Roof Windows

For many, the loft is a special part of the house. It's usually a bright place where people can retreat to enjoy comfort and quietness, tower tranquillity away from the madness of everyday life. And one item plays a significant role in enhancing the quality of your loft, the roof windows.

Why should install roof windows?

• Remodelling your roof with windows is much less complicated than you might imagine. Apart from the aesthetic level, they also carry a series of benefits for the quality of your home. Whether its a pitched roof window or a flat roof window, manufacturers like Fakro or Velux have multiple options to fit all situations.
• Greater Luminosity: Natural daylight has been used for centuries as the main source of light and has been an integral part of every building over the centuries from ancient Egypt & the Incas to this day.
• In addition, not only does it replace electric light during the day, which reduces the use of energy for lighting, but it also influences heating and cooling loads making it an important parameter to consider from the point of view of energy efficiency.
• Recent research has shown that daylight provides a number of health and comfort benefits that make it essential for building occupants.
• Daylight is associated with:

1. A positive attitude.
2. Less fatigue
3. Reduction of vision efforts.

A good quality roof window should provide large amounts of adequate light without glare. While a poor daylight design is frustrating, it also carries hidden energy costs as it will need to be supplemented with electrical lighting.

Good ventilation: This is primordial given that most people spend 90% of their time indoors. The air you breathe has a considerable impact on your health and well-being.

Indeed, indoor air quality directly influences:

1. Comfort

2. Health (Moisture in buildings can cause diseases such as asthma)

3. Performance (High-quality indoor air can improve mental performance and overall well-being)

Thermal comfort: Thermal comfort is key to get the right living conditions, and roof windows allow this to happen in a simple way. By regulating the temperature without requiring energy or money, your roof windows will directly influence key aspects of your daily life, such as the quality of sleep, productivity and learning.

Protection from unwanted noise: modern roof windows are designed to minimise exterior sound.

Cost of Roof Windows Installation

You will need to allocate a good budget to cover the cost of the windows themselves and the cost of labour required.

If you opt to install a small roof window – i.e. 66x98 cm, then the installation cost will be in the region of £800 to £1100. This includes materials & tools such as a collar, flashing kit, insulation, waste disposal, and roof alterations. In some areas like London, the price can be a bit higher – i.e. £1000 to £1300.

Similarly, if you are looking to install a large roof window – i.e. 134x160 cm, the price of installation range from £1300 to £1600. Usually installed above the staircase and in loft conversions.

Roof windows come in all manners of styles and designs from different brands. There is a wide range of designs and styles to suit every home’s aesthetics.

How to install a roof window

Depending on the roofing material used, the architectural and thermal insulation conditions, roof windows may be installed:

• At different depths (three landing levels): N (0 cm), V (-3 cm), J (-6 cm)

• In beams or crate

Roof windows can be installed on roofs with an inclination of 15 degrees to 90 degrees. Installation height may be arbitrary. However, taking into account the operating conditions, visibility and lighting of the room, as well as building patterns, windows should be installed so that the lower edge of the window should be at a height of 170 cm from the ground level.

If the roof is covered with profiled roofing material, the window should be installed at the recommended distance between the top edge of the roof and the bottom edge of the window.

When mounted to rafters, the window is fixed with mounting angles. The distance between the rafters should be proportional to the window width and can be 2 to 5cm longer (for example, for a 55 cm wide window, the ideal distance between the rafters is 57 to 60 cm).

In this case, attention must be paid to placing the transverse beams at the appropriate distance from the lower and upper edges of the window for proper interior decoration (horizontally and vertically).

Mark the window installation location on the hydraulic barrier. Cut a hole in the location marked with a 10 cm margin on each side to secure the hydraulic barrier to the window box. Cut a portion of the box in a prepared place. To install a drainage chute, cut the countershaft fragments and obliquely incise the hydraulic barrier.

Remove the aluminium profile lining 1 and 2 from the window packaging. Disconnect the lower profile cover as well as transport wooden bars from the box window. Remove the window sash from the window box. To do this, install the bottom edge of the window on the floor to make it easy to tilt. Open the window and turn the window 150 degrees.

Remove the window sash according to the specified direction. Perform this operation carefully while removing the frame from the hinges. Failure to do so may result in damage to the loops. Screw the mounting corners to the window housing at a distance of 10 cm from the edge.

Install the window box in the prepared roof area. The mounting angles should be on the studs. Check that the slot in the window box matches the top plane of the slat. If necessary, place a wedge under the corner, set the horizontal. Screw only the bottom corners of the studs with screws.

Insert the casement window into the window box.

For this you will need to:

● Take the flap in your hand, i.e. the outer glass to yourself and the bottom of thewindow upwards.

● Holding the flap upright, insert it into the hinges evenly and without inclination.

● Unscrew the cap screws three turns counterclockwise and close the window.

Open the strip and check the gap parallelism between the strip and the box at the bottom of the window. By placing a plastic wedge from the mounting kit under the upper mounting bracket on the side of a smaller gap, eliminate non-parallelism.

Close the window and check the parallelism of the gap between the strip and box on the sides. If necessary, moving the top of the box left or right eliminates non-parallelism.

Here's a quick guide from Velux on how to install their new generation roof windows