- FROM SWANSEA:
- 14.92 miles by road
- COUNCIL:
- Carmarthenshire
- HOMES:
- growth since 1965
Skylight and rooflight fitting in Tycroes
Tycroes, strung along the A483: glass that sheds a wet afternoon from the loft rooms and extensions of a linear village.
Free survey / fixed written quote / Building Control notification handled / 10-year workmanship guarantee
A shower while the loft window is open
Loft bedrooms are where a Tycroes shower gets noticed. The glass is overhead, the sash is often open for air, and a downpour that arrives while you are at work can soak the sill and the carpet beneath it. Manufacturers such as VELUX offer an integrated rain sensor on their solar and electric roof windows, and the window shuts itself when it rains. For a room that is aired all day, that settles who does the shutting.
Wind adds a second problem. Rain driven up a slope looks for the gap between the window and the roof around it. Flashing that tucks beneath the coverings above the frame and rides over those below sends that water back out. The quality of the lapping matters as much as the quality of the glass.
Overnight, a bedroom fills with its own moisture. It condenses on whichever surface is chilliest, often the inner pane. Glazing built to the Welsh energy limits keeps that pane warmer, and a sash you open a little each morning lets the damp air leave.
Rain on a roof window also has a sound. A rain noise reduction glazing choice appears in the VELUX range, and the bedroom is where to ask about it.
Then there is the outside of the glass. A roof window that cannot be reached from the floor collects spots from every shower and keeps them. A position within reach of a long-handled cleaning tool is worth choosing at the start.
Over a kitchen extension the picture changes. The glass is nearly level, so water has less slope to leave by, and the fall of the kerb does the work. Spend a little time on that detail and the glass stays clear after a heavy shower.
| Home | Roof | Glass for the roof |
|---|---|---|
| Houses from the post-1965 growth | pitched | roof window over a loft room or landing |
| Older cottages and terraces | pitched, older coverings | roof window in the rear slope |
| Flat-roofed garage or kitchen extensions | flat | flat rooflight, or a lantern over the kitchen |
| Windowless halls and landings | pitched above | a light tube from the roof |
- TRUNK ROAD:
- A483
- WARD POPULATION:
- 2,438 (2011)
- LANDFORM:
- Amman valley fringe
Strung along the A483
Tycroes, a Carmarthenshire village, straddles the A483, the trunk road that runs from Swansea to Manchester. The shape follows the road: a linear village that grew along the routes meeting at its centre. The name comes from the cottage, or ty, that once stood at the crossroads where the village square is now.
The ground underneath belongs to the westernmost fringe of the Amman valley, resting mostly on the anthracite coal measures of the South Wales coalfield. The name Fferws may come from the iron ore in the rocks that the river there flows over. The best land lay along the banks of the River Loughor, where two properties of notable character stood.
Land changed hands in large lots. In 1876 the Plas Mawr Estate, nearly 850 acres, was offered for sale, and in 1921 the Buckley family offered a freehold farm of 129 acres. William Penry and his son Henry served as High Sheriffs in 1736 and 1756.
Growth in housing came later. From 1965, and above all in the building boom of the early 1970s, new homes spread in every direction and changed the face of the village. At the 2011 census the Tycroes electoral ward held 2,438 people, all counted within Llanedi community.
The drive from Swansea is roughly fifteen miles heading north, which puts Tycroes well within our working area. Capel Hendre and Ammanford are both close, and we fit in each.
A village with this history has roofs of several ages side by side. Penybanc and Saron are the other close neighbours on the map. What one decade built differs from the next, and a survey is where the actual roof shows what it can take.
That mix is the reason we do not start from a product. A pitched roof of any age can usually take a roof window if the rafters and the slope allow it. Over a rear extension with a flat roof, a rooflight on a kerb is the fit. A landing or hall deep inside a house suits a light tube. The right choice depends on the roof you have and the room beneath it.
- 1876Plas Mawr Estate offered for sale
- 1965housing growth picks up
- 129 acresfreehold farm offered in 1921
- PLANNING:
- the county council
- AONB:
- not in the AONB
- FLATS:
- no householder rights
Who decides a Tycroes rooflight
Questions about a particular Tycroes roof go to Carmarthenshire County Council, the local planning authority. Its planning team can say whether a rooflight needs an application.
For a house, a rooflight can fall within permitted development when it meets a short list of conditions. Our guide to skylight planning permission in Wales sets them out, and it is worth reading before anyone books a scaffold. The Gower AONB boundary does not take in Tycroes, so Gower's rules play no part in a Tycroes job.
