By the Home Savings Calculator team · 29 August 2026 · 7 min read
The roof is bigger than the house it sits on. Measure the footprint the roof covers, then apply a pitch multiplier: a 30° roof has about 15% more surface than the ground it covers, and a 45° roof about 41% more.
Shape matters too. Hips and valleys mean more cut tiles and more detailing, so a hipped or complex roof wastes more material and takes longer than a simple gable of the same area.
Put your footprint and pitch into the roofing cost calculator. It converts to true roof area, adjusts wastage and labour for the roof type, and itemises strip-off, battens and scaffolding separately.
Concrete tiles are cheapest and last around fifty years. Clay costs more and lasts longer, holding colour better as it ages. Natural slate is the dearest and can outlive the building, which is why it is often required on period or listed properties.
Weight is the hidden constraint. Moving to a heavier covering can mean the roof structure needs checking or strengthening, which is a structural cost rather than a roofing one and will not appear on a tile price list.
On a genuine re-roof the covering is rarely the biggest line. Stripping the old roof and skipping it, new battens and breathable membrane, and replacing any rotten rafters or decking found once it is open all add up — frequently to more than the tiles.
Timber repair is the one nobody can quote accurately in advance, because nobody knows what is under there. Expect an allowance in a good quote and treat its absence as a warning sign.
Scaffolding is hired for the duration of the job regardless of roof size, so on a small roof it can be a third of the total bill. It scales with the difficulty of getting around the building, not with how many tiles you need.
A terraced house with rear access issues, or anything requiring a pavement licence, costs more than a detached property with open ground on all sides. Keep it as a visible line in any quote you compare.
Isolated slipped or cracked tiles are a repair. Widespread failure, sagging, or felt that has perished usually means replacement, because patching a roof at the end of its life rarely holds for long and you pay for scaffolding twice.
If you are considering solar panels in the next few years, do the roof first. Fitting panels to a roof that needs replacing means paying to remove and refit them later — our is solar worth it guide covers how that timing affects payback. For the wider budgeting discipline, see budgeting a renovation.
