Case Studies - Residential

This unique one-bedroom duplex penthouse was converted from a disused water tank space in a rapidly changing area of East London.

This conversion of a former water tank space is based at the very top of the 16-storey Keeling House, the Grade II* listed brutalist block of flats designed by Sir Denys Lasdun in 1959. The building is located 500m from Bethnal Green underground station, just off Hackney Road.

The heavily glazed flat offers incredible views across central London, with sunrises from the bedroom, sunsets from the bathroom and star-gazing from the rooflight.

The concrete structure has been insulated internally with the walls, floors and ceiling all being upgraded thermally. Architect, Brian Heron, wanted to keep the space feeling raw and honest, with references to its former use as an enclosure for water tanks.

The walls and ceiling are lined with orientated strand board which provides a visual warmth but is also robust and hard-wearing. The choice of material is also very practical in that the homeowners are able to easily hang things on the walls and put up shelves wherever needed. An essential convenience in any 1-bedroom property.

It took Brian and his wife Ayesha just over 2 years to convert the empty concrete shell with plywood sides into the industrial style penthouse it is today. All in all, the project cost £420,000 – which was £170,000 more than initially budgeted. Costs quickly rocketed due to complications that come with building on top of a tower block, such as needing 18 floors of scaffolding and having to close the road below multiple times.

Introducing natural light to a former concrete shell

Brian wanted to fit an opening flat rooflight directly above the bed, to help bring additional natural light and ventilation into the bedroom. Triple glazing was also a must to help with thermal regulation. After searching online, he decided on the 1m x 1m flat electric sliding unit by Roof Maker. It was the only triple glazed, opening rooflight that Brian could find, plus lead times were good and the price was competitive.

Brian commented “the rooflight is the crowning glory of the bedroom. We designed a raised bed and the rooflight is directly above it so we can lie in bed at night and look up at the stars. It’s beautiful”.

“There is a lovely play of light over the bed during the day as the sun passes overhead. As the rooflight is an electric slider, it can open to provide additional ventilation and access to the roof for maintenance, or just to take in the amazing 360-degree views of the London skyline.”

The project was awarded Best Historic Intervention at the New London Architecture ‘Don’t Move, Improve 2018’ Awards.

Find out more about the flat slide opening rooflight on our website. Alternatively, call the Roof Maker team on 0116 269 6297 to find out how a rooflight could be best used in your project.

Natural light and ventilation is introduced to this copper roof extension by the Slimline^® slide opening roof lantern.

A unique copper roof twist was brought to this 1805 residential end of terrace in the Wickham Market area. The character property sits on a large plot overlooking the River Deben, within a conservation area. As such, the design of the extension also needed to delicately respect the other character properties in the area.

The copper roof successfully introduced a quirky, modern touch to the otherwise traditional design. Whilst certainly a costlier option, handmade bricks were used to match the original bricks in the rest of the property. This helped to maintain the overall character feel.

Homeowner Paul both designed and built the property with the help of his partner. From start to completion, the timescale for the extension was two and a half years – an impressive feat given both of them were also working full-time.

Every aspect of the self-build extension was carried out by the homeowners. “I wanted to use the best materials I could get. From from the handmade bricks to match the originals, the copper roof for its beauty and the roof lantern because it was the best I could buy” shared Paul. Thanks to zero labor costs, the extension was achieved within their £35,000 budget.

Maximising daylight and much needed ventilation

Natural light and ventilation was the main challenge of the project. Paul was unable to fit windows to the ground floor kitchen extension as they would have looked through to the neighbour’s garden. After lots of desktop research, he decided that the 2000 x 1000mm Slimline^® slide opening lantern offered the best solution.

“I chose the Slimline^® rooflight because it was the only lantern I could find that opened and didn’t need an ugly prop, which would have ruined the look of the roof. I also liked the very narrow frame which is nearly invisible”.

Paul wanted the flexibility of being able to open the roof lantern in the summer or whilst cooking to help maintain a comfortable temperature in the kitchen. The quality of the components, such as the remote control opening vent and the free rain sensor, also drew him to the Slimline^® lantern. Paul and his partner decided to install the lantern themselves. They found it a breeze with the help of the fitting guide and installation video on Youtube.

“The roof lantern is a real showpiece. It looks amazing from the inside and stunning from above. Thermally it is also great, the room does not get too warm. When you cook, you can use the remote control to open the rooflight and feel the hot air simply vanish!”

