Velux & SkylightsSouthampton

Do You Actually Need Velux & Skylights?

A roof window transforms a dark Southampton loft or extension, but it must be installed and flashed correctly or it becomes a leak. Here is what to know.

• A dark loft conversion or deep terraced rear room needing light
• An existing roof window leaking around the flashing
• Condensation or draughts around an old, tired skylight
• A flat-roof extension that would benefit from a light
• A dormer window with failed weatherproofing

When it is not the answer: If an existing roof window only leaks at the flashing, re-flashing beats full replacement — we will not sell you a new unit you do not need Read the full guide.

From First Call to Sign-Off

Job Durations at a Glance

The opening is made watertight the same day; we schedule around Southampton’s wetter spells for the external work.

Getting Safely onto Southampton Roofs

Roof-window installation needs scaffold or towers for safe external access and flashing, itemised in the quote. Scaffold is specified for: all pitched-roof window installations above single-storey - always itemised in your written quote, never a hidden extra, and we arrange it.

Southampton’s Victorian terraces off Portswood and in Bevois Valley often have no side access, so repairs there need pavement scaffold and a council permit rather than a ladder. Pavement scaffold and skip permits go through Southampton City Council; allow a few working days on streets like Bevois Valley Road, Portswood Road, the terraced streets off Northam Road where space is tight.

Velux & Skylights Prices in Southampton

What moves the price

• Unit size and specification
• Number of windows and roof covering type
• Structural opening work needed
• Internal making-good and finishes
• Scaffold or tower access

Worked example: A single roof window into a loft conversion on a terrace in Highfield: around £1,650 including the correct flashing kit and making good.

Materials stage then balance on completion. Written itemised quote with the unit warranty stated. VAT included where applicable.

The Guarantee in Plain Terms

Installation is guaranteed for 10 years; the roof window itself carries the manufacturer’s warranty (typically 10–20 years) on top.

• Covered: workmanship for 10 years, in writing, transferable if you sell.
• On top: manufacturer warranties on materials (terms vary by product).
• Not covered: storm or impact damage - that is an insurance matter, and we will document it for your claim.

If a fault appears in covered work, we come back and put it right. No quibbling, no re-charge.

“Manufacturer installation standards require the correct flashing kit matched to the roof covering — the most common cause of a leaking roof window is a flashing mismatch, not the unit itself.”— BS 5534 / manufacturer installation standards

Disruption, Mess & Weather

One or two days with some cutting noise and internal making-good; we sheet the room below and clear up fully. You do not need to stay home for external work - we just need power and access agreed in advance.

Installation runs year-round; the opening is never left exposed overnight. Southampton’s position at the head of Southampton Water brings humid, salt-influenced air and south-westerly Solent gales that drive weather onto exposed roofs.

Roof windows come up constantly on Southampton’s terraced stock, where deep rear rooms and loft conversions in Portswood, Freemantle and Shirley are naturally dark. The single most common call-out we get on an existing roof window is not a failed unit but a failed flashing: fitted without the correct kit for the tile or slate covering, the junction lets water track in around the frame. Where the unit itself is sound we re-flash rather than replace, which is a fraction of the cost. On a new installation, matching the flashing kit to the exact covering — plain tile, interlocking concrete or Welsh slate — is what keeps a Southampton roof window watertight for the life of the roof.