Skylights & rooflights in Scraptoft
Scraptoft: a village once held by Coventry.
Much of Scraptoft is a conservation area, so the bungalows, chalets and ordinary village houses here call for a rooflight chosen, positioned and finished with more thought than a catalogue order allows.
- Harborough District Council
- Conservation area village
- Rooms in the roof
Coventry Abbey's old village, now bungalows and chalets
Scraptoft is a civil parish village within Harborough, in Leicestershire. It lies north of the A47 east of Leicester, and runs directly into the built-up area of Thurnby and Bushby to the south. By road it is twenty-nine miles north-east of central Coventry, forty-eight minutes by car, and the 2021 figure we use for its population is 2,967.
There is a pleasing link with our own city. Scraptoft was recorded in the Domesday Book as Scrapentot, in the Gartree wapentake, and it was held by Coventry Abbey, its value rising from two shillings at the time of the Norman Conquest to forty shillings by 1086. The village has plenty of history of its own since then. A railway station, Thurnby and Scraptoft, connected to the Great Northern Railway and closed to passengers in the mid-1950s, and the village is the site of various historic buildings, including Scraptoft Hall, a Grade II* listed building. A pub on Scraptoft Lane called The White House is built of Ketton stone brought from Normanton Hall in Rutland.
Those details are the old village. The roofs a homeowner is most likely to have are more modern. Because the facts do not list particular streets, we describe the housing in general terms: bungalows and chalet-style homes from the twentieth century, semi-detached and detached houses, and older cottages nearer the centre. Together they make up the sort of mixed village that sits on the edge of a city.
Bungalows and chalets matter because their roofs are doing a lot of work. A bungalow has its rooms on one level under a pitched roof, so the middle of the plan, a hall or a bathroom, can be very dark. A chalet has rooms built into the roof space, with sloping ceilings and perhaps a dormer, so the roof is also the ceiling and the walls.
In both cases, daylight from above is worth more than another wall window, and the design of the opening is what decides whether it looks right.
Because the village runs straight into Thurnby and Bushby, you can stand on one street and be unsure which village you are in. Roofs on either side of that line tend to be of similar age and type, and we use the same careful approach on both, adding the conservation check where Scraptoft's designation may apply.
Bungalow halls, chalet bedrooms, slopes seen from the lane
Bungalow and chalet roofs point to a particular shortlist: sun tunnels for halls and bathrooms, roof windows for the rooms in the roof, and conservation rooflights for any slope seen from the lane. Flat glass suits the extensions at the back.
- Sun tunnelsA bungalow hallway or bathroom with no window is the ideal place for a sun tunnel.
- Roof windowsChalet bedrooms under sloping ceilings gain height and fresh air from a roof window.
- Conservation rooflightsIn a conservation area village a slim conservation rooflight keeps the roof plane quiet.
- Flat roof rooflightsA flat-roofed extension behind a bungalow takes flat glass on a new insulated upstand.
Also fitted here
Drive times from Scraptoft village centre.
A conservation area village with a listed Hall
Scraptoft's planning authority is Harborough District Council. Much of the village is a conservation area, so the position of your house relative to it matters, and the way a rooflight appears from the street matters more than it would elsewhere. We check where your address sits before we quote, and we usually propose the rear slope first.
Scraptoft Hall is a Grade II* listed building, and any listed home needs listed building consent for roof work. Whether an Article 4 direction applies to your address is for the council to confirm. Our rooflight planning guide lays the rules out step by step, and any Building Control notice the job requires is sent by us.
A photograph of the front and back of your house, plus the postcode, is all we need to begin the conversation. From there we explain what the council is likely to ask, and what we would propose in order to keep the application, if one is needed, simple.
01 Bungalows, halls and bathrooms
One floor under a pitched roof, and the dark rooms in the middle.
On the roof
A bungalow roof is the kindest to work on. It is low to the ground, so access is simple. The pitch is moderate, so a sun tunnel or roof window sits comfortably. And the loft, though shallow, is usually clear enough for us to see the rafters, the felt and the insulation in the area of the new opening.
A sun tunnel is the right answer for a hallway or bathroom. A small collector goes on the roof with a proper flashing, a reflective tube carries daylight through the loft, and a diffuser finishes the ceiling. We choose the route to avoid water tanks and cable runs, and we make sure the tube is insulated where it passes through cold space.
When a room needs light and air, for example a bedroom or a kitchen, a roof window is the answer. It is framed between existing rafters wherever possible, so the structure stays intact, and it is flashed to the covering in use. For a conservation area, we choose the rear slope and a unit with a low profile.
Electric opening models are worth considering where the ceiling is high or the window is out of reach. A rain sensor closes the window if the weather turns, so it can be left ajar on a warm day.
The roof covering is checked around the opening and any cracked tiles are replaced as part of the job.
Loft insulation is the other consideration. Most bungalows have a quilt laid across the joists, and a sun tunnel has to pass through it. We lift the quilt locally, fit the tube with its own insulation, and lay the quilt back tight around the finished opening so there is no cold gap.
