
How Much Does It Cost To Install A Skylight?
Installing a skylight can be an affordable way to elevate the appearance of your property and can even increase the value of your home. If you are considering making improvements to your property, adding a skylight will bring more natural light into the room, with many additional health and wellbeing benefits. Skylights can create a more spacious and welcoming feel to living areas or highlight key features in your home.
With significantly less work involved compared to adding an extension or having a loft conversion, a skylight installation is a great way to make your home feel larger, without the large costs of a major home improvement project. You can also make energy savings by benefitting from more natural light in the day, so you will not need to use electrical lights as often.
In this guide, we explain the different costs involved in having a skylight installed, depending on the type of rooflight design you opt for.
Factors affecting skylight installation costs
There are so many different options for modernising your home with a skylight or set of skylights. There are frameless and framed designs, opening and fixed skylights, as well as different glazing choices and frame finishes.
Depending on the type of roof you have, you will require either a flat skylight or one that is designed for a pitched roof, and if you want to increase the height of a room and optimise the amount of natural light, roof lanterns are ideal.
Flat vs pitched rooflights
Flat roof rooflights are the most straightforward type of skylight to install, with minimum work involved, so there will be lower labour costs if you are hiring a professional installer to fit your skylight. Flat roofs also tend to be cheaper than rooflights for pitched roofs.
Roof lanterns
Roof lanterns provide optimal light and can considerably extend the height of your ceiling. However, these will be more expensive due to the more intricate design and multiple panes of glass. There is also the possibility that you will require planning permission, for example, if the skylight extends higher than 150mm above the roof plane.
Opening vs fixed skylights
You also have the choice between opening and fixed skylights. Fixed flat roofs provide the most energy efficient option, as they are sealed to prevent air leaks. If you require a skylight that opens for ventilation, you will usually pay more because they have moving parts. Due to the design and use, opening rooflights may need to be replaced or repaired more often if the parts fail, while fixed rooflights are more durable.
Framed vs frameless rooflights
When you are choosing your rooflight design, you should consider whether you prefer framed or frameless rooflights. Framed rooflights provide better structural support, while frameless skylights have a seamless aesthetic. Frameless rooflights usually cost less than framed and our range of rooflights are safety tight and incorporate a fully encapsulated leak-free design.
Other factors that will affect the cost of your skylight are:
Size - Larger skylights cost more.
Frame - The material used for the frame will influence the cost, with aluminium being one of the lowest cost materials.
Glass type - Clear Low E glass is cheaper than satin privacy, solar clear or solar grey.
Glazing - Triple glazing will be more expensive than double glazing.
The average cost of skylight installation
A single flat frameless skylight costs as low as £165 ex. VAT for a 500x500mm, while a very large skylight with dimensions of 1000x2500mm costs around £807 ex. VAT.
If you choose to upgrade to satin privacy and triple glazing, for 500x500mm, the cost increases to £225 ex. VAT and for the same upgrades on a 1000x2500mm you would be looking at a total cost of around £930 ex. VAT.
In addition to the cost of the skylight, if you are hiring an installer, you will need to factor labour costs into your project budget. The average day rate for installation of rooflights is around £150 and the job should not take longer than a day for one skylight.
If you are looking to install a grid of 4 skylights or a row of 3, for example, the labour costs will increase based on how much work is involved. So, installation of 3 rooflights could take 2 to 3 days, in which case labour costs would rise to around £300 to £450.
One of the advantages of choosing a fixed flat skylight is that they are relatively easy to install, so anyone with good DIY skills can fit them, which could save you on labour costs.
Additional installation costs to consider
There are other potential costs to consider, such as if scaffolding is required. Most skylights can be installed from inside the property, so scaffolding would not be required but if it is, the costs would usually be around £300 to £500 depending on how much scaffolding is required.
In some circumstances, planning permission could be required if the work does not meet the requirements of permitted developments, for example, if the skylight protrudes more than 150mm above the roof’s plane. Planning permission usually isn’t required but if it is, you would have to check the application fee for your local planning authority.
If you require any structural alterations to your roof for the installation, there will be increased material and labour costs involved.
While a simple, smaller flat rooflight can be very affordable, when you increase the size or number of skylights and upgrade to higher specifications, the costs of the skylight and installation will also increase as we’ve covered in this guide.
If you want to keep costs down, installing even just one skylight will have a significant impact on the aesthetics and brightness of your home. When you consider that you can also increase the value of your home with a professional, modern skylight, they are a very worthwhile investment.
At Rooflights and Skylights UK, we have a huge range of high-quality, durable and affordable skylights to choose from with many design options. If you would like an instant quote or some advice on which rooflight to choose for your home, get in touch.