Writtle
Cottage, bungalow and extension roofs in Writtle
How the village's cottages, bungalows and extended houses each take a rooflight, and what keeps them warm afterwards.
01The village
A village roof is never the same twice
Rooflight installation in Writtle is mostly about reading a roof that was built for another century and asking it to do a modern job.
Writtle is a village a few miles west of Chelmsford, with a green, a pond and a church at its heart and a university college on its edge. It still feels like a village, but the housing around it has grown in layers. Near the green you find cottages and larger houses of great age, with steep clay tile roofs and low upstairs ceilings. Beyond them come Victorian and Edwardian rows, then the semis and bungalows of the middle of the last century, then newer estates that stretch the village outward.
Those layers ask different things of a skylight. A cottage wants glass that is small, slim and sits low in the slope. A bungalow wants light in a deep middle room. A newer house has a clean roof but often a dark landing and a hot box room in July. We keep the same aim in all of them: a room that is bright, and that is still warm when you sit in it in January.
| Writtle home | Where the glass goes | What we check |
|---|---|---|
| Cottage near the green | Small roof window on the rear slope | Rafter depth and any low beams |
| Victorian or Edwardian house | Back bedroom or loft room slope | Insulation at the joists or the rafters |
| Mid-century bungalow | Roof window or sun tunnel for the hall | Loft space above and its insulation |
| Newer estate house | Landing, bathroom or extension roof | Warm build-up and a tight lining |
02Planning
Chelmsford City Council, the green and your address
Writtle's planning authority is Chelmsford City Council, and the older part of the village around the green is where it pays to ask before you order anything.
Writtle is in the Chelmsford area, so Chelmsford City Council is the body that answers planning questions here. For a house on one of the newer roads, a new rooflight is often a short check. The general position is set out in our skylight planning permission guide, and we leave the rules there rather than risk repeating them wrongly.
The village has an older heart, and some of the buildings in it are protected. If yours is one of them, you will need listed building consent whatever its size, and the council can tell you whether your address has other limits on top. We do not guess about this. We ask you to check with Chelmsford City Council, with your full address in hand, before we put a quote together. For some period roofs, a flush frame with slim bars sits better on the slope, and our conservation rooflights are made for that.
03Cottages
Cold corners in a Writtle cottage
An old cottage roof has charm and very little spare height, so any new glass has to be chosen to fit the room as well as the slope.
Upstairs rooms in cottages often sit tight under the rafters. The ceiling slopes, the floor space is small and the walls are thick. A window in that slope can double the feeling of space, but only if it is the right size. Too big and the room overheats on a summer afternoon. Too small and you have spent the money and still need the lamp on.
The rafters are also a limit. In an older roof they can be shallow, which leaves little depth for insulation, so the lining around the frame matters more than usual. We aim to close it tightly with insulated reveal boards so the edge of the glass does not become a cold line. A roof window in a cottage bedroom should add light, fresh air and a warm room.
Pivot hung from the middle
Opens from the middle, so it works under a low ceiling and still lets you reach the handle. A good first choice in a small cottage bedroom with limited height.
Hinged along the top edge
Opens from the top edge, so it gives a better outlook when you stand at the glass. It needs a little more headroom, so it suits a taller slope or a loft room.
04Bungalows
The dim hall and the middle room of a bungalow
A good many of the bungalows and chalets around Writtle share a problem. They are wide and shallow, and the middle of the plan is far from any window.
In a bungalow the hall, the bathroom and the inner bedroom often have no outside wall. You switch the light on at noon. A roof window needs a clear route through the loft, but a sun tunnel does not need much, because it carries daylight down a short reflective tube. It brings light without much heat loss and suits a room that does not need an outlook.
Where there is an upstairs room in the roof, a roof window can work as the main source of light. The loft above a bungalow is also the cheapest place in the house to add insulation, so we look at it at the same visit and tell you what we see.
- Find the rooms with no outside wall and no daylight at midday.
