Hallway Rooflight in Worcester Park

Finished flat glass rooflight above a hallway, with a splayed white plastered shaft opening to blue sky and cloud

Where: Worcester Park, Surrey
The job: Rooflight and plastered light shaft
Fitted: 1 flat glass rooflight
Insulated and plastered light shaft
Roof: Flat

The hallway in this Worcester Park home had no windows of its own. With a flat roof directly above it, the fix was straightforward: a flat glass rooflight on a new timber upstand, with a plastered shaft bringing the daylight straight down into the hall below.

Marking out and cutting the opening

We set out the rooflight to line up with the hallway below, then cut through the roof covering and deck. Working from above, we trimmed the joists back cleanly, exposing the ceiling line of the hall underneath.

New rooflight opening cut through the flat roof deck, looking down into the hallway below — The opening cut through the flat roof, with the hallway visible below.

Building the timber upstand

Next came the upstand, a treated timber kerb built up around the opening. On a flat roof this does the real work: it lifts the glass above the roof surface so rainwater drains away instead of pooling against the frame, and gives the roof covering a solid edge to dress up against.

Treated timber upstand built around the new rooflight opening on the flat roof — The timber upstand built around the opening, squared and levelled for the glass.

Setting the glass and weathering in

With the kerb levelled, the sealed glass unit was lifted into position and bedded down onto the upstand. The roof covering was then dressed up the sides of the kerb and sealed, so water is carried away from the rooflight rather than towards it. From inside, no frame shows.

Flat glass rooflight sat down onto the new timber upstand on the flat roof — The glass unit bedded down onto the upstand.

The completed flat glass rooflight weathered into the flat roof covering, in sunshine — Weathered in and sealed, with the roof covering dressed up around the kerb.

Forming the light shaft

Inside, the ceiling was opened up and a timber frame built to form the shaft between the hallway ceiling and the rooflight. The sides were splayed outwards on the way down, which widens the spread of daylight and keeps the opening from looking like a deep, narrow box. The shaft was then insulated and boarded for plastering.

Plastered, painted and finished

Plastered and decorated, the shaft reads as part of the hallway ceiling: a clean white opening with a rectangle of sky at the top, and daylight of its own in the hall.

The finished white plastered light shaft and flat glass rooflight brightening the hallway below — The finished shaft, plastered and painted, with daylight reaching down into the hallway.

If a hallway, landing or stairwell in your home is stuck in the dark, see our flat glass skylights and sun tunnels.

Questions about this job

Can a rooflight be fitted above an internal hallway?

Yes, as long as there is a flat roof or loft directly above it. A hallway is often the darkest part of a home because it sits in the middle of the plan with no outside walls of its own. Cutting an opening through the ceiling and roof above, then lining it as a plastered shaft, gives it a source of daylight of its own.

Why does a flat glass rooflight need a timber upstand?

The upstand lifts the glass clear of the roof surface so rainwater runs off rather than sitting against the frame. It also gives the roof covering something solid to dress up against, which is what forms the watertight seal around the opening.

Why are the sides of the light shaft splayed rather than straight?

Angling the sides outwards as the shaft comes down into the room widens the spread of light and stops the opening reading as a deep, dark box. Finished in white plaster, the splayed sides also bounce daylight around, so the hallway feels brighter than the size of the glass alone suggests.