Kettering villas and workers' terraces under a rooflight or skylight
A North Northamptonshire market town whose big villas and workers' terraces were both built in the age of iron and rail. Their roofs hold lofts and bathrooms that look at trees and fences, and can look at the sky.
Factory owners' villas and the terraces beside them
On our northern edge, Kettering is 28.4 road miles from Milton Keynes and about 46 minutes up the road. It is a market town in the district run by North Northamptonshire Council. People have worked iron here since about 700 BC, and the area was one of the great iron-working centres of Roman Britain. The modern town took its form in the Victorian years, when the Midland Railway opened Kettering station in 1857 and ironstone, boots and shoes pulled the place into a new size. That history left two clear kinds of house.
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Large houses of the Headlands and Rockingham Road
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Terraced streets laid out for the workforce
The Headlands and Rockingham Road were developed with large homes for factory owners, and houses on that scale come with tall roofs, generous loft space and rooms under the slope. Their size is an advantage for daylight from above, because a big pitched roof has room for a proper roof window or two without crowding the elevation. A tree in a garden can dim any window facing it, while the sky over the roof is unaffected. Before choosing the frame, find out if your street lies in a conservation area.
Beside the larger houses the town laid out terraced streets to accommodate the workers. A terrace of this kind is narrow, runs deep and carries a pitched roof with a loft that may have been left bare or turned into a bedroom. Back yards and side passages are tight, with fences on both sides, so a window at the back sees a boundary a short step away. On the rear slope, a roof window brings the loft room real light, and a sun tunnel can serve a landing or washroom that has no outer wall.
Two Kettering rooms waiting under the roof
A terrace loft that looks at a tree
A workers' terrace, a bare loft and a neighbour's tree.
Sideways
A terrace built for the iron and boot years has a long, narrow roof. Under it sits a loft that has been boarded, plastered and given a stair, and now serves as a bedroom or a study. The only daylight is a small gable window at one end or a skylight of old type, and across the back yard stands a tree in the next garden, tall enough to fill the lower half of the glass.
Such a room is cold to look at even on a bright day. The slope of the ceiling cuts the space down, and the eye goes to the lamp. Anyone who has tried to work at a desk in a loft like this knows the feeling of switching a light on at noon.
Straight up
Fitted in the rear slope, a roof window looks past the tree to the sky. The branch stands to one side of the roof, not above it, and straight up is clear. Daylight arrives from overhead and spreads across the floor and the sloping ceiling, which is why a loft feels far bigger once the glass is in.
On a terrace roof the work is simple in principle. The window fits between two rafters, with a flashing kit and an insulated lining inside, and a pair of windows can be set side by side if the room is long. Choose a model that opens if you want air, and a fixed one if the room does not need it.
A loft conversion on a house with two floors below needs more than a window. It needs a protected stair, since a roof window is not a way out. We can fit the window, and we can say what the rules ask for, yet the stair is a matter for your builder or designer and the Building Control team.
A terrace also shares walls and timbers with its neighbours, so we check what stands near the opening before anyone cuts. The terms below are the ones that matter in a Kettering loft quote, and they turn up again whenever a roof window is discussed.
Loft words worth knowing before the survey
Pitch
The angle of the roof slope, which decides which window models can be fitted.
Rafter
A sloping timber that supports the roof covering and decides the width of the opening.
Trimming
The extra framing round the opening that carries the load of the cut rafters.
Flashing kit
The set of metal pieces that seals the window into the roof covering.
Lining
The finished splay inside, which lets light fall into the room.
Size code
A letter and digits that give the width and height of the window.
A villa bathroom behind a fence
Bigger house, same problem: a wall of boards where a view should be.
Sideways
A large house on a street such as the Headlands may have been altered more than once. Rooms were divided, a bathroom was slipped into a corner, and the window that came with that corner now looks onto a high fence or the brick flank of the house next door. The glass is frosted, the gap outside is narrow and the daylight is a faint grey.
Moisture stays in a bathroom like this. Without a good opening, the walls hold steam, the ceiling spots and the room feels shut in. The size of the house makes the contrast greater, as the main rooms are bright and the bathroom is the one dark pocket.
Straight up
If the bathroom sits under the roof, a roof window can replace the dim side glass. If it sits beneath a flat portion or a loft, a sun tunnel or a small flat rooflight can do the same work. Nothing outside can look in through a unit in the roof, so privacy is built in. Straight up is clear, and a fence has no height there.
