If you live in a typical UK home then you probably have a pitched roof. These are the familiar sloping roofs with tiles or slates that have protected the British homes from the weather for generations. They are also the type of roof we're asked about most on this platform due to huge cost variations. No two pitched roofs are alike and differences in size, shape, materials and complexity of the job can lead to price differences much greater than many homeowners expect. This guide explains the factors that affect the cost of replacing a pitched roof so you know what to expect before you start getting quotes.
Figures on this page are compiled from current UK roofing industry pricing and cross-checked against multiple government and trade sources. Last updated July 2026.
A pitched roof replacement in the UK typically costs somewhere between £5,000 and £19,000, with the shape of your roof and your material choice doing most of the work in deciding where you land. A simple gable roof on a smaller property sits toward the lower end. A hipped or mansard roof on a larger home, finished in natural slate, sits toward the top, sometimes beyond it.
That's a wide range, and it's wide on purpose. Two houses of a similar size can have genuinely different pitched roof costs depending on how many slopes, valleys and chimneys are involved, which is exactly what the rest of this page walks through.
Not all pitched roofs are built the same way, and the shape has a bigger impact on price than most homeowners expect.
| Roof shape | What it is | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Lean-to | A single sloped roof, often on garages or extensions | £3,000 to £5,500 |
| Gable | Two slopes meeting at a central ridge, with a flat triangular wall at each end | £5,000 to £16,000 |
| Hip | All sides slope down to the eaves, no flat gable ends | £8,000 to £18,000 |
| Dormer | A gable or hip roof with a vertical dormer window structure built in | Similar to hip, plus 15% to 30% for the dormer work |
| Mansard | Two slopes per side, a shallow upper pitch and a much steeper lower one | £15,000 and up, often £18,000 to £25,000+ |
Why the gap between gable and hip is so consistent across the industry: a hip roof has more roof faces meeting at more angles, which means more cutting, more waste, more time on the ridge and hip lines, and generally a slower, more skilled job. As a rough rule, a hip roof typically costs around 20% to 30% more than a gable roof of the same footprint.
Mansard roofs sit at the top of the range for a different reason. They're not just more complex to cover, they're a different kind of structure altogether, often built to maximise usable loft space, and the steep lower slope requires more careful detailing to keep it weathertight.
Once you know your roof shape, material is the next biggest factor, and honestly, for most homeowners, the one you actually have real control over.
| Material | Installed cost (per m²) | Typical lifespan |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete tiles | £50 to £110 | 25 to 50 years |
| Clay tiles | £75 to £160 | 50 to 80 years |
| Composite/artificial slate | £60 to £90 | 40 to 50 years |
| Natural slate | £80 to £200 | 75 to 100+ years |
Concrete remains the default choice for most re-roofs in the UK, and it's easy to see why. It's the cheapest option, it's available in a wide range of colours and profiles, and it's simple for a roofer to source and fit. Clay tiles cost more but tend to hold their colour better over time and are the more traditional choice on Victorian and Edwardian properties. Natural slate is the premium option in every sense, the highest upfront cost, but a lifespan that can genuinely outlast the rest of the house's fittings several times over, which is why it's often described as the option that pays for itself on a per-year basis rather than an upfront one. Composite slate is worth knowing about if you like the look of natural slate but not the price tag, it gives a similar appearance for meaningfully less.
Understanding the process helps explain where the cost comes from, rather than it just being a single number on a quote.
- Scaffolding goes up. Needed for almost any two storey pitched roof, both for safety and to give the team proper access to every part of the roof.
- The old roof is stripped. Tiles or slates, battens and old felt underlay all come off, exposing the roof structure underneath.
- The timbers are inspected. Rafters and purlins are checked for rot, damage or movement, since this is the one point in the job where the structure is fully visible.
- A new breathable membrane goes down. This has replaced old-style bitumen felt in most modern roofs, and it's what stops wind-driven rain getting in while still letting the roof breathe.
- New battens are fixed. These run across the rafters and are what your tiles or slates actually get fixed to.
- The new covering goes on. Tiles or slates are laid from the eaves up to the ridge, row by row.
- Ridge and hip tiles are fitted. Increasingly using dry fix systems rather than the older method of bedding them in mortar, which tends to crack and fail over time.
- Lead flashing is installed. Around chimneys, where the roof meets a wall, and in valleys, since these are the points where a roof is most likely to leak if the detailing isn't done properly.
If you're comparing quotes and one is noticeably cheaper than the others, this list is a good way to check what's actually included. A quote that skips a proper breathable membrane, or plans to reuse old battens, might look better on paper for the wrong reasons.
Beyond shape and material, a handful of other factors shift the final number, sometimes significantly.
Roof complexity. Valleys, multiple chimneys and roof intersections all add labour time on top of whatever your base shape and material would otherwise cost. Expect complex roofs with several of these features to add another 20% to 30% on top of a simpler equivalent.
Pitch steepness. A steep pitch, generally anything over 40 degrees, is slower and requires extra safety measures to work on safely. This can add 15% to 25% to labour costs compared with a standard 30 degree pitch.
Roof size. Straightforward, but worth stating clearly: quotes are priced per square metre, and actual roof area is larger than your home's footprint once the pitch is accounted for. As a rough guide, multiply your top floor's footprint by 1.2 to 1.5 depending on how steep your roof is, this is a step people often miss when trying to sanity check a quote against their house size.
Structural repairs. If rot or damage turns up in the rafters or ridge board once the old covering is off, repairs are added to the job, typically anywhere from £200 to £1,500 depending on how much timber needs replacing. This is one of the most common reasons a final bill comes in above the original quote.
Scaffolding and waste disposal. Budget roughly £600 to £1,500 for scaffolding and £300 to £600 for stripping and disposing of the old roof covering. These are sometimes bundled into a headline price and sometimes charged separately, so always ask.
Region. Labour costs more in London and the South East than in most of the rest of the country, which can meaningfully shift the total on an otherwise identical job.
Most like-for-like pitched roof replacements fall under Permitted Development and don't need planning permission. This generally covers replacing your roof in a similar material, at a similar pitch and height, to what's already there.
Planning permission specifically tends to come into play in a narrower set of situations: listed buildings (which need Listed Building Consent for re-roofing), conservation areas, properties where an Article 4 direction has removed permitted development rights, or structural changes like raising the ridge height or converting a hip roof to a gable.
Switching material entirely, say, moving from slate to concrete tiles, works a little differently. According to Planning Portal's own guidance, this doesn't automatically require planning permission on its own, but it's likely to require Building Regulations approval instead, since a different material can be significantly heavier or lighter than the original and may need the roof structure checked or strengthened, alongside meeting fire safety and energy efficiency standards. These are two separate approval processes, and it's worth knowing which one actually applies to your situation rather than assuming either covers the other.
If you're planning any change beyond a direct like-for-like replacement, it's always worth a quick check with your local planning authority, or the Planning Portal's own guidance, before committing.
Everything on this page is a genuine, sourced estimate, not a fixed price. Two gable roofs of exactly the same size can end up costing meaningfully different amounts once material choice, roof condition and access are factored in. The only way to know what your specific pitched roof will actually cost is to have it properly assessed.
That's what happens when you use the calculator and form on this site. Tell us about your roof once, and we'll connect you with local roofing companies who can give you a real, itemised quote, free, with no obligation to go ahead.