Skylights & rooflights in Shenstone
Shenstone’s commuter homes, with room for a lantern.
Shenstone sits between Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield beside the M6 Toll and the Cross-City Line, a well-connected village where a dark rear room is often a good home for a roof lantern.
- Lichfield District Council
- Between Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield
- Cross-City Line village
Detached plots, double garages and extended backs
Shenstone, a civil parish and village in the Lichfield district of Staffordshire between Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield, is about twenty-six road miles north-west of central Coventry. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book, where its population is described as quite large. The village sits next to the M6 Toll, which links to Stafford, Wolverhampton, Cannock, Tamworth and Coleshill, and offers connections to the M6 and the M42. It is also near Watling Street, the old road that runs from Holyhead to London.
It has a railway station on the Cross-City Line, with connections to the West Coast Main Line at Lichfield Trent Valley and the Chase Line at Aston, and it is the only settlement in Lichfield District with an active railway station apart from the two stations in Lichfield itself. All of that points the same way: Shenstone is well connected by road and by rail, which makes it an easy run for us.
In general terms, that means detached and semi-detached family houses, many extended to the rear or the side, with tiled pitched roofs, double garages and generous plots. The extension is where our work is concentrated. A kitchen opened into a family room, a garden room added to a patio, or a garage converted to a study all tend to have flat or low-pitched roofs and rooms that stay dim at the centre.
The free survey is how we turn a wish into a specification. We measure the roof opening, check the structure and the covering, look at the room beneath, and write a fixed quote that names the rooflight, how it is fitted and sealed, and how the opening inside is plastered and made good.
Shenstone sits between the city of Lichfield to the north and the town of Sutton Coldfield to the south. A household planning to stay will want a rooflight specified to last. That is a good setting for a rooflight, which is a long-lived part of the house and should be specified as one.
We keep the recommendations simple. If the roof can take a lantern, we say so and show you what it would look like. If it cannot, we say what works instead. Either way, the price is fixed and written, and the finish inside is part of it.
Lanterns for family rooms, flat glass for garages
In a village of larger houses and bigger extensions, roof lanterns and large flat rooflights lead, with roof windows for lofts and opening units for kitchens. Choose from the roof you have and the room you want to change.
- Roof lanternsFor wide rear and side extensions, where a lantern lights the middle of a family kitchen.
- Flat roof rooflightsFor garage conversions and narrower flat roofs that need a lower profile.
- Electric & opening rooflightsFor kitchen-diners where warm air and cooking steam need a way out through the roof.
- Energy efficient rooflightsFor large glazed areas, where the glass specification keeps the room comfortable all year.
Also fitted here
Near Shenstone
- Lichfield9 min
- Whittington9 min
- Aldridge12 min
- Streetly12 min
Drive times from Shenstone village centre.
Lichfield's rules, and where the plasterer fits in
Lichfield District Council is the planning authority for Shenstone. Many houses can take a rooflight without an application, but the answer is specific to the address, so conservation area status is checked before pricing. Article 4 directions are the council's to confirm.
If a lantern is part of a larger extension, we work with your builder and architect so the structure, the opening and the drawings agree. Building Control gets its notification from us for work that calls for one. The rooflight planning guide sets out the rules.
Mention any plans for the wider house when you get in touch. A rooflight sometimes goes in alongside a new kitchen or a rebuilt rear wall, and the order of the trades matters. We advise on when the roof opening should be cut and sealed relative to the plasterer, the electrician and the kitchen fitter.
01 Detached homes, large extensions
Family kitchens at the back, and the glass roof that lights them.
On the roof
A roof lantern is a raised, glazed roof with its own frame, standing on an insulated upstand over a flat roof opening. On a large extension, it can be the single most important decision for how the room feels, and also a substantial piece of structure. The size, the pitch of the glass and the number of bars are all choices to make.
We measure the opening, check the joists or beams that will carry the load and the covering that will be sealed to the upstand. Where a joist needs doubling or a beam needs sizing, the quote says so, with the reason. The lantern is delivered and lifted into place, and the base is fixed and sealed before the glazing is tested.
Proportions matter outside as well as in. A lantern that is a little too tall can dominate the extension. One that is too shallow can disappear. We discuss the options on paper at the survey, and where it helps, we talk through the view from the garden and from the neighbours’ side.
Glazing can be chosen for the aspect. A self-cleaning outer pane suits a roof that is hard to reach, and solar-control glass tempers a south-facing room. We explain the difference and the cost of each.
Condensation and warmth are practical points on a large glazed roof. The upstand is insulated, the frame is thermally broken and the glass is double or triple glazed with a warm-edge spacer, so the surfaces inside stay above the dew point and the lantern does not drip in winter. We describe the build-up in the quote.