Some starting points change the answer. Anyone in a flat or maisonette starts without householder permitted development rights, whatever the roof looks like. Councils can also remove those rights through an Article 4 direction, and the planning permission a house was first built under may have removed them by condition. If the house is listed, a rooflight that touches its special interest needs listed building consent, which the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023 now governs. Consent is applied for through the council, it covers the inside of a listed building as well as the outside, and starting work without it can amount to a criminal offence. Cadw, the Welsh Government's historic environment service, publishes the records of listed buildings.
When a house sits close to the line, ask before work starts. A Lawful Development Certificate settles the question on paper and stays with the property for the next owner.
Planning is one decision and Building Regulations are another. A new opening in a roof generally needs approval, and where the work is notifiable we handle the Building Regulations notification with local authority building control or a registered building control approver. You may choose which of the two bodies you prefer.
- LOFT:
- roof window in the slope
- EXTENSION:
- flat rooflight or lantern
- HALL:
- light tube
Roof by roof, room by room
A loft room asks the most of a roof window, so begin there. The roof windows we fit, VELUX among them, sit in line with the slope. A new or replacement one in an existing home should reach 1.4 W/m²K or Window Energy Rating Band B under Approved Document L (Wales).
A flat-roofed garage or kitchen extension takes glass that stands above the roof on a kerb. A flat roof rooflight should reach 2.2 W/m²K. A roof lantern stands much taller above the roof, and on a flat roof that already exists it will normally need a planning application, which we confirm with the council at survey.
A hall with no window and a roof above it is the place for a sun tunnel: a small dome outside, a reflective tube through the roof space, and a diffuser panel flush with the ceiling. On a dull afternoon it gives the top of the stairs a soft, even glow, and a dome that size lets the rain run straight off it.
Swapping an old window brings ventilation into it. When a window is replaced, the home's ventilation should end up no worse than before. Where the old frame carried trickle vents, the new one should carry vents at least as big, controllable by the household or automatically. A loft room that gets stuffy on a still night is a good reason to talk about this at survey.
A flat roof over an extension asks for a fall. Manufacturers typically want one on a flat rooflight so water runs off, and VELUX says its flat roof dome is made for roofs from level up to a 15 degree slope. A kerb set dead level lets a puddle sit against the frame after the shower has stopped.
If a unit has already misted between the panes, the position has been tried and the sealed unit is what failed. Replacing the misted rooflight is a smaller job than cutting a new opening, and we do both.
Each job starts with a free survey, then a fixed written quote, and we put a 10-year workmanship guarantee in writing. Ring 01792 929062 or ask for a survey online.
Light tube
- dome on the roof, diffuser in the ceiling
- suits the middle of a house, away from any outer wall
- fixed, so nothing to shut in a shower
Roof window in the slope
- sits in the plane of the slope
- shows a view of the sky
- can open, by hand or electrically
Tycroes: short answers
Who do I apply to for planning on a Tycroes house?
Carmarthenshire County Council. Its planning team handles applications for Tycroes, and it is the body to ask whether a particular rooflight needs one. The council's building control service is one choice for the Building Regulations side, and a registered building control approver is the other.
What closes a roof window when the weather turns while I am out?
An electric or solar VELUX roof window with the integrated rain sensor shuts itself when rain starts. A manual window stays as you left it, so it suits a room you visit often and can reach without a ladder. Which one suits your loft depends on how high the glass sits and how you use the room.
How far from Swansea is Tycroes for a survey visit?
North of Swansea, at around fifteen road miles, or 14.92 to be exact. That is well inside the area we cover, and the survey is free.
Does swapping an old roof window count as building work?
Putting in a new roof window in place of an old one counts as building work, and a repair falls outside it. A new pane fitted into the frame you already have sits outside building work for the energy rules. Where the job is notifiable, we deal with the notification, and the paperwork does not land on your doormat afterwards.
A loft room in a house from the 1970s boom raises the question when the original windows have reached the end of their life. Tell us the roof type and what the window does today, and the survey takes it from there.
What U-value should a new Tycroes roof window reach?
1.4 W/m²K, or Window Energy Rating Band B, under Approved Document L (Wales). A rooflight on a kerb has its own limit of 2.2 W/m²K, and that figure belongs to rooflights as the document defines them. The document describes a roof window as sitting in the plane of the roof, and a rooflight as a glazed unit raised on a kerb or upstand, so the two limits never swap places.
When do I get a price for a Tycroes job?
Once we have seen the roof and the room at the free survey, the fixed written quote follows. To arrange the visit, use the form.
Nearby towns we also cover
Bulletin Tycroes
Book your free survey
- Survey:
- before we price
- Quote:
- fixed, in writing
- Guarantee:
- 10 years on our workmanship, in writing
No obligation. Building Control notification handled where the work is notifiable.