Kitchen Extensions
and Skylights

Designing your kitchen extension

The kitchen is considered by many to be the heart of the house. It’s where meals are made, and families gather to enjoy each other’s company. That’s why a lot of people decide to extend the kitchen in their house – to make more room for everyone to relax and enjoy the space.

A big consideration when you have decided to extend a room is light. Sunlight helps our bodies produce Vitamin D which regulates our moods and energy levels, so the more natural light the better. At Sunsquare, we know how important it is to get natural light into a space and your home, we wrote a blog about it you can see here, and that’s why our products are made to allow as much of it into your space as possible.

Why choose a skylight for your kitchen extension?

So, What are the benefits of a skylight? And how should you go about choosing the right one for your kitchen extension?

The main benefits of a skylight (or rooflight) are:

• You rarely need to get planning permission to install one, just make sure you check building regulations as there is a limit to the ratio of glass allowed on a single structure.
• They allow for greater ventilation – particularly in a kitchen where you’ll be cooking
• Natural light can flow into the kitchen and brighten everything up
• They could help you save on utility bills

Where’s the best place to install a kitchen skylight?

Skylights and rooflights allow for greater ventilation and let light into rooms. They are guaranteed to make your kitchen extension feel even bigger. If you’re looking for an aesthetic impact, placing a skylight over a kitchen island or dining area would bring the best results.

With the introduction of a laminated inner pane as standard on all our skylights, it’s perfectly safe to install a skylight in these areas. The laminated inner pane is made from heat and pressure bonded glass panes and has a plastic interlayer of Polyvinyl Butryal (BVB) which is incredibly tough and durable. It also filters out 99% of the sun’s harmful UV rays.

How to choose the right skylight

Sunsquare has different options for adding a skylight to your kitchen extension, depending on the kind you might prefer. For example, do you need it to open? Would you like to be able to access a roof terrace? How about a handy remote that controls the opening and closing? Here are some popular Sunsquare products that would work beautifully in a kitchen extension.

Skyview – Our classic fixed skylight can be made to your exact measurements to bring natural light into a space. They look sleek and have outstanding thermal performance, so you’re guaranteed the best for your kitchen extension. Skyview skylights are also available in multipane configurations This would work for kitchens extensions that involve widening the room. Multipanes can run the whole length of a kitchen and allow light in if you’ve extended width ways or into a side alley.

Aero Electric Vent rooflight – An opening skylight allows for more light and fresh air – which can be especially important in a kitchen space. If your property has a roof terrace above the kitchen, then the Aero Electric Access is another option from our Aero range that opens fully and is available in bespoke sizes.

Part Fixed, Part Opening – The world’s first completely flush, part fixed, part opening skylight. The unique technology of our opening skylights is combined with our aesthetically pleasing fixed skylights. If you wanted to have long stretches of glass to allow for maximum amounts of natural light, with ventilation as an option as well, this is the perfect choice. The opening sections of this product are completely flush with the frame and can consist of two panes, up to as many as a building will hold.

This is just a few of our products. To see our full range, head to Skylights & Rooflights.

Glazing specifications

When choosing a product from our range for your kitchen extension, you have plenty of choice in glazing available.

You may wish to select low maintenance glazing that makes the skylight easier to clean. This might be useful if you have selected a skylight that doesn’t open and will be more likely to gather debris or dirt from outside. Solar control glazing might be useful for a kitchen as it prevents excessive heat build-up.

If you aren’t sure which glazing treatment might be best for your kitchen extension skylight, don’t worry, we’ll be happy to advise you. At Sunsquare we can glaze almost any glass configuration into our BSI Kitemarked range.

Surpassing building regulations

Sunsquare products surpass building regulations, providing you with the best in thermal performance, security and aesthetics. The only regulations you need to check for a skylight are building regulations – planning permission is rarely required.

As of October 2018, Sunsquare has achieved a renewal in its Kitemark accreditation (now named the BSI Rooflights Kitemark) for the fourth year running. The BSI’s motto reads “making excellence a habit”, and at Sunsquare, excellence is our minimum requirement for our clients. Our BSI Kitemarked range is inspected and audited twice a year to make sure we comply with the current standard.

Sign up for our whitepaper on building regulations

Written to help architects, surveyors and home improvers alike understand every UK building regulations.

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Case studies

Sunsquare is proud to have worked on various kitchen extension projects, seeing our products used to great effect. A kitchen skylight installation for professional chef, Regis Crepy saw two SkyView skylights installed and made all the difference to the room:

“My architect liaised with Sunsquare who came up with a proposal for two flat roof skylights and on the day of installation they were fitted within the hour,” Said Mr Crepy. “The architect and Sunsquare worked together to design a skylight that completely transformed the environment of the room.”

Sunsquare’s Aero Electric Skylight was also used on a project by Salt West Architects to bring natural light and ventilation into a kitchen in a London property. Take a look at the gallery of pictures here.

Are you planning a kitchen extension? If you need more information on skylights and installation, or simply want to see your options, get in touch with Sunsquare today.