Loft Access Roof Window in Guildford

New dark framed roof window fitted into an old plain clay tiled roof in Guildford, above a lead lined gutter

Where: Guildford, Surrey
The job: Loft window for roof access
Fitted: 1 side-hung roof access window
Roof: Pitched, plain clay tiles

This Guildford home has an old plain clay tiled roof, with a lead lined gutter running between two of its slopes. We fitted a new loft window at the top of the gutter, so the main roof can be reached from inside the loft.

Opening up the roof

We stripped the clay tiles back around the opening, clearing the way for the new frame and its flashing. The lead gutter below stays in place: the window sits at its head, so the bottom of the frame drains straight onto it.

Plain clay tiles stripped back around a rectangular opening in a pitched roof, above a lead gutter — The tiles stripped back around the opening, above the lead gutter.

Close view of the roof opening and its timber lining, with the loft floor visible below — The opening and its timber lining, looking down into the loft.

Fitting the window and flashing

The frame was fixed into the opening and the flashing set around it, with a pleated apron along the bottom dressed down onto the lead. The clay tiles were then relaid up to the sides and head of the frame, so the window sits in the roof slope rather than on top of it.

The new roof window closed, with clay tiles relaid around it and the flashing apron over the lead gutter — The new window fitted and flashed, with the tiles relaid around it.

A way out onto the roof

The window opens sideways, like a door, leaving a clear way through from the loft onto the gutter and up to the main roof.

The new roof window swung open sideways, showing the clear opening through to the loft — Open, the window gives a clear way between the loft and the roof.

If you need a new or replacement window in a pitched roof, see our pitched roof windows.

Questions about this job

Can a roof window be used to get out onto the roof?

Yes. Roof access windows are made for it: they open wide, usually sideways or from the top, so there is a clear way through from the loft onto the roof. That makes gutters, valleys and the roof itself reachable from inside, without a ladder up the outside of the house.

Can a roof window go into an old clay tiled roof?

Yes. Plain clay tiles are small and lap closely, so the tiles are cut and relaid around the window, and the flashing is made for that tile profile, so the window sits watertight among them.

Is a roof access window the same as an escape window?

Not quite. An escape window serves a loft room used as living space, and Building Regulations set its smallest opening: at least 0.33 square metres, and at least 450 mm high and wide. An access window is for getting out onto the roof. Some windows do both, and we will tell you which your loft needs.

What we fitted

Velux pitched roof windows

Daylight and fresh air through a sloping roof: manual, electric and solar-powered Velux windows for lofts, vaulted ceilings and extensions.