Skylights & rooflights in Hanham Steep streets above the Avon

Hanham is built on a slope that falls towards the River Avon, and its roofs follow the hill. We fit roof windows, skylights and flat rooflights here with an eye on where an opening sash earns its place and where a fixed pane will do.

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Victorian villas near the seafront in Weston-super-Mare

Down towards Hanham Lock: The Avon forms Hanham's edge, and the roads fall steeply towards it, a little over 3.7 road miles east of Bristol's centre.
Stepped terraces on the hillside: Rows where each roof sits a little above or below the next, so neighbours' chimneys and gables shape where a window can go.
Pennant stone near the mills: Older stone-built homes and outbuildings down by the river, with thick walls and shallow-pitched or slate roofs.
Estate roofs above the High Street: Interwar and later houses with tiled roofs, loft rooms and kitchens extended into the garden.

Stone houses on a steep street by a river town

Where a Hanham house needs a way out for warm air

The upstairs room at the top of the hill
A south-facing back bedroom under a sun-warmed slope, where an opening window high on the roof stops the heat settling.
The bathroom with no outside wall
A bathroom in the centre of the plan, with a roof window or tube overhead to give the steam a route upward.
The garden room off the kitchen
A flat-roofed addition whose fixed glass makes it too warm in summer, helped by a rooflight that opens.

Glass for Hanham's hillside and riverside roofs

Roof windows for hillside terraces and loft conversions, flat rooflights and lanterns for garden extensions, and conservation-style units where the older stonework asks for a lighter touch.

From the river up to the ridge

We work in every part of Hanham, from the streets above the river to the roads towards Kingswood, and in Longwell Green, Warmley and Oldland Common close by.

Every town we cover

Bristol Hanham

A town on a hill

Roofs on a slope: air and daylight in Hanham

Hanham climbs from the Avon towards Kingswood, and the houses climb with it. Slope, stone and the age of each street all affect which window suits which roof.

Painted houses on a coastal street in North Somerset

Terraces stepped up the slope

Few Bristol suburbs feel the gradient as much as Hanham. Streets run down towards the river and the houses sit on terraces cut into the slope. One result is that you can stand in a back garden and look straight across at a neighbour's upstairs window, or up at their roof. Another is that rooflines step, so that each house sits a few courses higher or lower than the next, and the shape of the roof in front of you is hard to judge from a photograph.

That is why we start with the roof, not the room. A back bedroom that looks south over the valley gets strong sun in the afternoon, so a roof window there wants to open and wants a blind. A north-facing slope, shaded by a taller house behind, gains from a bigger window that picks up whatever daylight there is. We measure both and explain the trade between more glass and more heat.

Choosing the opening

Roof windows come in two main opening styles. A centre-pivot window tilts on its middle, which suits a slope where there is room to turn the sash, while a top-hung window opens outward from its top edge and gives a clearer view out when it is open. Hanham's steeper roofs are good candidates, since they hold the window upright and rain runs off quickly. Every roof window has a pitch range it is made for, so we check the pitch on the day.

Hanham roof	Sensible unit	Opening
Steep hillside terrace	Centre-pivot roof window	Handle at the top or bottom
Interwar semi, rear slope	Roof window, pair if wide	Tilting, with a vent bar
Stone cottage near the river	Slim conservation unit	Winding handle
Flat roof on an extension	Flat rooflight	Electric or solar

Heat in the upper rooms

A hillside terrace tends to be warmer upstairs than the sellers' particulars suggest. Hot air gathers in the roof space, and a window set high in the slope gives that air a way out. Open a window at the bottom of the house and another at the top and the building starts to draw a current through itself, with air sliding up the stairs and out of the roof. Fresh air arrives low, stale air leaves high, and nothing is mechanical. For more on how that works, see our guide to fresh air through rooflights.

The council for Hanham is South Gloucestershire Council, and if you are not sure whether your home needs permission for a new window, our rooflight planning guide explains what to check, including what is different for flats and listed homes. Replacing an existing roof window outright is notifiable building work, which we deal with through Building Control. The Building Regulations page explains the rules on that.

Hanham's contrast between sun and shade is the thing to plan around. A house that backs onto the valley may have a roof that looks out over trees and open ground, with nothing to block the light. In that case a larger window is a pleasure, and a blind, either inside or out, takes the edge off the afternoon. A house on the shaded side of a street might benefit from a unit that is wider than it is tall, to collect as much low light as the slope allows.

