Guide prices
Onto a ready upstand
Customer-supplied unit up to about 1.5 m², fitted to a prepared kerb, sealed and trimmed
With a new upstand
Insulated timber upstand built, membrane turned up and dressed, unit fitted and sealed
Large or heavy unit
Extra hands or lifting gear, larger openings, fixed or opening units
Guide ranges for labour only — you supply the rooflight. Your price is fixed in a written quote after we have seen photos or surveyed. Scaffold, access towers or a crane are priced separately if the job needs them, and building control fees, where a job needs them, are shown as their own line.
Is your address covered?
Fitters travel to the job, so the address is what counts. In Hove that means postcode districts BN3, BN1 and BN41, and the same teams can just as easily take on work in Brighton, about 1 mile away, or Portslade at roughly 2 miles. Survey and fitting dates are offered according to fitter availability, and travel is built into the quote rather than added later.
Fit-only or supply and fit
Which works out better, buying your own or letting us supply? It depends on what you value. Buying your own gives you control of the product and what you pay for it. Letting us supply puts the whole job, unit and fitting, under one written quote. On a customer-supplied unit we still measure it against the opening, look at the upstand, and inspect the condition it arrived in. Warranty on the product sits with whoever sold it, while the fitting carries our own guarantee.
On the day, we cover
- Upstand height, level and fall checked, and squareness confirmed across the diagonals
- Opening and upstand measured against the maker's drawing, timber to timber
- Unit bedded on the sealant or tape the maker specifies, then screw-fixed
- Upstand height above the roof — We measure how far the upstand stands above the finished roof surface, including any ballast or walkway.
- Access and lifting — We check how the unit gets from your drive to the roof.
A typical installation day
On the day, you need to be in at the start and at the end. In between, the fitters get on with it. They will want the room below cleared where possible, a parking spot if you have one, and somewhere to set the unit down safely. After checking the opening and the upstand or flashing, they fix a rooflight, seal it and finish the inside. Packaging and any old unit leave with them unless the quote says otherwise.
Planning, building control and Hove
In England, a new rooflight opening generally needs building regulations approval because the roof structure is altered and the glazing must meet energy rules: 2.2 W/m²K for a rooflight in an existing home, or 1.4 W/m²K (or WER Band B) for a roof window. Planning is often not needed on a house: permitted development covers rooflights that stand no more than 0.15 m proud of the roof slope and sit below the highest part of the roof. Flats, listed buildings and areas with an Article 4 direction are different, so we check your address first.
What to send for a quick quote
Start with your phone. Take a picture of the roof where the unit goes or already sits, then one from inside looking up. Measure what you can, even roughly. Tell us what the roof is covered with and how a fitter would reach it: ladder, garden access or scaffold. Bought it already? Send the link or spec. Add your full postcode, for example in BN3, and we can price it.
Common questions in Hove
Can you fit a rooflight in winter or when it is raining?
Yes, within limits. Cold is less of a problem than wet, because membranes, primers and sealants need a dry surface to bond. We plan fitting days around the forecast and may move a date if heavy rain is due. If the roof has to be opened up, it is not left overnight without a temporary weather seal, so the room below stays dry while the work is finished.
Does a rooflight need building regulations approval?
A new opening usually needs building regulations approval. A replacement is a controlled fitting: it must be self-certified by an installer registered with a competent person scheme or notified to building control. We are not registered with a scheme, so replacements we fit are notified to building control with a building notice, and the council's fee is shown on your quote.
Do you make good inside after fitting?
Yes, where the quote includes it. Internal finishing usually means lining the reveal with plasterboard, taping or skimming, and fitting trim where it meets the ceiling. Some people prefer their own plasterer or decorator to finish off, which is fine. The written quote spells out exactly where our work stops, so nobody is left guessing about who does what once the unit is in.
Got a unit waiting to go in, or need one sourced? Either way, start with your Hove address and a couple of photos.
