In brief
Yes. An opening rooflight made as an access hatch lets a person climb through onto a flat roof, provided it is sized for a body to pass, opens fully clear and is paired with a fixed ladder or stair below. A standard ventilation rooflight is not built for this. The hatch, the way up to it and the roof outside all have to be planned together.
- An access hatch is a rooflight made for a person to pass through
- It needs a clear opening wide enough and a lid that holds open safely
- A fixed ladder or stair below is part of the arrangement
- The flat roof outside must suit being walked on and have edge protection
- Electric or manual operation can both work, depending on who uses it
What an access hatch rooflight is
A roof access rooflight is an opening rooflight designed so a person can go through it. It is usually a flat-roof unit with a hinged lid on a kerb, larger than a ventilation rooflight, and the lid is made to be held open firmly while someone climbs up. It is the right unit for reaching a flat roof from inside the house, for example to get to a terrace, a plant area or a roof you maintain.
The word opening covers many products. A small vent that tilts a few inches lets air in but not people. Only a unit that the maker describes as an access hatch, with a stated clear opening size, is suited to this. Check the figure in the maker's data sheet against the size you need rather than relying on the outer frame, since the frame takes up some of the width.
Our page on electric opening rooflights covers the powered units in general, and an access hatch is one of the types in that range.
Size and how it opens
The clear opening is the measurement that counts. It is the gap left when the lid is fully open, and it has to be big enough for an adult to pass through with room to turn. A narrow opening is awkward, and one over a ladder needs enough room to reach for the sides as you climb.
The lid has to stay where it is put. Hatches are made with a stay or a lifting mechanism that holds the lid open while someone is climbing through, and with a handle or a latch that works from both sides. The maker's instructions describe the fittings, and the quote names the model.
A hatch can be hand-operated or motorised. Hand-operated is simple and works when the power is off. A motorised hatch is easier for someone who cannot push a heavy lid, but it relies on power, so read what happens to an electric rooflight in a power cut before choosing it for a route you may need.
The way up to it
A hatch is only useful if you can reach it. In most houses that means a fixed ladder or a stair that ends beneath the opening. A loose stepladder is not a safe route to a roof, and the rooflight should be placed so that the ladder or stair can stand square below it.
The location of the opening therefore comes from the layout of the house, not just from the roof. A landing with a space for a fixed ladder alongside is easier than a bedroom ceiling over a bed. If a new stair is part of the project, the hatch position and the stair design are settled together, and the builder needs the opening size in writing before the structure is framed.
Approved Document K of the Building Regulations covers stairs and ladders in dwellings, so the design of the way up is for the builder or architect to check against it. We send the kerb and opening dimensions for the exact hatch, so the stair can be set out around them.
The roof outside
Putting a hatch in is the easy part. What lies on the other side matters more. A flat roof that is not intended to be walked on may have a covering that is damaged by foot traffic, and its edges may have no guard. Before you plan a route out onto it, check that the roof is built for the use, with a suitable surface and a safe edge.
If you want a roof you can walk on and stand on, a terrace with a balustrade or a covering made for traffic is the usual answer, and the hatch then comes out onto it. If you only need to reach the roof now and then, for gutters or to service equipment, a hatch onto a roof with a protected edge may do.
If the aim is light as well as access, a walk-on rooflight is a different product, set flush so you can stand on the glass. It lets daylight down but is not a hatch.
Planning, structure and the order of work
Permitted development can cover a rooflight in some cases, but not all. The position is checked for the address, and the council decides. The details are in our guide to rooflight planning permission. Listed buildings, and land where permitted development has been removed, follow different rules, so check before you order.
On the structure, a hatch is a large opening, so the joists around it are trimmed and a kerb is built to carry it. With a roof under construction or being re-covered, the roofer takes the membrane to the kerb and we set the hatch, so the opening is formed only once. In a finished roof the covering must be cut and made good around the new kerb.
Book a free survey and the roof, the room under it and the route up are all looked at. The quote names the hatch and its clear opening size, gives the maker's delivery time and lists whatever the builder must do first. For what the whole thing might cost, see the parts of an electric rooflight quote.
Related questions
- Can a roof access hatch be used as a fire escape?
- An access hatch is not planned as an escape route by default. Escape from a room is decided under Approved Document B, and your builder or building control decides how it applies to your house. We can give the opening size so they can assess it.
