Hi. Sarah's comments are spot-on, and we would also advise consulting with an architectural designer to look at the living implications of each design. We have designed many rear extensions (both pitched and flat roofed) and have attached photos of two examples; Victorian House flat-roofed kitchen extension with sliding doors, and a 1970s pitched-roof rear extension with roof light and bi-folds. Think carefully about how you would like to utilize the space, whether you want to be able to open up the whole space to the garden, or have the option of opening some or all of the doors. Again, speaking with your designer and some sliding/bi-fold door companies will help. Our advice is, take your time, get good advice and whatever you decide, do the best job you can afford, you will not regret it. Hope you find this helpful.

Hi Daniel, The bearing of your property should not inhibit your ability to have a green roof, generally it just requires different varieties of plants which can thrive in shade to be used. I have no expertise in the type of plants which can be used but a good green roof supplier will be able to advise you on this. There are a couple of other things to also consider. Firstly the thickness of the roof will be thicker than conventional roofs and the structure will likely need to be bolstered to accommodate the additional load of this. Secondly consider the access and maintenance of the roof. Visually, green roofs can be a great design addition when done well, and can really enhance the thermal performance of your property helping it to retain heat in the winter and keep cool in summer. Hope this helps.

We went through this same decision process with our 6x4m rear extension recently. Eventually we choose a gable with glazed end for several reason. Firstly several friends and comments online made me wonder about the heat and light issues with lanterns. It will also be our main living area when entertaining so noise on a large glass lantern was also a consideration. However worth noting we spoke to several builders and all came back with slightly higher estimates for the gable than the flat roof extension so that might also be a something worth considering (although that did include the glasses end, bifold and skylights). I'm currently researching skylights (that's how I found your post) and were looking at circa £6k for velux and possibly more if we go for frameless bespoke ones. Good luck with your planning.

At first, my husband and I wanted a one-story house, but our relatively narrow plot did not allow us to build a house of the desired size, so we decided that we could re-equip the loft, thereby increasing the size of the house. We contacted this https://www.roofingassociation.co.uk/ company read all the information on this topic in their manual and used their services. I recommend it to everyone!