01Short answer
Fixed glass stays fixed, so the unit gets swapped
You can end up with an opening rooflight where a fixed one sits now. If you hoped to convert a fixed rooflight to opening, the route is a swap, not a conversion.
A fixed rooflight is built as a sealed piece. The glass is bonded or gasketed into a frame that has no hinge, no stay and no handle, and no place to put them. Drilling a hinge into it would break the seal that keeps heat in and weather out. So when people ask whether a fixed rooflight can be made to open, or search for how to convert fixed rooflight to opening, the short version is that the old unit comes out and an opening one goes in its place.
The good news is that the hole in your roof is often the part you keep. A new opening skylight is made in standard sizes and can also be built to measure, so a like-for-like swap is possible in many cases. Where the size differs, the opening in the roof or the kerb (the raised upstand a flat roof unit sits on) is adjusted to suit.
The opening you already have is the head start. The glass and frame are what change.
02What changes
What actually happens on the day
Swapping a fixed unit for an opening one is a short, tidy sequence once the right model is chosen.
The sequence differs a little between a pitched roof and a flat one, but the order of work is the same. We protect the floor and furniture first, because lifting out a rooflight always drops a little dust and grit from the roof side.
- We measure the existing opening and the roof build-up around it, and check what sits under it: ceiling, lining, any wiring already nearby.
- You choose manual or electric opening, and a hinge position that suits how you reach it.
- The old fixed unit is taken out, and the roof around the opening is checked and made ready for the new frame.
- The opening model is fitted, flashed or sealed into the roof covering, and joined to the insulation so the edge does not become a cold bridge.
- If it is electric, power and any sensor are connected by a qualified electrician (see do electric rooflights need an electrician), then the lining is finished.
- We show you the handle or remote, and how the rain sensor behaves if there is one.
Because a whole rooflight is being replaced, frame and glass together, this counts as a controlled fitting under Part L of the Building Regulations. That means it is notifiable, and we handle the Building Control notification for you.
03Choices
Manual, electric or something between
Where your rooflight sits decides which kind of opening makes sense.
A rooflight over a landing or a high stairwell is hard to reach, so a pole-operated or electric model suits it. One in a kitchen ceiling within arm's length can take a simple manual handle. The flat roof world adds one more choice, the hinge direction, because a rooflight that lifts at one edge sends air in a different pattern from one that lifts evenly all round.
Manual opening
No power needed, so no wiring and fewer parts. Best where you can reach it, and it is the simpler swap.
Electric opening
A motor opens and closes it from a wall switch or remote, and a rain sensor can shut it for you. It needs a power supply brought to the opening.
One thing people forget is the reach of the opening. A rooflight that lifts only a hand's width gives a trickle of air, while a larger lift moves a room's worth in a few minutes. Tell us what the room is for, and we will suggest a model whose opening angle fits it. Cooking steam, a warm top-floor bedroom and a damp utility room all want different things from the same sash.
If you want more on how the two compare for flat roofs, we cover that in fixed against opening flat rooflights. To see how the motors, chains and sensors fit together, read how electric rooflights work.
04Before you ask
Points to settle before we quote
A few details can change the job from simple to involved, and it is cheaper to know them early.
- The size and shape of the current opening, and whether you want it kept or enlarged.
- Whether the roof covering and structure around it are in sound condition to take a new frame.
- If you want electric opening, where a power supply could reach the rooflight.
- Whether the room needs the extra ventilation. Opening rooflights let warm, stale air rise out, which suits kitchens, bathrooms and top floors.
- Whether the house is listed or in an area with extra planning rules. Check with the council if you are unsure, and see our planning guide.
The new unit can also carry better glazing than the old one. Warm-edge glazing is our standard, so a swap tends to improve how the room holds heat as well as adding fresh air. For the full picture of what notifiable means, see do rooflights need building regulations, and for the cost side, our costs page.
When you are ready, ask for a free survey and written quote. One fitting team looks at the roof, fits the unit and finishes the lining, and the work carries our 10-year workmanship guarantee. Our page on electric opening rooflights shows the full range.
What if the unit you have can never be made to open?
Can a hinge or motor be added to my existing fixed unit?
No. The frame was never built to carry one, and adding parts would damage the seal. Swapping to a unit made to open is the sound way.
Will I need a new hole in the roof?
Often not. The existing opening is the starting point, and we adjust the kerb or surrounding build-up only where the new size needs it.
Does the swap need Building Control?
Replacing the whole rooflight, frame and glass, is notifiable under Part L as a controlled fitting. We handle that notification where the work is notifiable.
Is a swap messy inside the room?
We protect floors and furniture before the old unit comes out, and we finish the lining so you are left with a clean reveal.
