"How much should roof work cost?" has no single answer, because a roof job is not a standard product. A new ridge on a bungalow, a lead valley on a terrace and a full re-cover of a hipped semi share a trade and little else. A sensible place to start is a range, with a clear idea of what pushes a job towards the top or the bottom of it.
Every number on this page is drawn from national cost guides, chiefly MyBuilder (updated 21/08/2026) and Checkatrade (updated October 2026). Treat them as general UK ranges rather than prices from Watertight. Checkatrade states where its numbers exclude VAT, which matters whenever you set one figure beside another. On the Sussex coast, scaffold licences, access and exposure to the weather can all change the picture, so the middle sections cover them, and the last explains how we quote.
Treat every number as a guide to the size of the conversation, not as a price for your house. Fixing the price of your house takes a survey on the roof itself.
Typical UK ranges for the common jobs
The table gathers ranges for the jobs people ask about most. Each row names the guide and its date, because cost guides are revised and an old figure can mislead. Where a guide gives a range and an average, the range is shown.
| Job | Typical UK range | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Roof repair, all sizes | £150 to £1,500 | MyBuilder, 21/08/2026 |
| Storm repair | £500 to £1,500 | MyBuilder, 21/08/2026 |
| Re-roof, semi-detached with gable ends | £5,000 to £8,000 | MyBuilder, 21/08/2026 |
| Re-roof, semi-detached with hips | £8,000 to £12,000 | MyBuilder, 21/08/2026 |
| Slate re-roof | £100 to £180 per m² | MyBuilder, 21/08/2026 |
| Flat roof | £45 to £100 per m² | MyBuilder, 21/08/2026 |
| Re-bedding or replacing ridge tiles | £300 to £600 | MyBuilder, 21/08/2026 |
| Chimney repointing | £500 to £2,000 | MyBuilder, 21/08/2026 |
| Guttering replacement | £30 to £70 per metre | MyBuilder, 21/08/2026 |
| Roof window installation | £350 to £600 | MyBuilder, 21/08/2026 |
A hip is the sloping corner where two roof slopes meet, and the gap between the two semi-detached rows reflects it: more cutting, more capping and more labour on the same footprint. Our guide to Worthing's houses and their roofs shows which kinds of roof you meet on which streets.
Four costs sit outside most rows: scaffolding, VAT, building control fees and any timber repair found under the covering. Later sections take each in turn. Two reputable guides can also disagree: for a hipped re-roof MyBuilder says £8,000 to £12,000 and Checkatrade £9,250 to £18,000 plus VAT, which is a good reason to treat any range as a guide only.
Check what each figure includes before using it. Some cost guides list labour only, some include materials, and Checkatrade quotes several figures exclusive of VAT.
Repairs: from a small fix to a major job
Repair prices spread widely because the word covers very different work. MyBuilder splits repairs into minor jobs at £100 to £300, moderate ones at £500 to £1,000 and major repairs at £2,500 or more. A few slipped tiles sit in the first band. A section of valley relined in lead belongs in the second. Rebuilding a damaged slope or a stack falls in the third.
Checkatrade's repair guide (table last updated June 2026) prices repairs by area, all exclusive of VAT: concrete tile £90 to £120 per m², clay £110 to £160, natural slate £150 to £220, bitumen flat roofing £100 to £140, EPDM £120 to £170 and GRP £130 to £180. EPDM is a synthetic rubber membrane, and GRP is glass-reinforced plastic, usually called fibreglass. The same guide gives lead flashing in code 5 at £50 to £70 per metre and stepped flashing at £80 to £120 per metre. MyJobQuote (22/09/26) puts a lead patch repair on a chimney at £150 to £250.
The cause sets the price
What you pay for a repair depends on what is actually wrong, and the stain on the ceiling often sits well away from the fault. A leak that starts at a cracked flashing needs lead; one that starts at a choked gutter needs clearing and refitting. So the survey looks for the origin of the water first, and the job put forward is the leanest one that will last. If a repair will not hold, we tell you and explain what a larger job involves.
For time rates, Checkatrade gives roofers at £35 to £45 per hour or £280 to £360 per day, and MyBuilder uses a day rate of £250 to £300.
Re-roofing by house type and covering
A full re-roof is the largest bill most owners meet, and the shape of the roof matters as much as its footprint. MyBuilder puts new roofs at £5,000 to £12,000 across typical houses, with a semi-detached flat roof at £2,500 to £6,000 and a lean-to at £3,000 to £5,500. Its labour figure is £50 to £130 per m², alongside a £250 to £300 rate for a day. The spread is wide because no two roofs share the same pitch, access and condition. Checkatrade's October 2026 guide shows a UK average of around £8,000, most jobs landing between £4,000 and £19,000, with hip roofs at £9,250 to £18,000 and gables at £7,000 to £16,250, those two plus VAT.
