A frameless approach to pitched roof windows

Located on a modest plot facing a communal green in one of Milton Keynes’s “village-like communities”, the property has been given a stunning ground floor extension, incorporating not only a modern kitchen but also an inviting and bright family room with views out to a landscaped back garden.

The layout of the ground floor was essentially one of two halves. The south-facing front of the property incorporated the dining room, which benefited from the warm daylight coming in from the bay window and overlooking the green.

However, the kitchen at the back of the house with its’ north-facing aspect felt like a dark and cold galley despite its’ significant size of 3.5 x 6 metres.

The small archway separating the dining and the kitchen areas compromised the amount of light flowing through this open plan ground floor. Only when the narrow glass doors were opened onto the back garden was the amount of light in the space noticeably improved.

In the brief given to the local architect Robin Bradbury of Bradbury Design, the family expressed the following requirements: the need to increase natural daylight at the back of the property, to provide a family room (a snug) which would serve as a “central hub” for the children where they could eat and play, an attractive space for the adults to entertain guests, and critically, the need to extend the property on the ground floor without sacrificing too much of the relatively small garden.

Bradbury proposed opening up the archway, doubling the size of the aperture and adding structural support to ensure a seamless integration with the bright dining room.

Furthermore he recommended removing the whole rear wall of the house and adding large 2.4 metre ‘French’ doors rather than the bi-fold doors that had been initially selected by the family.

This change of door type alone would avoid the need for a more substantial structural framework, be more attractive visually and would make the snug feel more spacious.

Two roof windows were specified for the pitched roof of the family room to further maximise the natural daylight, whilst the installation of high specification LED spotlights would provide soft lighting during the evening hours.

Glazing Vision’s Pitchglaze roof windows were specified as they offered a sleek, almost “frameless” design in a contemporary finish, which would not only stylishly complement the interior of this room but more importantly they would provide sky-only views, something which is not usually found with traditional roof window products.

A further advantage of the Glazing Vision Pitchglaze is that it can be used in roof pitches between 15 degrees and 60 degrees making it ideal for both smaller domestic builds such as the Golder house, or the substantial, high-end residential properties where several units can be installed adjacent to one another to create entire glazed ceilings as an architectural feature.

Whilst the family room extension at the Golder property actually necessitated a new pitched roof, the Pitchglaze has been designed so that all fixings are accessible from the outside.

This means that the roof window can be installed to existing buildings with minimal disruption to internal finishes, an additional advantage for both the homeowner and builder alike.

The Pitchglaze roof window can be installed both vertically or horizontally, and can be manufactured up to 3m2 in size by the Glazing Vision factory. The window is made from high performance thermally efficient low emissivity glass as standard, which has been heat soak tested for additional safety. The roof window is CE marked.

Home-owner Suzanne Golder comments;

“we are absolutely thrilled with the results. Our architect delivered a vision that I just didn’t think possible with the space we had – it doesn’t feel like the same house. The light into our new family and entertaining space is stunning. It’s really lovely to see the sky through the roof windows, it’s even better when the sky is blue! I can’t wait for the summer to really see how the sun lights up the room.”

Find out more about specifying Pitchglaze roof windows for your project.

Products Used:

Pitchglaze Fixed Roof Window