Will I need planning permission?

Usually not, because the footprint is not changing, although a conservatory in a conservation area or on a listed building is a different conversation. Building regulations approval is the one that normally does apply, and it is a separate thing from planning permission.

How long does it take?

Published guides put most conservatory roof replacements at two to five days depending on size and complexity. The room is open to the weather for part of that, so installers work to a forecast and sheet over.

Why is the price range so wide?

Because it is mostly size. The low end is a small lean-to of around 3 by 3.5 metres and the high end a large Victorian or Edwardian of about 4.5 by 4.5 metres. Published per-square-metre figures for a tiled roof run roughly £600 to £900, which is the more useful number for estimating a conservatory that is not a standard size.

Will it make the room dark?

Yes, noticeably, and it is the thing people most often wish they had planned for. Designing in roof windows or a glazed lantern costs more but is far cheaper than regretting it, and it matters most where the conservatory is the main light source for a room behind it.

Conservatories

Replacing a conservatory roof with a tiled one

Replacing a polycarbonate or glass conservatory roof with an insulated tiled one typically costs between £7,875 and £15,188, with the spread driven mostly by the size of the conservatory rather than the specification. It is the option that makes the room usable all year, and it normally counts as notifiable building work, so building regulations approval is part of the job.

This is the job people reach for when a conservatory has become a room nobody sits in: too hot from May, too cold from October, and too loud to hear the television when it rains. A solid roof fixes all three. It also has two conditions attached that a quote should address before you sign.

What changes, and what does not

The frames, the glazing in the sides, the doors and the base all stay. What comes off is the roof covering and the glazing bars, and what goes on is an insulated structural roof finished in lightweight tiles outside and plasterboard inside.

The result is a room with an insulated ceiling, which is what makes the difference. A conservatory loses and gains most of its heat through the roof, so insulating that one surface changes the temperature of the room far more than anything you can do to the walls.

Most systems allow roof windows or a glazed panel to be designed in, which is worth asking about early. The common regret after this job is not the temperature, it is how much darker the room became and, where the conservatory adjoins a kitchen or living room, how much darker that room became too.

The two conditions worth settling before you sign

The structure has to take the weight. A tiled roof is considerably heavier than the polycarbonate it replaces, and the existing frames and base were engineered for the lighter one. A competent installer surveys this and will tell you whether the frames need reinforcing or replacing. An installer who quotes without looking at the base is quoting on an assumption.

It is usually notifiable. Conservatories are often exempt from building regulations because they are mostly glazed and thermally separated from the house. Putting a solid roof on changes what the structure is, and the work generally needs building regulations approval covering structure and thermal performance. This is normal, it is not an obstacle, and it produces a certificate your solicitor will want when you sell. A quote that does not mention it has either included it silently or not thought about it, and it is worth knowing which.

Tiled, or glass?

The two are solving different problems, and the right answer depends on which one you have.

Choose tiled if the room is unusable for months of the year and you want it to behave like the rest of the house. Best insulation, quietest in rain, and the only option that genuinely turns the space into a room.
Choose glass if the room works but is uncomfortable in high summer, or if losing the light would spoil it. See glass conservatory roofs.

If the frames and glazing are also tired, reglazing the sides at the same time costs less than doing it later, because the access and the setting up are already paid for. See conservatory reglazing.

Tiled conservatory roof: common questions

Will I need planning permission?: Usually not, because the footprint is not changing, although a conservatory in a conservation area or on a listed building is a different conversation. Building regulations approval is the one that normally does apply, and it is a separate thing from planning permission.
How long does it take?: Published guides put most conservatory roof replacements at two to five days depending on size and complexity. The room is open to the weather for part of that, so installers work to a forecast and sheet over.
Why is the price range so wide?: Because it is mostly size. The low end is a small lean-to of around 3 by 3.5 metres and the high end a large Victorian or Edwardian of about 4.5 by 4.5 metres. Published per-square-metre figures for a tiled roof run roughly £600 to £900, which is the more useful number for estimating a conservatory that is not a standard size.
Will it make the room dark?: Yes, noticeably, and it is the thing people most often wish they had planned for. Designing in roof windows or a glazed lantern costs more but is far cheaper than regretting it, and it matters most where the conservatory is the main light source for a room behind it.

Other conservatories

TrustedGlazing does not make, supply or fit windows and doors, and the prices above are published industry guides rather than our own. We match your enquiry to one local installer, who quotes and contracts with you directly.