As a skylight roof manufacturer in Fife, we pride ourselves on the skilled manufacturing and installation of all types of roof windows, including skylights, to add value to your property and bring the outside into your attic or kitchen extension.
Roof windows are a brilliant way of adding light to bedrooms, extensions, loft conversions and more Imagine being able to increase the natural light entering your room, – how much better would your home or room feel?
As well as supplying to homeowners, we regularly supply our high quality products to traders, including builders, developers and architects among others.
Related content:
What Is The Difference Between A Skylight, Roof Light or Roof Window?
It’s fair to say that the terminology used to describe glazed units in roofs can be a bit tricky to understand – so don’t worry if you’re not sure what the difference is between roof windows, rooflights and skylights.
It’s also fairly common to see terminology being used inconsistently, which increases confusion. Let’s take a look at each product type to help clear things up.
ROOF WINDOWS
These are probably the easiest to define because they are covered under BS EN 14351-1:2010.
The standard stipulates that roof windows must be installed in the same orientation and ‘in plane’ with the surrounding roof, typically at a minimum 15° pitch. Once installed, they should be weatherproofed using a skirt or flashing.
Roof windows must be CE marked before they can be sold and manufacturers are expected to provide a declaration of performance (DOP) to advise specifiers how each unit performs under test conditions.
Typically, this will cover things such as tests to simulate prolonged and heavy rainfall, how the roof window withstands increased air pressure, glass deflection and monitoring any air leakage to ensure the product does not create drafts or allow in damp.
Roof windows are usually only available in standardised shapes and sizes and are typically smaller than rooflights. However, new products have recently become available using improved glass specifications that allow much larger sizes to be manufactured.
ROOFLIGHTS
‘Rooflight’ is a generic term that can sometimes mean different things. Typically, the term refers to a glazed unit installed on a flat roof or where installed on a pitched roof is likely to be fitted out a plane with the level of tiling.
Rooflights are commonly installed using an upstand or kerb system to support the actual product and act as a surface for any weathering to be fixed to; on flat roof systems the upstand will provide enough height to ensure that the rooflight remains watertight.
The rooflight quite often has to be installed at a certain height to maintain any guarantees supplied by suppliers of weatherproofing systems.
Rooflights come in a huge range of designs and styles, and as well as providing natural light, they’re also often used for ventilation or access.
SKYLIGHTS
This is another generic term, and it’s often used by manufacturers for a variety of different products, ranging from small-scale domestic units installed on traditional pitched roofs to larger bespoke glazed units designed to be installed on flat roofs or terraces.
It’s a generic term that can sometimes confuse consumers, since the products it refers to may differ quite drastically in terms of scale, function and application.
In some cases, the use of the term skylight is actually completely inaccurate as far as the Building Regulations are concerned, where more appropriate terms should be used that are recognised in British Standards.
Skylight Roof Manufacturer Experts Fife
If you are looking for a replacement skylight or if you are a builder/architect and a skylight is used in the spec, send us over the details for a quote – we look forward to hearing from you.
Leave a Reply