For a family of four, rebuilding their old house was an opportunity to transform it. With added insulation and extensive use of roof windows, the previously dark and cold building is now a pleasant and beautiful home.
Using light and natural ventilation
Thomas, Charlotte, and their children found their perfect home in the year 2000. With two storeys and a basement, the yellow brick house offered a spacious interior, as well as a cosy garden and proximity to good transport links. However, the building had shortcomings.
The original roof construction from 1937 was poorly insulated, so in 2013, the owners had it rebuilt with additional insulation. But, as Thomas explains, “the indoor climate still wasn’t good enough. We decided to rebuild the first floor with improved insulation, new flooring and a new vapour barrier.”
The family turned to VELUX Group for help. Here, the advisor team presented them with a proposal for rebuilding the first floor. It included eleven roof windows and suggested that all rooms and the hall should be opened to the ridge.
At first, the family had reservations.
”But then we started consider it. We could see the advantages of opening the rooms to the ridge,” Thomas says. The rebuilding was completed in 2015.
The main purpose of the rebuilding was to improve the indoor climate. The family wondered whether the extensive installation of roof windows contradicted the goal of thermal comfort – but when the rebuilding was finished, the windows neither weakened the insulation nor caused any significant temperature changes.
"The house is much warmer now. Previously, we always closed the door to the hall because it felt so cold. We don’t do that anymore,"
In addition, the extensive use of roof windows has transformed the look and atmosphere of the first floor. “The rooms feel more airy,” says Charlotte. “Especially in cloudy weather, you can sense how there is much more light than before. Actually, I appreciate the roof windows most of all when the weather is bad.”
The VELUX team used the VELUX Daylight Visualizer 2, a software tool dedicated to daylighting design and analysis, to optimise natural lighting throughout the home.
In the bedrooms, the roof windows have created a feeling of closeness to nature and a more welcoming ambience. The couple’s daughter now loves spending time in her room alone or with friends. And in Thomas’ experience, the surrounding garden has almost become a part of the house:
“Now, the treetops are quite close to the bedroom,” he says. “I look forward to lying on my bed at night and looking at the stars. I program the blinds to roll down during the night, so I won’t be woken up by the early morning light.”