13 Questions to Ask Before Installing a Roof Hatch

Every homeowner should know about the potential benefits of installing a roof hatch.

When you are considering a roof hatch for your home, you want all the information you need to make an informed decision. However, many homeowners have not yet heard about the ways roof hatches can improve their home’s safety and increase its value.

Besides these, roof hatches also have a number of other benefits, some of which may even surprise you. If you are wondering why you might install a roof hatch in your home, look no further. See The Benefits of Roof Hatches for Residential Homes.

At FAKRO, we make it our mission not only to produce the best roof hatches available on the modern market but also to help homeowners get the information they need to protect and improve their homes.

Our goal is to keep customers happy, safe, and satisfied while offering them top-quality products at affordable prices. If you have any questions about the advantages of roof hatches at you do not find below, please contact us, and we will be happy to help you!

Here are 13 questions to ask before installing a roof hatch in your home:

1. Are roof hatches really helpful?

Roof hatches are incredibly helpful in enabling safe, easy access to your roof for maintenance, recreation, and emergencies. By installing a roof hatch, you make sure your family has a way to access your roof and get outside your home.

Roof hatches also make roof repair and maintenance quicker, easier, and, therefore, potentially less expensive. Additionally, since installing a roof hatch makes it easy to see your roof, you can better spot potential roof damage.

2. What can roof hatches be used for?

Roof hatches have many potential uses. Amateur astronomers love them for easily transporting stargazing equipment to rooftops. Other homeowners use the roof as another patio space to enjoy good weather. Roof hatches can be used as points of egress for roof decks and gardens. Roof hatches also allow for easy maintenance and roof inspection.

3. Are roof hatches fragile?

Not at all. Modern roof hatches, such as FAKRO roof hatches, are designed with exacting quality assurance measures. This ensures your roof hatch will stand up to wear and tear, the elements, and last for many years.

4. Will a roof hatch affect my house’s energy efficiency?

A FAKRO roof hatch could quite possibly improve your home’s energy efficiency by a wide margin. For example, FAKRO DRF DU6 Roof Hatches are great for residential green rooftops. Energy-efficient DU6 glazing incorporates UV filtering, making it one of the most efficient on the market. Additionally, the DU6 is unique, without another alternative on the market quite like it.

5. Do I need a roof hatch?

Depending on where you live, your local building code may require installing a roof hatch. This is becoming more widespread as homeowners and municipalities learn about the safety benefits of roof hatches. If you are constructing a new home, or renovating your current home, check your local building code to see if you need to install an emergency roof hatch.

6. Do roof hatches come with warranties?

Every FAKRO roof hatch has a solid warranty. A two-year warranty covers our insulated roof hatches. Every FAKRO warranty is designed to keep customers safe and satisfied with their products in the foreseeable future.

7. Are there different types of roof hatches?

There are three main types of roof hatches. Standard hatches are square or slightly rectangular and are generally between 4 and 16 square feet. These hatches are meant to be used with roof ladders. Stairway hatches are rectangular and designed to allow roof access through a stairway, rather than an installed ladder. These tend to hover between 11 and 24 square feet. Finally, equipment hatches are large and have double-doors, with anywhere from 20 to 80 square feet openings.

8. Can roof hatches make my home safer?

A FAKRO roof hatch can do wonders for your family’s safety. Our roof hatches are designed to help defend your family against fires and floods by providing emergency access to a safer area outside. If needed you help the rescue team safely remove you down from that high area as well. Homes in locations such as Florida and Louisiana are investing into egress windows due to their disastrous flooding. These windows can be seen as life savers.

9. Will a roof hatch affect my home’s design?

FAKRO roof hatches are designed to fit into their surroundings and complement your home’s aesthetics. Our hatches can be painted any color to match your ceiling for total concealment when closed. Unlike many alternative hatches, FAKRO hatches are designed with aesthetic quality in mind from the start.

10. Are roof hatches easy to use?

FAKRO roof hatches are designed to be easy to use and lightweight. Most roof hatches are made of solid metal, making them quite heavy and difficult to lift. Opening alternative hatches is even more difficult one-handed. FAKRO has created a line of roof hatches that are much lighter and easier to open than alternative options. Our easy lock bar makes it a breeze to operate our hatches one-handed, with gas pistons lifting the lid to 80 degrees.

11. Can roof hatches only be installed in new construction?

While roof hatches are generally installed in new construction because it is easier, they can still be installed in pre-existing structures. Doing so requires more planning and takes more labor, but it is still doable.

12. Are roof hatches a home security liability?

FAKRO roof hatches lock from the inside and cannot be opened from your roof. Simply pull the lock bar toward your body, and your hatch will be secure. Unlike windows and even doors, roof hatches are not a feasible break-in point.

13. Will my home’s value be affected?

Potentially, but in a good way! FAKRO roof hatches can increase the value of your home. This is because of the numerous advantages that a roof hatch adds to residential properties. Roof hatches tend to be one of the most cost-effective home improvements. With a FAKRO roof hatch, you know you are getting the best possible product at an affordable price — but you are also getting a solid investment in your home.

Roof Windows