What should a rooflight quote include?

The total tells you what you will pay. The description tells you what you will get. Only the second lets you compare two firms fairly.

A line that reads "supply and fit rooflight" can mean a dozen different products. One installer may be pricing a basic double-glazed unit with a plain spacer. Another may be pricing a laminated acoustic inner pane, a warm-edge spacer and a fully insulated upstand. Both are "a rooflight", and the totals will differ for good reasons. Nobody can see those reasons unless the quote writes them down.

So read a quote the way a surveyor would read a specification. Every part of the job should be named, sized and described in words, and anything that is left to "as required" is a gap. Our page on how to choose a rooflight helps you decide what you want first, and this page helps you check that a quote actually says it.

Start with the thing itself. The quote should leave no doubt about which unit goes in the roof.

That means the make and model, the type (a fixed rooflight, a roof window, a lantern, a walk-on unit), and the size in millimetres. For a flat roof unit, the quote should state whether it is a single-piece pod, a glass-to-frame rooflight or a site-built lantern, because each sits on the roof differently. For a pitched roof window, it should give the frame size and the flashing kit that goes with it. You can see how these types differ in our services for flat roof rooflight installation and roof lantern installation.

The opening matters too. If the new unit is a different size from the old one, the quote should say what that does to the rafters or joists, who designs any structural change and whether a structural engineer is involved. Our answer on whether a rooflight needs a structural engineer covers when that comes up.

This is the part most quotes skip, and it is the part that decides how the room sounds and feels.

Ask for the glazing build in words. How many panes, which is laminated, how thick each pane is, what the cavity is filled with and whether the coating is for heat retention or for solar control. A laminated inner pane is the usual choice overhead because it holds together if it breaks. Safety glazing is covered by Building Regulations Part K, and thermal performance by Part L. The quote should say the unit meets both. The detail of how laminated glass behaves is in acoustic laminated glass for rooflights explained.

Then the upstand and seals. On a flat roof, the upstand is the raised kerb the rooflight sits on. A quote should say how high it is, what it is made of and how it is insulated and waterproofed. A low, thin or uninsulated upstand is where cold and noise get in. On a pitched roof, the equivalent is the flashing and the insulation collar. A line such as "new upstand, insulated, with new weathering" is a reasonable start. "Existing kerb reused" is a decision you want to know about, because a tired kerb sits under a new unit and shortens what you paid for.

Our written quiet spec records exactly these choices, room by room, and comes with every quote. For what goes into it, see what goes into a quiet rooflight specification.

Lay the quotes side by side and tick each row. A blank is a question to ask.

Two more lines belong on any quote, and they are not in the table because they are about the job rather than the product. First, a start window and a rough duration, so you can plan around the work. Our answers on how long it takes to fit a new rooflight and whether you need scaffolding give a sense of what is normal. Second, how long the quote stays open, and what happens if the roof turns out different from what the survey showed.

The job is not finished when the glass is in. The room has to look finished, and the work has to be on the record.

Making good means the ceiling, the reveals and the paint around the opening. The quote should say what state you will be left with: plastered and primed, plastered and painted, or left for your decorator. It should say how dust and protection are handled inside, and who removes the old unit and the waste. Cutting into a ceiling for a bigger opening changes what is involved, as in will replacing a skylight damage the ceiling.

On the regulations side, a good quote says the work is installed to current Building Regulations and names who handles the Building Control notification, where the work is notifiable. We handle it for you. Whether your job is notifiable depends on what is being done, and is replacing a rooflight notifiable explains it. Planning is a separate question, and our page on planning permission for rooflights and skylights explains when it applies.

Finally, the guarantee. Ours is a ten-year workmanship guarantee, and it is not insurance-backed. Whatever a firm offers, the quote should say the length, what it covers and whether a separate manufacturer warranty on the glass applies. The wording sits on our guarantee page.

Should a quote show the cost of each part?

It helps when the job is big, because you can see what each change adds. Some firms quote one total for a simple job. Either is fine so long as the description behind the figure is complete. How costs build up is explained on our costs page.

What if two quotes differ a lot?

Compare the glazing build and the upstand first. A large gap usually comes from a product difference or a missing line, not from one firm being better at arithmetic. Ask the cheaper one to confirm the same specification in writing.

Is a survey needed before a written quote?

For a firm quote, yes. A figure given over the phone cannot take in the roof build, the rafter layout or the room. Our questions to ask a skylight installer list is worth having with you at the survey.

What will you send after the survey?

A written quote with the product, the glazing build, the upstand and the making good set out, together with the quiet spec for the room. You can get a quote from Clear Skylights by telling us the room and the roof type.