An opening model vents steam from the ceiling end of the room. A rain sensor and electric operation help where the window is out of reach. We discuss the choice at the survey, with the position of the bath and the height of the ceiling in front of us.
In a bigger house, services run through the roof space, and a tank, a flue or a run of cable may sit where the best position for the window would be. We look before we mark. We would rather move an opening by a hand's width than cut into something that matters.
The house may also be in a conservation area, where a frame set low and slim is the better choice. A single sentence sums up what we would advise for a bathroom under a pitched Kettering roof.
Verdict: for a boxed-in Kettering bathroom beside a fence, an opening roof window in the slope brings daylight, fresh air and privacy that no side window can match.
Who decides, and where to check, in Kettering
North Northamptonshire Council is the planning authority for a Kettering roof, and a conservation area under the town's name is on its list. Its conservation area pages hold the map. Your permitted development stays unless an Article 4 direction takes it away, and the council is the place to ask whether one covers your street. Listed buildings need separate consent for roof alterations.
The permitted development conditions are laid out in the planning guide, which is worth reading first. Then check your address through the council's planning and building control pages.
Building Regulations are separate again. Notifiable work gets its Building Control notification from us, and the installation is made to current Building Regulations. The council describes its own route on the building control and land charges page.
The road north to Kettering
The road to Kettering runs 28.4 miles north and takes us about 46 minutes. The Midland Railway opened the town's station in 1857, and it is still the town railway station. Buses all serve the Horsemarket interchange, with stops round the station and The Headlands. We come by van, so that is useful background but it does not change our journey.
A survey in Kettering fits well into half a day, and a morning visit leaves time for a second call nearby. The nearest towns, Burton Latimer, Finedon and Wellingborough, each get a page written for them. Each has its own mix of old and newer housing, so the advice there is tuned to it.
After the quote is agreed, one rooflight or roof window is installed in one day or two. The inside is finished before we leave, so the room is yours again as soon as the work ends.
Reading your own roof before the survey
You can learn a good deal about your roof from the garden. Stand back and look at the slope. Note the covering, count the rafters if you can see the eaves, and notice which way the slope faces. A south-facing slope brings strong light, and a north-facing one brings even, cool light that suits a study. Neither is wrong, but each calls for a different glass.
Then look at what stands near the house. A tree that shades the lower window may be nowhere near the roof, and a fence or a high wall is simply out of the picture from above. This is the basic idea behind our work. A side window faces fences, walls, neighbours and trees, whereas the sky overhead is clear of them.
Finally, think about the room. Who uses it, at what time of day, and what do they do there? A bedroom wants calm light and a way to darken it, a bathroom wants air, and a study wants steady light on a desk. Mention it during the survey and we will match the unit to the use.
A free survey for a Kettering roof
The survey is free and starts in the room, not on the roof. We begin in the room itself, eyes on the ceiling, then go up into the loft, or out to the slope, to see what the structure allows. In a large older house that may take time, as there are several roof levels and a few awkward corners. In a terrace it is quicker, but the neighbours' walls still need checking.
A written quote follows, fixed so that it holds on the day, and a 10-year workmanship guarantee in writing backs the job. Message us on WhatsApp (07880 284133) or drop a line to info@vertexskylightsmiltonkeynes.co.uk (the quote form also works) with the street name and a photo of the room.
Kettering questions, answered plainly
For a dark landing, which wins, the roof window or the sun tunnel?
It depends on the roof above. A landing beneath a pitched slope can take a small roof window, giving light and a view of the sky. If the loft is in the way or the opening would be awkward, a sun tunnel sends daylight down a narrow tube. We decide at the survey.
Is my Kettering street in a conservation area?
The council lists a conservation area under the town's name, with a map on its conservation pages. The council's map shows the boundary. Ask its planning officers if your road falls within the area, and if an Article 4 direction applies; that matters because it can change what you can do without an application.
Can a rooflight work in a house that has trees all round it?
Yes. A tree shades the side windows, but it stands beside the roof and not above it. Straight up is clear, so the sky overhead reaches a rooflight however crowded the garden is with branches. We take the nearest tree into account when we choose the position, for the sake of leaf fall and cleaning.
How soon can you come to Kettering?
From Milton Keynes the trip up is 28.4 road miles, roughly 46 minutes. Send the road name and a photo of the room on WhatsApp to 07880 284133, and we will propose a day for the free survey.
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