Staffordshire, 29.3 road miles to the west-south-west
Skylights & rooflights in Shobnall
A settlement on the west side of Burton upon Trent, with canals close by and six conservation areas in a 1.5 km circle round the settlement. The far end of our patch, and a place where we check listings and Article 4 before the roof.
A canal that gives the area its protection
The Trent and Mersey Canal runs through Shobnall and the conservation area named after it covers the centre point itself. Sixteen listed buildings stand inside that area, so we check listings and any Article 4 direction before an order form is filled in.
Shobnall, read from the towpath up
Shobnall is a settlement and civil parish in Staffordshire, covering an area in the west of Burton upon Trent. The population on record is 8,468. It lies near the outer edge of the 30 road miles we cover. Next come the canal, the council and a crowded map of conservation areas, followed by the streets, the way here and our product picks. New to Robin Skylights? Start with skylight installation in Nottingham.
01
Two canals, a basin and two parks
Water close by, and the damp that comes with it.
Water is close to the centre. The map names the Trent and Mersey Canal and the Bond End Canal at Shobnall Basin within about 1.5 km. The canal is not a scenic extra here. The conservation area that carries its name covers the centre point itself.
Green space sits near it. Shobnall Fields lies 0.5 km away and Outwoods Park 0.8 km. Two suburbs lie close by: Anglesey, 1.3 km out, and Eton Park, 1.8 km out. We cover both.
Cold air off the water
Water near a house tends to mean damp, still air on grey mornings. Cooking and showering add to it, and it all looks for the coldest place to settle, which is usually the glazing. A sealed unit with warm-edge spacers keeps the inside pane from chilling so much, and an opening rooflight over a kitchen or bathroom sends steam outdoors before it beads.
Why a damp roof needs good edges
Roofs near water can stay wet for longer after rain. A roof window seldom fails at the glass. The usual weak spot is the flashing where the frame meets tile or slate. For that reason we order the kit that matches your covering and inspect every overlap. On a flat roof, the answer is a taller upstand, so puddles stay beneath the glass line.
- Upstand
- A built-up rim on a flat roof that the rooflight frame is bolted down to.
- Lap
- The overlap between neighbouring pieces of covering or flashing.
- Warm-edge spacer
- The divider between panes in a sealed unit, made to carry less cold to the glass edge.
Leaves, moss and the gutter line
Canalside trees and damp air bring moss and leaf litter to roofs. A flat roof collects leaves against the upstand, and a pitched roof collects them in valleys and above gutters. A rooflight is easiest to keep dry when nothing is piled against it, so clearing the debris once the leaves are down is a small job that saves a larger one.
Misting
If an older rooflight has fogged between its panes, the seal has failed. Replacing misted rooflights explains what that means and what can be done.
02
East Staffordshire decides, and six conservation areas are on the map
16listed
listed buildings in the canal conservation area, 1988
41listed
entries on the national list in a 1.5 km ring
The planning authority for Shobnall is East Staffordshire Borough Council, in Staffordshire. The city council plays no part in this, and nor does Nottinghamshire. Listing, conservation and planning questions all go to East Staffordshire.
Canal, King Edward Place and the streets around
Several conservation areas sit close together. The Trent and Mersey Canal area is the one that covers the town centre point, and it dates from May 1988. The record puts sixteen listed buildings in it, a single Grade II* and fifteen at Grade II. King Edward Place is 0.5 km away with four, one of them Grade II*. Station Street and Borough Road, in Burton upon Trent, is 0.69 km away, designated in 1999, with twelve. Clarence Street and Anglesey Road is 0.92 km away with two, and George Street is 1.34 km away, designated in December 1988, with eight. Horninglow Street and Guild Street lies a little further out, at 1.46 km, and is probably a neighbouring area.
Cast the net a little wider and the national list shows 41 entries: two at Grade II*, thirty-six at Grade II and three with no grade given.
| Area | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Trent and Mersey Canal | Covers centre | 16 |
| King Edward Place | 0.5 km | 4 |
| Station Street and Borough Road | 0.69 km | 12 |
| George Street | 1.34 km | 8 |
What that means for a roof
Six conservation areas are recorded within 1.5 km, so we begin with the council, not the loft. Listed status means consent before any new roof opening, while in a conservation area it is an Article 4 direction we hunt for; lacking one, a house keeps the standard rooflight allowance. Near the canal or any of the streets above, East Staffordshire is asked before anything is bought. Our page on conservation rooflights shows frames that tend to suit.
The national conditions live in our planning guide. If Building Control needs notifying, we do that.
03
Anglesey, Eton Park and the streets between
Where a Shobnall house is part of a terrace, here is how we read it, which helps when so many protected areas sit close by.
