Kitchen Rooflight on Lancashire

Does anybody know how to remove the inner cover on the Kitchen Rooflight on my 2012 Lancashire? It looks like this:



I have tried to prise off what look like ventilation covers - slotted and ridged - (like the covers which conceal the fixing screws on the Heki) but they don't want to shift. Neither are there any screw covers visible!

I need to remove the blind unit to clean it and to re-tension the flyscreen blind which will not retract - presumably it has got a bit greasy from cooking fumes.

Would appreciate some help on this.

When I replaced the blinds on our van I feel sure that bottom cover was secured by screws in to the top half of the windows assembly ( quite possible a different window fitting but it looks the same )

roli wrote:When I replaced the blinds on our van I feel sure that bottom cover was secured by screws in to the top half of the windows assembly ( quite possible a different window fitting but it looks the same )

There must be screws somewhere which is why I was trying to remove the vented parts to expose the fixings. They must come off somehow but I cannot see in whkch direction (out or down). There are not any screw cover caps that I can see!

Can you look down through the skylight to what's behind the cover from the outside for any clues?

steve00136 wrote:Can you look down through the skylight to what's behind the cover from the outside for any clues?

Looking from above won't help at all because the aperture in the blinds cassette is the same size as the hole in the roof.  There is also a part of the blinds cassette that overlaps from the inside the part of the outside that goes into the aperture.

I am taking the van to Willersey in May for its habitation check so will ask Mark then if nobody has any clues before then.

Thanks anyway.

PROBLEM SOLVED!

I rang Mark today and, after checking the Build Number, he told me that the rooklight is a Remis Vario II.
The internal frame is not screwed to the roof at all, it merely clips onto the roof.  There are 6 fixings around the frame, 2 at each of front and back and one in the middle of each side and they pop onto some mushroom stalks which are screwed to the aperture. Here is a picture of the aperure with the inner frame removed.



Getting the frame off those clips is quite nerve-racking.  They are tight and you need to slip a knife in between frame and roof near the corners and prise carefully, moving down the sides. I guess a palette knife would be good - I used my Swiss Army which worked, but I had no idea where the clips were.

Once off, I took the frame into the house to clean it up and to try to work out how to get at the flymesh roller to clean the mesh and to re-tension.
This is what the inside of the frame looks like (after cleaning):



There is a cover over the roller - in my case with a Remis label - which is secured by two screws and some clips which secure it to the internal sides.  You need to remove the screws and also the black rubbery female fixing that fits onto one of the male mushrooms shown in the first photo.

Once that is done you see this:



The roller fits into some square slots but to get it out you need to undo the small screw that holds the end of a piece of nylon cord on the right of the picture.  The cord appears to keep the concertina blind square when it is pulled across. The cord fastening can be left attached at the left of the picture.



Twist the metal end to the fly screen so that it can be removed from the frame and carefully lift the roller out, allowing the spring tension to release.  The metal end can be slid out from the end of the mesh and a slim nylon rod can also be removed from the end of the material.  There is also a flat bridging piece of plastic that covers the gap between fly mesh and concertina blind that will probably fall out at this stage - note where it came from. The mesh is glued to the roller so cannot be removed, nor should it be allowed to get wet at that end. 

Clean the mesh and plastic frame and then reassemble.  To tension the nylon cord it helps if the concertina blind is almost closed.  Be careful that the cord sits above the sliding metal when reassembling.

Once it is completely reassembled with the tension properly adjusted and operation tested the frame can be carefully popped back onto the six mushroom shaped clips.  You may have to use your fist to knock it back on but be careful that the joining trims of the roof lining are not stopping it from going fully home on the central side clips.

I hope that this post helps anyone else who needs to get access to the internals for cleaning or re-tensioning. 

Maybe moderators may like to copy this into the Factsheets secton of the forum?

Wow! On behalf of us all, THANK YOU, Ron. That's a perfect example of the value of this wonderful, co-operative Forum.

Whilst I don't yet have the problem, nevertheless I've bookmarked the URL for that inevitable time in future when I shall!  Then I'll be so grateful to you. Well done!
Cymro

Looks a lot more substantial unit than the flimsy mk unit and blind fitted to mine.