The covering sets the rest. On slate, MyBuilder gives £100 to £180 per m². Checkatrade, citing stone slate generally and not Horsham stone in particular, gives £160 to £210 per m². Typical life runs from 30 to 60 years for concrete to 80 to 100 years or more for slate, and those are ranges, not promises.
Repair or replace
The cheaper job is not always the better one. A roof with perished underlay, slipped tiles across several slopes and repeated leaks may cost more to patch over the years than to recover. Our survey tells you which side of that line your roof is on, and the photographs show why. We recommend replacement only when a repair cannot properly solve the problem.
Heavier coverings carry an extra cost. On the Planning Portal's list of triggers for approval is a new covering that loads the roof by 15 per cent or more; a structural check usually comes first.
What moves the price on the Sussex coast
Four things push a Worthing job away from the national average: scaffolding, access, the covering, and the exposure of the roof.
Scaffolding comes first, because most pitched-roof work above one storey needs it. MyBuilder puts a standard two-storey house at £850 to £1,200, with a chimney at £400 to £900. Checkatrade gives about £875 per month for a semi-detached house. Scaffolding that stands over a public footway or road is licensed under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980. In Worthing and Adur the licence is granted by West Sussex County Council, on the scaffolders' application, and ten working days are needed from application to erection, which rules out a rushed start. Brighton & Hove runs a separate system with three days' minimum notice.
Access, covering and weather
Access is the second driver. A terrace with no rear lane, a tall stack or a roof over an extension all take longer to reach and to work on. A bungalow reached from a side path and a three-storey villa on a busy road need different set-ups, and the quote reflects that. The covering follows: slate, clay, Horsham stone and flat membranes each carry different material costs and different skills. Our Horsham stone roofing page explains why stone slate sits apart.
Finally, there is exposure. On a coast that takes gales and rain driven in off the sea, careful fixing is worth having, which costs a little more on the day and saves a return visit. That means mechanically fixed ridges and verges to BS 5534, correctly dressed lead and fixings that suit an exposed roof. Near Shoreham airport the tile manufacturer's specification may call for special advice, which can alter the fixing method.
VAT, building control and the costs around the roof
The standard rate of VAT is 20 per cent, and a re-roof is standard-rated. Energy-saving materials such as roof insulation carry a zero rate for installation until 31 March 2027, then revert to 5 per cent. Whether insulation laid during a re-roof earns the zero rate turns on how the tax rules class the work, as one supply or several. Tell us what you want insulated and the answer goes in writing with the quote. The first thing to check on any quote is whether it includes VAT, and the second is whether it includes scaffolding.
Building control is the next cost. Re-roofing stays outside building control while under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof is touched. Pass either limit, or alter the structure, and building control approval is needed first. Adur & Worthing Councils publish domestic fees from 1 April 2026 and add VAT to every fee other than regularisation fees. The work can also go to a private firm instead of the council, a registered building control approver since 6 April 2024.
Insulation, structure and extras
Thermal upgrades may follow. Where over half of the roof surface is renovated, or the work amounts to a major renovation of over a quarter of the envelope, Part L asks for the entire roof to be brought up to its improved insulation standard, which can add insulation to the job. Timber repairs found under the covering, a chimney stack in poor order and a roof window to fit all affect the total, and none of them can be known until the survey. Our roof regulations guide sets out each of these rules.
A written quote that states its scope is easier to rely on than a verbal figure, because the job is fixed on paper before the work starts.
Why the quote is one total, and how to read any quote
Following the survey comes a written quote giving one total, with photographs of the faults found on your roof. The cause is traced first, so the figure reflects what the roof needs rather than a guess made from the pavement. Our prices are fair and good value, and the document is yours to take away and weigh.
If you are weighing up quotes from several firms, put identical questions to every one. Is VAT in the total? Is scaffolding in the total, and who arranges the licence? Which covering is named, over how large an area, and on which slopes? Does the price include taking the waste away and leaving the site clear? Does it say what happens if the survey finds rotten timber once the covering is off? A firm that cannot answer these in writing has not yet worked out the job.
Signs a price is wrong either way
A figure far below the typical UK ranges may leave something out, such as scaffolding, VAT or the underlay. A figure far above them deserves an explanation. Neither is proof of anything, which is why the questions matter more than the number. Pressure to pay a deposit in cash, or to start at once because the weather is turning, is a separate warning sign, which our guide on spotting a dodgy roofer explains.
You are entitled to think about a written quote. Contracts agreed at your home carry a 14 day cancellation period, with an exception for a repair visit you specifically asked for because it was urgent. For a first look at who you would be dealing with, our roofing video introduces the business, and the home page sets out how a survey and quote work.
