Roof window installation in Nieuwegein

A roof window brings daylight into an attic that has none. It is also a hole in your roof. What it is worth depends on what happens around the window and not on the window itself. I fit roof windows in tiled roofs in Nieuwegein and the surrounding area, and I replace old ones that leak or draught. Roof window and skylight mean the same thing here: a window that sits in the slope of the roof.

What else I do and do not do on a roof is on the page about roofing and roof renovation. This page is about the window.

How a roof window is fitted in a tiled roof

I start by measuring, inside and outside. Inside you see how the rafters run and where the window will sit. Outside you see which tiles have to come off and how the roof is built up.

Then the tiles come off and the opening is made. If it falls neatly between two rafters, it is simple work. If a rafter has to be cut, framing goes in around the opening and the construction is adjusted. I want to know that before the roof is open, not after.

Then the frame. It is set, fixed and connected to the roof build-up. The leadwork goes around it, and the tiles are laid back neatly around that. This is the part that counts. A roof window rarely leaks through the glass. It leaks at the connection, so that is where I spend the most time.

Inside I finish with the trim. The frame then sits in the slope and the inside is closed and neat, ready for plaster or paint.

Replacing a roof window

A roof window that leaks, draughts or no longer closes does not always have to be replaced. Moisture on the inside of the glass is often condensation. That comes from a cold room, too little ventilation or too little insulation around the window. Then the window is fine and the surroundings need attention.

If the cause is in the window or the connection, I take the old roof window out and fit a new one. I finish the connection to the tiles and the trim inside straight away. One thing I always look at is the timber around the opening. A window that has leaked for years often leaves moisture in the wood. You only see that once the window is out, and I repair it before the new window goes in.

Roof window or dormer

A roof window gives light and fresh air. A dormer also gives space: headroom and floor area where the slope is otherwise too low. If you only want to fix a dark attic, a roof window is usually enough. If you want a real room where you can stand upright, you are looking at a dormer. How that work goes is on the roofing page. If you have a flat roof, I do not fit a roof window there but a roof lantern. You can read about that under sunroom and skylight.

A roof window in an attic that becomes a room

Many roof windows go in because an attic becomes a room. The roof window is then one part of a bigger renovation: insulation, floor, walls and electrics. I also look at the headroom and the stairs, because that is where an attic conversion most often gets stuck.

It is the best moment to insulate too. If the roof is open anyway, fitting the window and the insulation of the roof can be done in one go. If it is part of a larger plan, that is covered under renovation.

A roof window also works well under the roof in a bathroom. A bathroom under a sloped ceiling needs light and ventilation. I have done a bathroom under the roof with wall tiles, a shower tray, taps and a designer radiator. For the wet work, see bathroom renovation.

Scaffolding

Work on the outside of a roof sometimes needs scaffolding. That depends on the height and the access to the roof. If scaffolding is needed, I arrange it. The cost is a separate item in the quote, so you can see what the window costs and what the scaffolding costs.

And the windows in the facade

A roof window is a frame in a sloping surface. If you also want the windows in the facade replaced, that is covered under window frame replacement.

How we get started

You send me a few photos of the roof, of the attic from inside and of the spot where the window should go, through the contact page. I tell you what I see, what I still need to know and whether this is work for me. Then I come to look, and you get a quote that says per item what I do and where uncertainty remains. With a roof, the uncertainty is almost always under the tiles.