Glenn Knight and Lee Young from our specification team have lots of advice for anyone considering a ‘heritage’ replacement – whether that’s a rooflight or a lightwell that is overlooked, or in a building in a conservation area or with listed status.

They said: “The good news is that it’s perfectly possible to replace even the most traditionally styled rooflight with a modern, high performance upgrade, without sacrificing overall aesthetics or even design detailing.

“Whitesales has lots of experience working hand in hand with architects, contractors and property owners to help them achieve the very best authentic looking result using our Heritage system and accessories – and just as importantly, minimising problems along the way and keeping costs affordable.

“In terms of the process, the key thing to remember is that the closer you can get to the original design at the outset, the easier it will be to obtain planning permission and get the conservation officer on side. Minor design differences which are an inevitable biproduct of delivering better thermal, weather, water or air performance in line with current Building Regs will generally be tolerated, as long as the overall design replicates the original rooflight architecture and you pay close attention to the detail.

“That will mean matching the ‘centres’ in the design – both the bar centres and the panel centres need to be consistent with the original and you obviously need to keep the pitch/slope and overall ridge  height the same.

“Low-profile, aluminium frames offer all the necessary detailing and are obviously more sustainable, more durable and offer better corrosion resistance than steel or iron originals. Some, like our 50mm sightline Heritage stick system, are available with a choice of box sections to ensure that they can be self-supporting even in wide spans. (Other suppliers use bulky fins to strengthen the rear in larger units, but with our solution, those are not required.)

“We also offer a proprietary Heritage ogee glazing bar with laser cut bespoke flashings and a full range of RAL powder coated or anodised colours, to add a truly authentic finish to even the most complex and large scale projects.

“As well as advising on the design and aesthetics though, we can also support with all the technical elements. We are always available to attend site to accurately survey the existing units (as long as there is safe access) and we’re happy to provide structural loading calculations and offer a glass design service to get the g-Value, U-Value and LT performance required for the replacement.

“We can also provide images, drawings, and case studies of similar schemes for conservation offices to review and even share details of local reference projects for clients to visit.”

To find out more about our complete custom design, build and installation service for Heritage rooflights, click here.

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