What ho one and all,

When designing a house, roof lights seem like a good idea. X year down the line, they do let in the light, but cleaning and any maintenance are a major issue.

Have some roof lights on the front and the back; of course they are over a void making access challenging. The front one, I can get to with a ladder on the interior balcony, but the rear,(as in the photo) not so easy.

Have an annoying small leak that I believe is due to the construction of the window and how it is attached to the frame. Have a similar issue with one at the front, and have more or less resolved it. Guessing the same with the rear.

SWMBO says to get a roofing guy in but he will not repair anything as the issue is not the roof. Additionally, I don't trust them to do want I want and I'm sure they will find something much bigger (that does not exist) to repair. When last asking for a quote to do some basic cleaning, they all wanted scaffolding, which was going to cost more than the job I wanted doing.

So my question is, what is the best way to get access to this window? My guess is a tower, and a neighbour would loan me his, but that only has a working height of around 2.5m.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Scissor lift hire like this.

https://sab-supply.co.uk/products/5-8m-electric-scissor-lift-weekly-hire?variant=40938982408357&country=GB¤cy=GBP&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_shopping&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22263188356&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw6fX68i-jQMVuJxQBh0L-wP1EAQYBCABEgJ2HvD_BwE

I will give it another shot of water, and no, it is not Velux but Fakro.

On one of the front windows, which very, very occasionally, also leaks, the problem is almost a manufacturing fault as it is the top corner of the frame, where the external ali frame is screwed to clamp the glazing, that leaks. Makes no sense but I assume it is capillary action and the water somehow enters. It tends to happen following very dry weather so I assume that as the timber gets a bit damp, it expands sufficiently to tighten the seal.

On the front, I have more or less solved it by unscrewing (loosening) a section of the ali frame so that I can get some additional black sticky sealant under to improve the seal. But it still does occasionally drip.

And I am assuming that is happening on this window. Doubt that it is an installation fault as there has been no problems for the past 15 years. Whatever the solution, the real problem is access.