I’ve been told by building reg’s that if I move the wall I have to still keep separation from the upstairs staircase incase of fire.. that’s fine and achieves the space I wanted pretty much apart from the stairway I feel will be really quite dark now.

Has anyone got any bright ideas… stair lighting or glass in the wall that’s fire rated to get some of the light from the kitchen (which is a massive sun trap) I’ve had a google but not found anything promising as yet!

Current Layout:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gegqcwpsjfdk81g/Screenshot%202016-07-19%2017.39.21.png?dl=0
New Layout
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dfvtlacrd8zypbd/Screenshot%202016-07-19%2017.39.28.png?dl=0

I don’t know the proper name but a builder friend of mine fitted a light funnel from the roof into an enclosed bathroom and says it’s brilliant (both sorts) and surprisingly cheap.

We have a similar setup and a skylight makes it the brightest ‘room’ in the house. It’s currently open which makes the upstairs bearable in this heat, which is a nice bonus.

sun pipe

Yeah, skylight above ours too.
Sun tubes?

Is it two floors or three? If it just two I’m surprised Building Control are insisting on separation unless its an exceptionally tall building or you don’t have escape windows in the upper floor.

Is it two floors or three? If it just two I’m surprised Building Control are insisting on separation unless its an exceptionally tall building or you don’t have escape windows in the upper floor.

My last house had that layout and no separation. Building control were a bit difficult at as a conservatory was under one of the windows. I got someone to write a letter saying the conservatory roof was safe to climb on. Which turned out to be true… when I locked myself out.

They signed it off in the end.

Sun tube/tunnels work extremely well

sun pipe, we have one in our en-suite, brilliant

We put a velux over the stairs here. Works really well and lets lots of light in, made a dark space into a light airy space.

awesome idea.. I’ve never come across those so thanks for the suggestions!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Monodraught-SP450GPT-Diameter-Gallery-Sunpipe/dp/B01FFC2MZI
Some Sunpipes have better lifespans and light loss performance than others. Full fire protection and excellent u-values too. 😀

As an alternative to sun pipes / roof lights

Have a Look at the (bartenbach) website they designed a ‘light shelf’ system for a project I bought.

It used shelf structures with a reflective upper face to project light in to a series of deep spaces, both from roof lights, light wells and from slot Windows

They illuminated the areas using natural light + could boost the lighting by using a concealed lighting source to shine on the reflective surfaces. This removed the need to have ceiling lights and produced a very clean ceiling

Lookup light shelves