a roof window, because one unit can bring daylight into a room that has none, and a rear dormer or a chalet-style room gives more space for several.
Extensions are everywhere. Out at the back, plenty of semis have been extended under a flat roof, while newer detached houses often have a wide rear room beneath a lantern or glazed section. These are the roofs where old rooflights from the 1980s and 1990s are now reaching the end of their sealed units.
Dormer bungalows and chalet-style houses deserve a mention too, since they are common on the later estates. Their upper rooms are partly formed already, with sloping ceilings and knee walls, so a roof window usually replaces a small gable window or adds to it, and the light reaches the room without the cost of a larger structural change.
Older lanes and terraces
- Small roofs with shallow lofts
- A single roof window or sun tunnel
- Natural slate or old clay tile to match
- Narrow access from the street
Estate semis and bungalows
- Simple rafters at regular centres
- Concrete tiles on a lower pitch
- Room for pairs of roof windows
- Easy access from a drive or garden
Garages and porches are the other quiet candidates. Turn a garage into a playroom or home office and its window usually goes; a small flat rooflight above restores the daylight, and the neighbours are not affected.
The oldest housing is where every roof is different, and the estates are where one survey tells you nearly everything about the neighbours' roofs as well.
Open ground above the Douglas, and what it does to a flashing
Shevington stands on land that rises above the valley of the River Douglas, with the valley and its farmland opening out to the west. Rain on the prevailing south-westerly wind crosses that open ground before it meets the first rooftops. Higher streets take it directly, while those tucked below or among trees get far less. Houses of the same age on the same estate can therefore need different care at a rooflight, depending only on which side of the rise they stand.
On a roof open to weather, three details decide whether water gets in: the side flashings, the top apron and the underlay collar. Concrete tiles, which cover most of the village's newer roofs, are deep profile and need a flashing kit built for that tile, with the right lap at the sides. Plain clay tiles on older houses need a different approach, with the tiles cut and lapped over the flashing, and natural slate on the oldest cottages needs soakers worked into the courses. We choose the kit to suit the covering before the unit is ordered. The differences between kits are covered in flashing a roof window into slate or tile.
Bungalow roofs bring a second concern. Because the roof is low, the loft hatch and the ceiling below are close to the weather, and condensation is a worry in a roof void that is poorly ventilated. A rooflight in a bungalow loft room is chosen with the insulation and the ventilation path in mind, and why condensation forms under a rooflight explains what to look for.
Flat roofs on the rear extensions need their own check. Many sit on a low fall, and a kerb that is too low lets water sit against the glass. Before a lantern or flat rooflight is set on its kerb, we check that the deck below can carry the extra weight, and the kerb is made tall enough to keep the frame clear of water; how tall an upstand needs to be gives the heights.
| Roof | Check | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete-tiled semi | Tile profile and lap | Sets the flashing kit |
| Old stone cottage | Slate or stone slab condition | Decides how much is relaid |
| Bungalow roof void | Ventilation and insulation | Avoids condensation under the glass |
| Rear flat roof | Deck, fall and kerb height | Keeps water off the frame |
Access is rarely difficult. Most of the village has drives, front gardens and rear plots, so a tower or scaffold goes up easily, and many bungalow jobs can be done from a ladder and the roof void.
Wigan Council, the village and the route through Building Control
Wigan Council handles planning for Shevington, and a pitched roof is generally fine for a rooflight under permitted development, with no application, provided it meets the conditions in the skylight planning answer. We test those conditions against the roof at the survey. If the slope faces the road, fitting a roof window to the front elevation deserves a second look.
We would rather send you to the source than risk naming the wrong conservation areas in Shevington. Whether a street lies in a conservation area or under an Article 4 direction, and whether a building is listed, can be checked on the planning pages at wigan.gov.uk. A listed cottage needs consent before any opening is made; the listed-building consent page describes the application. Owners of flats and maisonettes must ask first, since they lack the rights a house has.
Shevington rooflights are notifiable work, filed by us with Wigan Council's building control service, while the Building Regulations checks on a replacement rooflight have a guide to themselves.
On the loft side, bungalows and chalet bungalows are simpler than two-storey houses, because the sill is within reach of the ground. A roof window there can serve as the escape window once its opening meets the sizes in Approved Document B. The measurements are on the escape window requirements page. A loft above two storeys needs a protected stair.
- Survey the roof. We look at the covering, the structure and the way the loft is laid out.
- Agree the quote. The unit, the flashing and the finish inside are priced in writing before any work is booked.
- Notify. Wigan Council is told before the work starts.
- Finishing. The unit goes in, the flashing is dressed and the room is cleaned.
- Hand over. You receive the sign-off for your house papers.
The oldest cottages near the village centre sometimes sit within a stone's throw of a listed neighbour, and a roof that looks plain from the lane can still lie in a protected setting. For that reason we check the address on the council's pages before pricing, and note the result on the quote.
What Shevington owners ask us first
Can a roof window go into our bungalow loft without a dormer?
A bungalow with enough height in its roof void can take roof windows in the slope alone, with no dormer needed. We check the headroom and rafter spacing at the survey, and when the opening meets the Approved Document B sizes the unit can also serve as an escape window. Where the room needs more floor space than the slope allows, the quote says so.
Our 1980s rear extension has a flat roof and a rooflight that has misted. What now?
A misted unit can usually be replaced as a whole new unit on the existing kerb, if the kerb and the covering around it are sound. We inspect the upstand, the felt or membrane and the deck first. Where the kerb is low or damaged, the quote includes a new one so the replacement sits properly.
Does the page cover Shevington Moor, Shevington Vale and Gathurst?
The page covers the village and its parts, including Shevington Moor and Shevington Vale. Gathurst is a short step away and we work there as well, surveying each house before any price is given.
Our Shevington cottage has a steep stone-slab roof. Can a roof window be fitted without damaging it?
Steep, small roofs like these take a single roof window or a sun tunnel rather than a large opening. We look at the condition of the slate or stone slab first, because old courses can be brittle, and lift just the number the flashing needs. Any slate that breaks is replaced and the courses around the frame are relaid so they lap properly.
The landing in our Shevington Vale semi has no window and the stair is dark. What would you suggest?
For a landing like this a sun tunnel is often the neatest answer: it passes through the loft, leaves the ceiling intact and needs only a small cut in the roof. If the loft is already converted, a roof window over the stairwell does the same job. We look at the loft layout at the survey and recommend one or the other.
Standish and the Douglas valley villages
Standish and the Douglas valley villages lie within easy reach, along with the towns of the Wigan area, and we cover each of them.
Free survey
Get a fixed quote in Shevington
- No obligation
- We survey the roof before we price
- WhatsApp or phone, whichever suits
What happens next: we arrange a survey at a time that suits you, measure the roof and the room, then send a fixed written quote. Nothing is booked until you say yes.