Home DIY

A separate CU is probably required for part P, and would make sense in any case.

Separate & multiple lighting and ring circuits seem sensible, plus additional for big power draws, like heating / cooling / body freezer.

Ethernet to a managed switch probably sensible too, as is lifting the deck to run power underground.

Also, insulate with 100mm+ PIR. It will get bonkers hot, and bonkers cold otherwise.

What is the sheet material covering it & how thick?

Is the first 12-15mm going to be plasterboard and plaster or is that sheet ply? If it's ply I'd be tempted to take the top 25mmish of it off and not cut into the beam, see how that sets them*, making good would be a good wood filler (right-hand top looks well off too but more like plaster there?!) . Standard disclaimer and I would be considered about their next problem if that was how they were left

.* then take the minimal amount off the beam following the angle of the window frame

Building stud walls is quite good fun if you have the appetite for it. It's very satisfying too.

Certainly beats scrubbing paint off stone walls.

Different model but mine would 'allow' a 2cm overhang and open

1 Attachment

or is that sheet ply?

It looks like it could be ply, doesn't it - I was thinking the same thing i.e. take the ply off, leave the rafter alone.

The space that ours has for another reference point:

1 Attachment

Just swapped the faceplate an external double socket for one with an RCD. Which means I have a non-RCD one going spare (back boxes were identical so I just left the old one in place). If anyone wants a c.1yo external double socket for free, you're welcome to come and grab it from CR7.

I missed that the ply could be set to 90°

i'd be lying if i said it hadn't crossed my mind to do the walls myself but we're balls deep in a project about to deliver phase one at work so may be better to let someone competent get it done quickly instead and I focus on something I'm more capable of.

There's a rebate built into the sides of the frame (arrowed), for the surround to slot into. Accepts 12.5mm plasterboard or ply. If there's any scope for un-bogging that.

As Howard says, are you sure you want to open them now?
The vent flap shouldn't cause too much of a problem, but id be cautious unlocking and expecting the pivot hinges to open and then close again.

1 Attachment

It’s all ply, nailed to beam/rafters. Feels/looks as though the windows were set to (just) clear the front edge of the beams, but then ply nailed to face, rather than flush has buggered that clearance. There really isn’t a huge amount in it (I say now.) I have access to the back side from inside the loft space, but not from the roof, but that’s the wrong side of the beam to do anything

I’d like to be able to open them to clean them, they seem otherwise good nick in that, they haven’t let water in all winter, no noticeable drafts etc that I’m happy enough to give it a go. I can open them and wiggle them a few mil within the clearance I have and they seem sound. Is there something I’m missing about velux that I shouldn’t be opening them?

This was exactly the way it went in my head. Intent was to take as little off the beam as I can get away with. Would multi-tool be the best way to get at it? Starting to wonder if it’s worth pulling them out and then rebuilding them flush with plasterboard - much bigger job though!

Tricky to be sure, but at the bottom of the first pic the ply looks damp and the paint lifting.

The way it’s been installed doesn’t give a lot of confidence that all is well behind that ply.

I fear I’d be pulling off the ply. That way you can check there’s no water damage or ongoing leaks and then redo it all properly like TW’s and bluehuw’s.

It’s not a totally horrific job. You should get the ply off easily with a pry bar, cutting and fixing new board is a pretty straightforward DIY job if you’ve got a saw and a ruler and YouTube, then just a pro to skim it. Anything else is likely to end up a bit of a bodge on a bodge.

But if you can’t face that, yes - a multi tool. Cut it back further to allow for some beading to cover the inevitable wonky edge of the cut.

I'm going to take an armchair punt here too!

I would measure the depth of the beam under the window frame, use a track saw with depth set to 19mm and multitool to finish the cut at each end. Pull the ply off the beam and see if the window opens.

If it does open, put a stud between the rafters under the beam and screw the ply to it, tidy up the edge of the ply with some small beading to stop condensation collecting there and decorate.

If it doesn't open then remove the whole piece of plasterboard and put stud recessed in the rafters and put the ply back on top of the stud.

In answer to your question about the multitool, yes, definitely a useful tool tackling this kind of job.

I would use a track saw to cut as much as possible because it will be a lot neater and quicker but it depends if you have one available and how easy is it to hold it up there.

how easy is it to hold it up there

Glad you got there, my back and shoulders twinged as I was reading.

do you even lift bro....

The smaller type of track saw are very useful in this case.

An alternative approach could be multi tool round the edges, find the screws and unscrew or cut along rafters and pry off/unscrew where possible. Then set about making good either with the plywood or plasterboard between the rafters.

I slightly worry they've been given a wide enough angle to open -

Agreed, it's hard to tell from the photo.

There's some dumb reason why they were boxed in like that, i.e. if you try to open them properly, you find you can't, because something even more silly was done at some point, or they were never intended to be opened it just so happened that the builder loved Velux

Quite possibly cheaper to install a couple of readily available Velux than specify custom roof lights. I tend to agree with Howard, something stupid has happened here.

@giles337
It would have been cheaper to install a larger single than the two smaller ones.

Top hung Velux would have been a better choice, as you can open the bottom edge outwards for normal use, even if the tunnel is too steep for centre pivot to rotate. They also reverse, centre pivot style for cleaning and have the ventilation flap at the top.
With a bit of care, having the bottom edge open and then unlocking the top, they can be reversed even when the top edge would normally clash with the tunnel.

https://www.roofingsuperstore.co.uk/browse/roof-windows/pitched-roof-windows/velux-roof-windows/top-hung.html

It's a bodge for sure.