BS EN 1873
Rooflight covers & guardrail
Permanent mesh covers and guardrail for rooflights that need protecting for the life of the building, not the length of a project.
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Fragile roof protection
CoverLite™ Skylight Protection Covers
The skylights on your roof look solid. Under a worker's weight, many will give way, and falls through fragile skylights are among the most serious accidents in UK roof work. CoverLite™ skylight protection takes that risk off your roof in minutes: one person carries each lightweight 12.6kg GRP protective cover up the ladder and secures the cover over the skylight with the supplied fixing kit. From that moment it takes the full weight of anyone who steps or falls onto it, while natural light keeps flowing to the space below.
- Panel weight
- 12.6 kg GRP, one-person lift
- Fit rate
- 6–10 panels an hour
- Light
- Patented lattice keeps light flowing
- Modular
- Panels join end to end
- Reuse
- Demounts and stores flat between jobs
Temporary protection while work is under way
Skylights are classified as fragile surfaces under HSE guidance, and the Work at Height Regulations 2005 require fall protection wherever work happens on or near skylights. When the hazard only exists during a maintenance visit or a short project, a temporary fall protection solution is the sensible answer. CoverLite goes onto the skylights before work starts to prevent falls for everyone in the area, and lifts off at the end. Because one cover protects the whole work zone at once, skylight protection of this kind counts as collective fall protection, the engineered safeguard UK law prefers ahead of personal equipment. It also works alongside guardrails and walkways in the wider rooftop safety plan, so the risk of falls is managed across the whole roof.
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One person fits a CoverLite panel by hand
One person, one panel, minutes per skylight
The 12.6kg weight makes the practical difference, since permanent steel covers can weigh 50kg or more and often need lifting equipment. A CoverLite panel is carried up by one person and fitted by hand in five to ten minutes with the permanently installed fixing pack, which includes waterproof brackets, aluminium rivets and adjustable straps. A competent person can fit six to ten panels an hour, so a typical run of eight to twelve roof lights gains full skylight protection within a single shift.
- That suits heritage buildings, older warehouses and any roof where plant access is difficult and installation costs need to stay low.
Natural light keeps flowing
Each cover uses a patented lattice design in place of a solid sheet. The lattice gives the strength to absorb an impact while leaving open cells for light, so light transmission stays high and the workspace below the skylights stays naturally lit, with no penalty on a BREEAM daylighting credit. From inside, the building keeps its natural light through the working day. Seen from above, the lattice acts as a clear visual marker that fragile skylights sit beneath, cutting the risk of falls across the rooftop.
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Panels join end to end across longer openings
Modular design for larger skylights
The modular design lets multiple panels join end to end, so long linear skylights, multi-bay industrial glazing and irregular shapes are all covered, and the light stays even across every joint. A Mantech surveyor measures each opening and specifies the panel count and fixing configuration, so falls are prevented across the full opening.
Protect your skylights before the next visit
Get a quote for your skylights before the next maintenance visit.
How it works
From survey to handover
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01 · SURVEY
FreeEvery opening measured
A surveyor measures each skylight, counts the openings on the roof, and specifies the panel count and fixing configuration for each one.
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02 · QUOTE
Fixed priceA fixed price for the roof
The opening schedule gives an exact panel and fixing-pack count, so the quotation covers every skylight on the roof rather than a sample.
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03 · INSTALL
No hot workFitted by hand, no lifting gear
The fixing packs are installed permanently and the panels go on by hand at six to ten an hour, so a full roof is protected inside a visit.
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04 · HANDOVER
Audit-readyCertification and the paperwork
You receive the certification, the opening schedule, and the demount, storage and pre-use inspection routine for reuse on the next project.
Recent work
Distribution centre, South West
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420 m
freestanding guardrail
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2 roofs
walkways + skylight protection
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< 1 month
survey to handover
Surveyed, quoted and installed within a month — and the handover pack made our HSE audit painless.
Temporary or permanent skylight protection?
CoverLite is the right cover when protection is needed for the duration of a project. When skylights need protecting continuously, permanent protection systems are the better choice, and Mantech installs those too. Kee Cover and Kee Dome provide permanent skylight protection: Kee Cover uses a galvanised steel mesh barrier over the roof lights, suited to standing seam and trapezoidal formats, while Kee Dome is a free-standing railing around domed skylights on recycled PVC counterweight feet, with no roof penetration. Mesh covers and skylight railings prevent falls year-round, and mesh, like the CoverLite lattice, preserves natural light for the space below. A surveyor will recommend temporary panels, a permanent mesh cover, or a mix, based on access frequency and budget.
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Panels demount cleanly and store flat between jobs
Reusable across projects
CoverLite skylight protection is designed for repeat use. The GRP handles UK weather and repeated handling, the reusable straps and brackets demount cleanly, and the panels store flat between jobs. The same covers come back out for the next set of skylights, so the cost per project falls with every deployment. Mantech supplies the demount, storage and pre-use inspection routine.