Terraces, front and back
A terrace presents one slope to the street and one to the yard. The street side is the face of the house everyone sees, and the yard side is where daylight usually needs help, in a back kitchen or a rear bedroom. We start there. Sky over the bed or the table comes from a window in the rear slope, and the street frontage stays as it was.
Narrow rooms
Terraced rooms are narrow and deep. The window end is bright and the hall end is dim. A flat rooflight over a back extension, or a sun tunnel above a dark landing, reaches the part the windows miss. Inside is where we begin, finding the line where the light stops.
Party walls and neighbours
Rows of houses share walls, and a new opening close to one needs thought about where the work and its flashings sit. We measure and plan so that the work stays within your own roof. If a neighbour's chimney stack or a parapet sits close, we tell you what it means for the position.
Eton Park and Anglesey
Both suburbs are covered, and each visit follows the same order: the room, then the roof, then a written price.
The test for a narrow room is simple: stand at the hall end and look towards the window. Where does the light fall off? That line is where the opening goes. A tunnel sits well in a landing, a flat rooflight in a back kitchen, and a roof window on the rear slope over a bedroom.
04
The A38, Burton station and the long drive in
The road distance is 29.3 miles, heading west-south-west, and a clear drive takes about 39 minutes. That is close to the limit of the 30 miles we serve. Five classified roads pass the centre, the A38, A5121, A5189, B5017 and B5416, so reaching you is a matter of the right turn and not a lack of roads.
Burton-on-Trent station is open, 0.9 km from the centre. That does nothing for a survey, because we arrive by van with ladders.
Planning a long visit
Because the trip is long, the day is planned around it. Beforehand we ask about roof and loft access, and about where to park near a canalside street. We agree a visit slot with you and allow for the A38 when we set it.
29.3miles
of road to the west-south-west
39minutes
typical drive, traffic allowing
0.9km
to Burton-on-Trent station, which is open
Coming from the station side
Burton-on-Trent station is close, and the Station Street and Borough Road conservation area lies 0.69 km from the centre. If you are on one of them, tell us when you book. We would rather learn about a listing from you in advance than find the scaffolding up and a question from the council.
What happens at the survey
There is no charge. The room comes first, then we climb up to the roof and look at the slope, covering, structure and drainage. Afterwards you get a fixed price, in writing. For a house in a conservation area, the first step is an Article 4 check, not an order.
The rest of our patch is mapped on the covered areas page.
05
What tends to suit a house near the canal
With six conservation areas recorded nearby, we keep a slim conservation frame in mind beside the usual options.
A conservation rooflight
These are slim, sit close to the slope and use narrow frames. Because they interrupt the roofline so little, they sit quietly on a street-facing slope. See conservation rooflights for the options.
A roof window on the rear slope
A plain roof window at the rear lights a bedroom, a landing or a loft room while leaving the street view alone. The page on roof windows for loft conversions lists what to settle for an attic.
A flat rooflight on an extension
If a back extension has a flat roof, it can take either a fixed or an opening unit, and flat roof rooflights shows the sizes and upstand heights. When the extension is deep, a roof lantern may do more.
A sun tunnel for the dark middle
A landing or bathroom in the middle of a terrace may lack any outside wall. A sun tunnel takes daylight from a low dome on the roof, carries it through a reflective tube and releases it from a diffuser in the ceiling. See sun tunnels for how much light to expect and when the loft gets in the way. A clear run through the loft is what decides it, and we check that from the hatch.
Replacing what is there
An old unit that has fogged or worn out can often be replaced in its opening. Our ten-year written guarantee covers the workmanship, and the survey tells us which route is cleaner.
Questions before a Shobnall survey
Is my house in the Trent and Mersey Canal conservation area?
The area takes in the centre of Shobnall and has sixteen listed buildings, though whether your address lies inside depends on the boundary. Give us the address and East Staffordshire Borough Council is asked before we order. If no direction applies, we choose the slope that lights the room.
Do I need consent if my house is listed?
Yes, a listed house needs consent for a new rooflight whichever slope it is on. If the record shows yours is listed, we say so at the start and the council is asked before any order. The written quote comes after the survey.
Is Shobnall inside your area, or too far?
Inside, but near the edge. At 29.3 road miles out, Shobnall sits just under our 30-mile limit. The survey costs nothing and we travel to you. We agree the visit slot with you around the A38 traffic, so you know when to expect us.
Can an old rooflight on our extension just be replaced?
Often a new unit can go into the same opening, as long as the kerb and flashing are sound. We check on the survey, then price whichever route suits. Our workmanship carries a ten-year written guarantee either way.