Access for the lift is planned before the day. A lantern is lifted by hand, hoist or crane depending on its weight, and we agree the route and any parking with you beforehand.
In the room
Inside, the lantern needs a finished internal box or funnel, plastered and painted. A box gives a crisp, contemporary line. A splayed funnel spreads the light wider across the ceiling and down the walls. We show you both at the survey, because the choice changes how the room looks every day.
The ceiling around the lantern is made good to a smooth finish, with the joints taped and skimmed. Spotlights, pendants and any extract routes are agreed in advance and moved or reconnected by arrangement.
Light from above changes how a family room is used. A dining table under a lantern gets daylight through the morning and into the afternoon. A reading corner becomes a place people choose to sit. The effect is seen on the first morning.
We cover furniture, floors and worktops, and we contain the dust. The house stays usable while we work, and the room is cleared and cleaned before we leave.
Acoustics change too. A room with a lot of glass above it can carry more echo and more rain noise. Laminated inner panes and soft furnishings help, and we mention the choice so you can decide whether it is worth having.
Natural light changes through the day, so it helps to think about how the room is used. A kitchen benefits from bright morning light, while a bedroom may be better with a smaller opening and a blind. Marking the sun's path on a photograph of the roof is a simple way to plan the position. A written note of the preferred position, with a photograph, gives the surveyor a clear starting point on the day. Blinds can follow once the room is finished.
The short version
A lantern is part window, part structure: size the support first, then choose the glass.
02 Garages, garden rooms and lofts
Smaller roofs in a larger house, each with its own best answer.
On the roof
A converted double garage often has a flat roof and a ceiling that sits low. A lantern may be too tall for it, so a flat glass rooflight, or a pair side by side, is the natural fit. They sit low on the roof, with a slim upstand, and they let in light without altering the profile of the building.
A garden room added to the back of the house can have a lightly built roof. We check what the structure can carry, add timber where needed and fit the unit on a sealed upstand. Where the garden room doubles as an office, we pay attention to glare, and suggest glazing and blinds that cut it.
Lofts in the detached houses are often generous, with room for a proper bedroom or a study. A roof window set between the rafters adds daylight and, with an opening sash, air. We choose the size to suit the rafter spacing and fit it with flashing matched to your tile.
Walk-on rooflights suit flat roofs that are used as terraces, giving daylight to a room below through a floor of glass.
For a double garage, the roof may be a mono-pitch or a flat deck with a parapet to the front. We look at where the water goes, how the gutters take it and whether the new unit needs a slightly higher upstand to keep its edge clear of standing water.
In the room
A garage conversion has a plain ceiling and a blank wall, and a rooflight with a wide splay gives it a focus. The reveal is built as wide as the joists allow and plastered white, which makes the ceiling feel higher than it is.
In a study or office, a rooflight above the desk gives even daylight without a window glare on the screen. We talk about the position with you, and where it is useful, suggest an electric blind that you can control from your chair.
In a loft room, the lining of the opening is insulated plasterboard, splayed, taped and skimmed. The sill height is chosen with you, standing in the loft.
Every opening is left plastered, sanded and ready for paint, and the room is cleaned before we go.
An integral garage joined to the house may share a ceiling with a bedroom above. We check what is above before we cut, and tell you if the position has to change because of it. That kind of detail is why a survey comes before any quote.
When the light arrives in a converted garage, the room feels like part of the house rather than an annexe to it, and the invisible joins of the plasterwork are what make that work.
The short version
Where a lantern is too tall, flat glass with a deep splay does the same work lower down.
A village chosen for access deserves rooms chosen for light.
Lantern, garage study, evening visits: Shenstone asks
What does a roof lantern involve on a Shenstone extension?
We survey the opening and the structure, agree the size and the glass with you, and put a fixed price in writing. The lantern stands on a new insulated upstand sealed into the roof, and the inside box or funnel is plastered and made good. Beams or joists are strengthened where the load needs it, and that is shown in the quote. We can also talk to your builder or architect, so the drawings and the order agree. You will see every figure before you decide, including the work inside.
Is a rooflight suitable for a converted garage in Shenstone?
Usually it is, and flat glass is often better than a lantern because the ceiling is low. We check the roof structure and covering, suggest a size and position, and finish the reveal with a wide splay and clean plaster. Building Control is notified by us where the work calls for it. A narrow strip of glass along the line of the old garage door is another option we can sketch for you.
Can you survey in Shenstone around my working hours?
From central Coventry, Shenstone is about thirty-five minutes by road, and early or late slots can often be found around working hours. Message us on WhatsApp or use the form, and photographs of the roof and room let us give a first view before we visit. The survey has no charge; the quote afterwards is fixed.
We survey before we price.
Then we finish the room.
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