Specifications
Performance & standards
- Non-fragility
- ACR Red Book Class B (ACR[M]001:2019)
- Impact
- BS EN 1873, 1200 J (50 kg from 2.4 m)
- Collective protection
- Protects the whole work zone
Construction
- Panel
- GRP lattice, 12.6 kg
- Fixing pack
- Waterproof brackets, aluminium rivets, adjustable straps
- Weathering
- UV stable, freeze-thaw resistant
Application
- Roof lights
- Asbestos cement, fibre cement, GRP, plastic, glass
- Fit rate
- 6–10 panels an hour
- Use
- Project-length, reusable
Temporary or permanent?
A good fit when
- Protection is needed for the length of a project
- Skylights are accessed occasionally
- Lifting equipment is hard to get on the roof
- Natural light below must be kept
Consider instead
- Rooflight covers & guardrail Permanent Kee Cover® mesh or Kee Dome® railing
- Fragile roof access The whole roof is fragile, not just the rooflights
- Kee Walk® walkways A route that keeps people away from rooflights
Surveyed, installed and certified
Every installation ships with the test certification and competent-person sign-off your HSE and insurance records need. One fragile roof survey covers everything from temporary panels to permanent protection.
Standards
Surveyed, installed and certified
Every installation ships with the test certification and competent-person sign-off your HSE and insurance records need.
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ACR[M]001:2019
Class B
Non-fragility of roof assemblies
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BS EN 1873
1200 J impact
50 kg mass dropped from 2.4 m
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HSG33
HSE guidance
Health and safety in roof work
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WAHR 2005
Fragile surfaces
Protection wherever work is near skylights
FAQs
Questions about skylight protection
Can't see yours? Our team answers on the phone, no sales pitch.
What are temporary covers for skylights?
Temporary skylight covers are protective panels placed over fragile roof lights during maintenance, inspection or project work, then removed and stored afterwards. CoverLite is a GRP lattice panel weighing 12.6kg, secured with a fixing kit of waterproof brackets, aluminium rivets and adjustable straps, and tested to take the weight of a person falling onto the cover.
What is the best way to cover skylights during roof work?
Use a tested protective cover over the roof lights in place of improvised boards. For project-length work, a temporary panel such as CoverLite installs in minutes and reuses across jobs. For rooftops with regular traffic, permanent protection systems such as a steel mesh Kee Cover or a Kee Dome skylight railing protect the skylights year-round, preventing falls whenever the roof is accessed. A survey settles the answer quickly.
How do you protect workers around fragile skylights?
Follow HSE roof work guidance (HSG33): identify every fragile surface, keep people away where possible, and fit covers or barriers where work must happen nearby. Protective skylight covers give collective protection for everyone in the work zone, combining with guardrails, walkways and lifelines in a complete fall protection plan that helps prevent falls across the roof.
What standards does CoverLite meet?
CoverLite is tested to ACR Red Book Class B (ACR[M]001:2019), the UK non-fragility test for roof assemblies, and to BS EN 1873, including a 1200 joule impact test where the cover retains a 50kg mass dropped from 2.4 metres, representing real falls onto the cover from working height. The Class B and BS EN 1873 certification documents ship with every Mantech installation.
Can multiple panels be joined for larger skylights?
Yes. The modular design interlocks panels end to end to span long or irregular skylights, with the fixing kit securing each panel to its neighbour and the roof structure, keeping light even across every joint. One cover system handles everything from a single skylight to multi-bay glazing.
Is the cover suitable for long-term use outdoors?
Yes. The GRP is UV stable and freeze-thaw resistant, and the fixings are weatherproof, so each cover can stay in place across a long project through full UK seasons. For genuinely permanent skylight protection, a mesh cover or skylight railing is the better specification, preventing falls all year.
Can the covers be used on asbestos cement roof lights?
Yes. CoverLite suits the fragile roof light types HSE guidance warns about: asbestos cement, fibre cement, GRP, plastic and glass. The cover sits over the roof light surface without disturbing the material beneath, keeping the work outside the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
Related systems
Permanent alternatives, and the systems that get people across the roof.
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BS EN 1873
Fragile roof access
Where the whole roof is fragile, not just the rooflights — walkways and access systems that keep people off the covering itself.
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BS EN 516 Class 1-C
Rooftop Walkways
The Kee Walk Rooftop Walkway has been developed to provide a secure, anti-slip walking surface that helps prevent falls and injuries. The system is easy to install, adjust, and maintain.
Get a price for your skylights
We have installed skylight protection across UK warehousing, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, education and heritage estates for over 25 years. Falls through fragile surfaces cause a significant share of injuries in UK roof work, and skylight protection addresses that risk directly. Mantech is Safe Contractor and Constructionline accredited, and every installation ships with the test certification and competent-person sign-off your HSE and insurance records need. One fragile roof survey covers everything from temporary panels to permanent protection systems. Tell us how many skylights you have and we will quote the covers, the fixing kits and the install in one price.