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Making the most of natural light
Not until you actually experience a roof being opened up to natural daylight for the first time can you fully appreciate the amazing transformation brought about by bringing light into a dark space.
Natural light is the essential element in transforming a loft into a bright, airy living space and roof windows are the simplest and most natural way to achieve this.
Roof windows vs dormers
VELUX Roof Windows, left, admit up to 40% more light than dormers, right.
The dormer window, which juts out from the roof, undoubtedly has a place in traditional-style house design, but for the vast majority of situations a VELUX Roof Window wins hands down:
- VELUX Roof Windows admit up to 40% more light than dormer windows.
- VELUX Roof Windows are much simpler and quicker to install: they are easily fitted within a day, doing away with the need for temporary weatherproofing.
- VELUX Roof Windows can usually be fitted from the inside: no expensive access or scaffolding is required.
- VELUX Roof Windows usually don’t need planning permission.
In contrast, dormers are complicated and time consuming to construct. Supplied and fitted, a dormer window is typically two or three times more expensive than a VELUX Roof Window.
Surprisingly, in many sensitive locations such as barn conversions, planners actually prefer the unintrusive elegance of a roof window. Designers rate them because of their low visual impact from street level.
Planning the right type and number of roof windowsVELUX can provide the right style and size of window to suit the pitch of your roof. For instance, the lower the pitch of roof, the longer the window needs to be to get the best possible view.
Greatly enhanced light distribution can be gained by placing windows on both sides of the roof.
VELUX Roof Windows can be coupled together side-by-side and/or one above the other to provide additional light and to create an attractive design effect.
As a general rule, you need to provide glazed areas equivalent to 10% of the room’s floor area to achieve adequate natural daylighting.
The overall effect is usually improved dramatically by increasing this ratio to around 20% and also by using several smaller windows rather than one or two large ones.
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Do you have more questions? |
Obviously, we believe that VELUX roof windows are the best solution, either in connection with a full loft conversion, or if all you want to do at present is to have more light in your loft.
The reason is that VELUX windows are based on 80 years of experience, rigorous trials in all kinds of environments, and that they are designed by experts for quality, reliability and performance. They give you more and better light, and there's a huge range of sun protection options to choose between from interior roller blinds and pleated blinds to remote controlled outside awning blinds and roller shutters.
If you choose VELUX roof windows, we also recommend that you check with potential suppliers that their installers have been trained and certified by VELUX and are already experienced in fitting VELUX roof windows into every type of roof.
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You must seek approval if the converted space is to be used on a regular basis. This means submitting plans to the Building Control Office. You can find details of your local Building Control Office at http://www.labc.co.uk/offices. This web site also has a lot of interesting information about building regulations, how to make an application, electronic applications and a lot more.
Your application will take up to eight weeks to process and will involve an administration fee. You should reckon on this costing around £600.
Another very useful site is http://www.odpm.gov.uk, where you can find a lot of specific information.
Something else to check is the need for an emergency exit window. VELUX roof windows will invariably meet the requirements of a Means of Escape window.
You should also give some thought to the materials you use.
These must meet certain thermal performance requirements.
VELUX roof windows meet the thermal performance requirements of roof windows, and use environmentally sound wooden frames that come from sustainable forests in Scandinavia.
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This is a difficult question to answer.
Much depends on where you live, the type of house you live in, the type of loft conversion and, of course, how much you spend on it, and how you finance a possible loan.
You may find at the end of the day that you do not recoup all of the building costs.
The question is whether the value to you in terms of living space and enjoyment is more than any shortfall on the increased value of the house after all the costs are paid.
Generally speaking, though, a loft conversion will probably make it easier to sell your house some time in the future.
As far as extra value is concerned, most estate agents agree that an extra bedroom is the most financially attractive way of improving a family house.
And from the cost point of view, converting an attic is usually a lot easier that building an extension.
The extent to which the loft conversion fits into the rest of the house is a critical factor.
Here, the staircase is important. A staircase in the same style all the way from the ground floor up to the loft, looking like it was there all the time, will make everything look much more natural and attractive.
Another important factor is to use the same decorative features as in the rest of the house, for example skirting boards, picture rails, ceiling heights etc.
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