- Check the loft route above each one for joists, pipes and cables.
- Choose a sun tunnel for light only, a roof window for light and air.
- Look at the insulation around the opening before the new frame goes in.
- Finish the ceiling opening so the reveal is neat and warm.
05Extensions
Extending at the back of a village house
Writtle gardens are often generous, and many houses have pushed a kitchen or a family room out into them.
Before the glass is chosen, we stand in the room at the survey and look at where the family actually sits, cooks and eats. That decides the position of the opening far more than the shape of the roof does, and it stops us fitting light where nobody needs it.
A deep extension is a pleasure when it is bright and a disappointment when the far end is dark. A roof lantern over the dining end brings height and daylight to the middle of the room. The flat part of the roof is the part to get right. The glass sits on a kerb, the insulated upstand around the opening, and that kerb has to be tied into the roof build-up so there is no cold path round the frame.
A flat roof lantern or rooflight on an extension follows the extension's own permission, so if your extension was built with a planning approval we will ask to see it. If you are only planning the extension, a rooflight can be part of that application.
In Writtle the old house faces the green and the long garden sits behind it, so the new light belongs at the back.
06Warmth
The glass, the seal and the lining that keep Writtle warm
A new rooflight should never be the reason the heating goes up, and four parts decide whether it is.
Heat leaves through the glass, round the edge of the glass and round the frame. We use warm-edge glazing so the rim of the unit stays closer to room temperature, we insulate the kerb or collar, and we close the lining so the plaster edge is not left cold. Our energy-efficient rooflights page explains each part in more detail.
A warm Writtle rooflight, as we specify it
- Glass
- Double glazed at minimum, triple for larger or colder rooms
- Spacer
- Warm-edge, to cut the cold line round the rim
- Frame
- Sized to sit in the insulation line of the roof
- Kerb or collar
- Insulated and sealed to the roof build-up
- Blind
- Thermal blind for winter nights and hot July afternoons
07The job
Getting to Writtle, and what happens on the day
Writtle sits roughly 15 road miles from our Basildon base, which means whoever surveys your roof is also whoever fits it.
The journey takes us through the Chelmsford area, so we plan the day around the traffic into the city rather than the other way round. Village roads can be narrow and parking tight near the green, so we agree where the van and any delivery will stand before the day. Writtle has no railway station of its own, which does not affect us, but it is worth knowing if you plan to be away from home for a few days.
We also cover the places around it. Chelmsford is close, with Great Baddow and Galleywood on its southern side, Danbury further east, and Billericay to the south. Ingatestone is within the same run of work. If a replacement is notifiable, our Building Regulations answer explains why, and we tell Building Control for you.
- Free survey at the house, inside and on the roof, with a look at the insulation.
- You get a printed quote that itemises the glass, the upstand or weatherproofing and the inside finish, plus any council check required beforehand.
- On the day we cover floors and furniture, and a single team sees the fitting through.
- Lining and finishing inside so the opening is neat and warm.
- Building Control informed if the work calls for it, and our 10-year workmanship guarantee given in writing.
What Writtle householders want to know before a skylight goes in
Is my Writtle house in a protected area?
If it is near the green or the older lanes, it may be, and the answer sits with Chelmsford City Council. Ask with your full address. Our planning guide has the general rules.
Is there a roof window that works in a low cottage bedroom?
Usually yes. A centre-pivot window suits a low ceiling, and we size it so the room does not overheat. We also insulate the lining so the edge stays warm.
What is the best way to light a bungalow hall?
Often a sun tunnel, because it needs only a small opening and loses little heat. If you want fresh air and an outlook as well, a roof window may suit better.
Does a lantern over a garden extension chill the room?
Not if the glazing, kerb and seal are chosen for heat. We size the lantern to the dining end and insulate the upstand it sits on.
What is the quickest way to arrange a Writtle survey?
Writtle homeowners can write to us on the quote form or through WhatsApp. We charge nothing for the survey or the written quote, and photos of the roof help us arrive prepared.
