Roof lantern / Cupola

[bobby spray]

hello, I am looking for some advice. I am looking to replace the rather decrepit 120 year old Cupola that sits on top of my house. It's single glazed and has trickle ventilation. The amount of heat lost through this means that that sometime in the 1950's someone as installed a nasty internal glass ceiling which will have to come down. There seems to be a few options for the replacement cupola

1. an off the shelf aluminium system from the likes of roofing superstore https://www.roofingsuperstore.co.uk/product/atlas-double-glazed-aluminium-rooflight-black-on-white-25m-x-15m.html - cost £2k https://www.roofingsuperstore.co.uk...inium-rooflight-black-on-white-25m-x-15m.html
2. A bespoke hardwood made replacement with aluminium glazing bars - £5k
   
3. A powder coated aluminium frame- bespoke fabrication to match the dimensions and features of the original - cost approx 7k

we are in a conservation area but the building is not listed. lots of other houses have had their cupolas replaced although none in the past 10 years. What would you go for in this situation?

 

[^woody^]

I suspect that you wont be seeing much of the external lantern once its installed, so the criteria may be the view from inside?

In which case a nice hardwood frame might look better?

 

[Mw Roofline]

I love seeing these old things.