In the room
The hall of a bungalow is its spine, with the bedrooms, bathroom and living room opening off it. With no window of its own, it is the darkest part of the property. A sun tunnel changes the character of the whole plan, bringing steady daylight to the corridor and allowing a little to spill through into the rooms beyond.
A bathroom with no outside wall is the same story. A sun tunnel gives it natural light without the privacy issues of a wall window, and the diffuser sits flush in the ceiling. The effect is soft and even, and in a small room it makes a real difference.
For a bedroom or kitchen, the reveal beneath a roof window is lined in insulated plasterboard and splayed where the roof depth allows. The surface is plastered and made good to match the ceiling, with clean corners and a crisp line at the frame. Pale colours carry the light furthest.
Neat finishing is what homeowners remember. The room is cleared, the dust sheets are folded, and the surface is ready for paint. We leave nothing to be tidied up afterwards.
A bungalow may take two or three openings, each placed for a different room, and the quote lists them separately.
Kitchens in bungalows are often central, with a single window on an end wall. A rooflight above the worktop or the cooking area makes the room easier to work in, and an opening unit helps clear steam. It is worth thinking about where you stand most, and we can mark that on the ceiling at the survey.
The short version
In a bungalow, the hall and bathroom are the rooms a sun tunnel changes most.
02 Chalets, conservation rules and the rear slope
Rooms in the roof, a village with protection, and fitting with care.
On the roof
A chalet home has bedrooms built into the roof, so the rafters form the walls and ceiling of the room. Opening one is more significant than opening an ordinary loft, and we treat it that way. We measure the rafter sizes and spacing, frame the opening with new timber and tie it back into the structure so the load is carried properly.
A roof window set between rafters is the neat solution. It lights the room, lifts the sloping ceiling and does not change the shape of the roof. On a chalet with a dormer, the roof beside the dormer is often reframed already, and that can simplify the work.
Because much of Scraptoft is a conservation area, the visible slope of any house deserves thought. We usually propose the rear slope, where a unit is out of view, and a low-profile conservation rooflight where it is not. The council can confirm what applies to your property, and we put what we learn in writing.
Extensions at the back of bungalows and chalets often have flat roofs. We lift any old dome or lantern, check the deck, form a new insulated upstand and set the glass. The roofing is dressed up to the kerb and sealed, so the junction stays watertight.
Dormers on chalets sometimes have flat roofs of their own, covered in felt or a single-ply membrane. If one is ageing, we say so, since a new rooflight on the same slope deserves a roof that will last as long. Both can be priced in one written quote, so the work is planned as a whole.
In the room
Chalet bedrooms are lovely when they are bright. The sloping ceiling takes light well, and a rooflight with a splayed reveal draws daylight down the slope. A white or soft neutral finish does the rest, and the room feels taller than it is.
Eaves cupboards and knee walls are common in these rooms, and they affect where the light can fall. We lay out the splay so the light clears the knee wall and reaches the floor, and we talk you through how furniture will sit under the opening.
In older houses with lath and plaster, we cut back to sound edges and skim over the join, so no crack appears later. The reveal is formed in insulated board, taped and plastered to match the surrounding surfaces, and the edges at the frame are clean and sharp.
In a rear extension, a flat glass rooflight over the kitchen or dining table changes a plain ceiling into the brightest part of the house. We discuss the position in the room and mark it before we cut.
Everything is left finished and tidy.
If a chalet bedroom is used by children, an opening unit with a safe restrictor is worth thinking about, and a blind keeps summer mornings under control. We can suggest options that suit the room, and fit them at the same visit.
The short version
In a conservation village the rear slope and a slim frame keep the street looking as it did.
A chalet roof is also a ceiling, so the finish inside matters as much as the glass.
Conservation area, bathrooms, chalet roofs: Scraptoft asks
Is my house in the Scraptoft conservation area?
Much of the village is a conservation area, so it is quite possible. We check the position of your house before we quote and tell you what we find in writing, and we recommend you also confirm it with Harborough District Council. If you are inside, we usually propose a slim rooflight on the rear slope, out of view from the lane. Photographs of the front and back of the house help us prepare.
Can you light a bungalow bathroom that has no window?
Yes, with a sun tunnel. A small unit on the roof gathers daylight, a reflective tube carries it through the loft, and a diffuser finishes the ceiling. We flash and seal the roof opening and make good the ceiling. The result is natural light without a wall window, and our 10-year workmanship guarantee covers the fitting. A bathroom is a small room, so one tunnel is usually enough.
Does a chalet roof need extra support for a roof window?
Often the rafters either side are doubled and a header is fixed across the opening, with timber sized to carry the load. We assess the structure at the free survey, then confirm exactly what is needed in a fixed written quote. Inside, the reveal is splayed where the roof depth allows, then plastered and made good. If a dormer is nearby, we use its framing where it helps.
We survey before we price.
Then we finish the room.
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