Roofs on the steepest streets can also be awkward to work on, so we plan the access and working platform around the gradient to keep the job safe and tidy. A scaffold tower or a platform at the eaves gives a level base, and the old tiles are stacked and refitted neatly around the new flashing.

Everything starts with a survey. We measure the roof, look at the rafters from inside and sketch the options. The quote is itemised in writing, and where a sash can open it says how, so you can compare an electric unit with a manual one before you commit to either.

Roof window near the ridge Heat leaving the top floor Staircase working as a flue Fresh air from the lower slope

On a Hanham hillside terrace, an open roof window near the ridge lets the warmth go, and a ground floor window lower down pulls fresh air up the stairs.

Stone cottages, mills and the newer homes behind

Down at the bottom of Hanham the character changes. Near the river, at Hanham Mills and Hanham Lock, the buildings are older, built in the local Pennant stone, with thick walls, small windows and roofs that lean in on each other. Higher up, the housing is later: interwar semis and a good many postwar and modern estates that have filled in the land between the river and the High Street.

An older stone house is a different job from a brick one. Stone walls hold heat for hours after the sun has gone, and the rooms upstairs rely on small windows. Up in the roof, that can mean a bedroom that is chilly in winter and close in summer. A conservation rooflight in the back slope brings in daylight without changing what you see from the lane, and a version with an opening sash lets the room air. Where the house or its neighbours are listed, the council needs to agree, and it is sensible to ask before a design is fixed.

The stone-built cottages down by the river sometimes come with outbuildings, a former wash house or workshop that is now a studio or utility room. These are often single storey with a slate or pantile roof, and a small rooflight can turn a dark store into a pleasant room. With the sash opened, the space also gets the cross-draught that thick stone walls would otherwise block.

The 1930s house and the loft

The interwar semis of upper Hanham have deep roofs and long rear slopes, which suits an opening roof window or a pair of them. Where the loft has been converted into a bedroom, the window brings daylight into the room and gives it fresh air. On a two-storey house, the window is not the way out in a fire, because the stair is the protected escape route, so the window is there for daylight and ventilation only. Our page on roof windows and escape explains the difference for bungalows and chalets, where a window can serve.

Stone houses can't take modern rooflights.

Stone houses can take them, but the cut needs care. We trim the rafters properly, flash the opening so it stays dry, and choose frames in a finish that sits quietly in the slate.

Garden extensions and the flat roof

Further up the hill, many houses have been extended into their gardens with a flat roof. That flat roof is the place for a rooflight. A flat rooflight belongs. Above a kitchen island it pours daylight down from overhead, which is useful when the extension is deep and the light from the patio doors does not reach the back. If it opens, it offers warm air and cooking smells a way out at ceiling height. Overhead like that, it works best on a motor, closing itself in rain.

An electric flat rooflight open above a kitchen — Planning a rooflight over a Hanham kitchen extension

The interior matters as much as the roof. Open-plan kitchens in Hanham extensions often run straight into a living room, so warm air from the hob travels a long way. A rooflight placed above the cooking end, rather than the middle of the room, catches steam and heat before it spreads, and keeps the sitting area cooler. It also means the opening sash does the most work when you need it most.

If the roof is shaded, a large glass area is a bonus. If it is exposed to the afternoon sun, glass with a solar-control coating keeps the worst of the heat out. We talk through energy-efficient glazing with you at the survey.

Next door in Kingswood and over at Oldland Common the roofs are different again, but the questions are the same. The costs page gives an idea of the factors that raise or lower a price.

Hanham homes, answered

Is it harder to fit a roof window on a hillside terrace in Hanham?

Not harder, but it needs more thought. Neighbouring gables and chimneys change the light and the way a sash can swing, which is why the size is chosen only after the roof has been inspected.

Which unit suits an old stone cottage near Hanham Mills?

Usually a slim conservation rooflight, flush with the slate and fitted with an opening sash if you want fresh air. Check with South Gloucestershire Council if the building is listed or if you are unsure.

Do I need an electric rooflight over my Hanham extension?

If you can reach it comfortably, a manual one will do. Higher up than a person can stretch, a motor and a rain sensor are what make it open regularly and shut itself when it rains. A remote or wall switch does the rest.

Can I get a quote for just one roof window in Hanham?

Certainly. We survey one window as readily as several, and the written quote lists each item so you can see what it covers.

Pastel-painted Georgian terraced houses with iron railings on a Bristol street

Tell us about the room

A few details is all we need. We'll come out, advise and give you a written quote.

No pressure, no obligation.