Find out more about the Slimline^® slide opening lantern on our website. Alternatively, call the Roof Maker team on 0116 269 6297 to find out how the lantern could be best used in your project.

Roof Maker helped give a new lease of life to an 18th century miner’s cottage in Bristol, and gave our readers a fantastic skylight case study.

This traditional miner’s cottage in Bristol required extensive renovation work to bring it into the 21st century. The period features of the home are undoubtedly charming, but natural light was lacking from this originally dark but cosy cottage.

Sensitive restoration work meant that the cottage has retained many period features and fixtures. It’s respectful not only of the history of the house, but of the heritage of the wider area

Upon entry into the kitchen extension, this sense of history meets the contemporary, as you’re greeted by swathes of natural light flooding in from above and ahead.

Period brickwork and traditional-style furnishings are illuminated from above by a large fixed flat rooflight. The light from the skylight plays around the room nicely thanks to the filtering effect provided by the wooden beams.

More than just beauty

The benefits aren’t purely aesthetic though. The cooking and dining areas are bathed in natural light, which is practical for any household.

Perhaps the most striking element of this extension, though, is the bi-fold doors. These really work to connect the interior to the outdoors. Providing not only vast amounts of natural light, they also operate to extend the living area by allowing ready access to the decked patio.

Taken together, the rooflights and bi-fold doors create a sense of space which can be hard to achieve in such historic properties. As the images show, this was done in a way respectful to the traditional feel of the miner’s cottage; our contemporary rooflights complement its historic character, they don’t overpower it.

Fit for the future

Our products are effective at preventing cold spots near doors or under skylights. With triple-glazing as standard and a U Value of 0.6W/m2k, the room is sure to stay warm in winter.

The skylight and bi-fold doors were a key part of the renovation of this property.

Lydia Robinson, of architecture company Design Storey, said that ‘The rooflights have both achieved and exceeded our ambitions by capturing an edited section of sky which provides delight and light’.

We’re looking forward to working on many more projects as exciting as this one, and hopefully turning them into an equally-brilliant skylight case study. Whether it’s a centuries-old cottage like this, or a modern London apartment, it’s great to see our skylights and bi-fold doors proving so integral to renovations.

Wondering what sort of rooflight is right for your property? Roof Maker has produced this handy guide to the top 15 things to consider.

This London rooflight case study concerns a fashional apartment in the very heart of the city.

London property market is on average eight times the national average and central London properties are very much reserved for the wealthy. The central suburbs have grown in popularity and this has lead to many house conversions to studio flats and luxury apartments.

Apartment living in the central suburbs of London areas is very much in vogue now with the professionals and with many over the half a million pound mark – making good use of limited space can be a challenge.

However apartments on the top level of a building give ample opportunities to open up the roof space to allow extra light coming into the property amplifying the perceived space considerably. This is exactly what one architect did for a property development in the Battersea area, and why we wanted to make it a landmark London rooflight case study.

The property is an apartment in a converted Victorian terraced property with one bedroom, shower room and open plan kitchen. To the outside there is a large seating area overlooking the views of Battersea.

The challenge

The project involved putting a fixed flat roof light over the kitchen area so that it allowed the light across the whole of the open plan living space giving a lighter and roomier feel. The minimal look of the roof light enhanced the architectural finish of the apartment providing a great source of natural light, as well as ample night time star gazing opportunities.

Thomas and Spiers Architects are a London, Suffolk and Hertfordshire based Architectural practice, specialising in individual residential designs, with high attention to detail, and strong environmental performance, working on both renovating and extending existing buildings and creating new and exciting homes.

Performance and aesthetics

Paul Thomas comments on the conversion using Roof Maker rooflights “Being very aware of environmental and fabric performance, we were impressed by the triple glazed units, measures to reduce risk of overheating, together with the overall Ug-values being achieved.”

As shown in this London rooflight case study, environmental performance is a key measure used in Roof Maker rooflights with industry leading U values* and 30 year life expectancy of products covered by a 20-year unit seal warranty. This why many architects and interior designers look toward our products when specifying for clients.We can currently achieve a Ug-value of 0.6W/m2k for Triple and as low as 0.3W/m2k for Quadruple glazing using phenolic foam in our Flat slide open rooflights!

* A U value is a measure of heat loss. It is expressed in W/m2k, and shows the amount of heat lost in watts (W) per square metre of material when the temperature (k) outside is at least one degree lower. The lower the Ug-value, the better the insulation provided by the material.