Homeowners usually arrive here with one of two jobs. Either a few tiles have gone after wind, or someone has already said the covering is at the end of its life. Those are not the same quote. Mixing them is how a £300 repair conversation turns into a £10,000 replacement without anyone saying the covering has changed.
This page is the pounds briefing for a new or replacement roof. It is not a ground-level leak check and it is not a list of roofers. For the check you can do from the garden, use the roof check after rain. When water is already in the house, use when to call about a leak. When you want a number, open roofing and place the call yourself.
Published UK bands
Checkatrade’s roof-tile cost guide, updated May 2024 and still the band other 2026 write-ups repeat, puts replacing up to five tiles at about £170–£500. The same guide puts a full tiled replacement around £10,000. Larger roofs, slate, and anything that needs a full scaffold sit above that headline.
| Job | Typical published band | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Replace up to five tiles | £170–£500 | Checkatrade roof-tile guide, May 2024 |
| Full tiled roof replacement | around £10,000 | Same Checkatrade guide |
| Slate, complex valleys, or a larger footprint | Often above the tiled headline | The same guide warns size and covering move the total |
A “new roof” on the phone might mean new tiles on existing felt and battens, or a strip to the rafters with new underlay, battens, ventilation and flashings. Ask which of those two jobs is being priced before you compare two numbers. The cheaper figure is often the smaller scope.
Four London roofing cards here publish a £1,000 workmanship guarantee. That is a warranty line, not a price for a new covering. Do not treat it as a job tariff.
How London, Manchester and Leeds usually differ
Published national bands do not freeze a local labour market. London and the South East often sit 10–25% above a UK midpoint because of labour, parking, waste tickets and how long a scaffold can legally occupy the pavement. A terraced street in London with no rear access is a different day from a semi in Manchester with a side gate.
In Manchester and the wider brick-terrace stock, slate and older flashing details show up often. The first figure still has to name the covering. In Birmingham and the Black Country, many cards also list neighbouring postcodes; confirm the van will actually attend your street. In Leeds, stone terraces and tight rear yards change access more than they change the published national band.
Bristol hills and Georgian streets add time for materials. Glasgow and Edinburgh sandstone and listed tenements can add consent even when the job looks like a repair. Cardiff and the South Wales spillover behave more like other mid-size cities on labour, but coastal weather still argues for a written specification, not a handshake on “a few tiles”.
What moves the price more than the city name
- Access and storeys. A two-storey mid-terrace with no rear entry needs more scaffold time than a bungalow.
- Covering. Concrete tile, clay, slate and a flat-roof membrane are different materials and different labour days.
- What is under the covering. Rotten battens, wet insulation or a felt that tears as it comes off change the job after the first lift.
- Abutments. Chimneys, valleys, conservation rooflights and a party-wall parapet are where leaks restart if they are left out of the spec.
- Waste. Old slate and bitumen are not the same skip as a few broken tiles in the van.
Use the roof-area calculator so you can say a length and a pitch on the call. The tool stays in the browser. It does not create a job ticket.
What usually sits outside the first figure
Scaffolding, parking suspensions, skip hire, fascia or gutter replacement, and VAT are the common extras. A quote that is silent on VAT is not the same as “VAT included”. Ask. Interior making-good after a leak — stained plaster, a wet loft board — is usually a decorator or a builder, not the roofer’s covering price.
Building control can apply when the covering changes, not only when you add a storey. Like-for-like repair is not always the same as a new covering on a listed building or in a conservation area. That is a consent question, not a discount.
What to have on the call
Have the covering you can see from the ground, whether the loft is wet, and whether you want a repair or a replacement priced. Ask the person who answers to name the covering, the underlay, the flashings, the scaffold, the waste and VAT as separate lines. Ask how long they will need the scaffold and who owns the completion paperwork.
This site does not email the roofer. Open roofing in London, Manchester or Birmingham and use the number on the card.
Questions before you treat this as a bill
How much does a new tiled roof cost in the UK?
Checkatrade’s roof-tile guide (updated May 2024) puts a full tiled replacement around £10,000. Up to five tiles is a different job, about £170–£500. Scaffolding and VAT often sit outside those bands. A figure here is not a quote from this site.
Why is London more expensive?
Labour, parking, waste and access on terraced streets often push London and the South East 10–25% above a national band. That is a tendency, not a tariff this site can honour.
Does a free roof survey include the scaffold?
Not by default. A survey is an offer to look. Ask whether access equipment, waste and VAT sit inside the written figure.
Where do I find a roofer?
Open a roofing city list and use the phone number on the profile. This site does not send your job to anyone.
Want a roofer’s number?
Open roofing, pick the city, and contact the business yourself.