Astroglaze walk-on rooflight helps transform outside space in central London

Thu, Nov 22, 2018 11:43 AM

The Project

Architect Sara Bondia lived in a first-floor apartment in central London with no outdoor space. Right in front of her kitchen window lay the roof of the ground-floor extension. Keen to spend some time in the open air, Sara decided to convert that roof into a terrace for her family. The terrace would need to be stylish yet functional and suited to their needs.

The Requirements

Sara applied for planning permission to renovate the exterior space, incorporating new wooden flooring and a combination of stylish glass and wooden balustrades to preserve neighbours’ privacy.

She would also replace an existing walk-on rooflight that occupied most of the terrace surface. Sara sought a supplier that could deliver a tailor-made rooflight that met the project’s exacting requirements. A large walk-on solution was needed, measuring 1550mm x 2132mm, which would meet stringent building regulations. Additionally, to maintain a flush surface with the new wooden flooring, a minimum frame height was required. Sara struggled to find suppliers because it was a non-stock item. However, after much online searching, she found NDC.

The Solution

Adept at delivering bespoke solutions for a wide variety of residential and commercial projects, NDC supplied an Astroglaze walk-on unit for the project in the specified size. To maintain privacy for both Sara and her neighbours below, the glazing was fully sandblasted and delivered with a Ritec easy-clean coating for straight-forward maintenance. The textured finish also ensures suitable grip for those walking on the rooflight surface – essential as the balcony would also be a play area for her young family. From a design perspective, a white border was chosen around the glazing while the fixings were delivered in a bespoke polyester powder-coated finish of black/grey in RAL 7021. The white border and grey/black fixings set off the colour and texture of the wooden decking well, with a standard black border considered too dark and harsh, creating too much colour contrast to be in-keeping with the overall design scheme of the balcony.

The Conclusion

The result is a now much-loved and often-used balcony, giving Sara and her family sought-after outside space.

“I’m delighted with the new balcony,” says Sara. “Before, we had no useable external space and had just two small windows in our living and kitchen areas. Now the apartment has large glazed doors and you can walk out into this big open area outside. We use it all the time, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s transformed the way we live and has been particularly brilliant during the hot summer evenings.” Regarding NDC’s involvement in the project, Sara says: “The NDC team was extremely supportive. As our requirements were very particular –especially considering the size and weight of the rooflight needed – I had a lot of questions.”

Due to the large size and the resulting weight, a new steel structure had to be created on top of the roof as it couldn’t be supported by existing rafters and joists. I was also struggling to find a solution with the minimum frame size required to make sure that there wouldn’t be a step between the rooflight and the decked flooring. All of this had to be taken into consideration and NDC was well-equipped with the technical information and know-how to answer these questions and responded quickly to all my enquiries. The team was proactive and very supportive, and the quality of the solution is fantastic.”