When your roof in March is past the point where repairs make sense, Downham Market Roofers will talk you through the material options honestly so you can choose the right covering for your home and your budget.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
A roof replacement is a significant investment, and the covering material you choose will affect how the roof performs, how it looks and what it costs - both now and over its lifetime. There is no single best answer for every home. The right choice depends on your roof pitch, your budget, the look you want and how long you plan to stay in the property. What follows is a plain account of the main options, with the genuine advantages and disadvantages of each.
Concrete interlocking tiles are widely available, cost less per tile than most alternatives, and are straightforward to lay. A standard concrete interlocking tile roof typically costs in the region of £70 to £100 per square metre installed, depending on the complexity of the roof and the specification of the tile used.
Advantages: lower upfront material cost, readily available in a range of colours, easy to source replacements if one breaks in future, compatible with most standard batten spacings.
Disadvantages: heavier than clay or slate, which can matter on older roof structures; the surface can become porous over time and attract moss; colour can fade and patches become visible where tiles have been replaced. They also tend to look more uniform than natural materials, which not everyone prefers.
Clay plain tiles have been used on pitched roofs in England for centuries and continue to be specified where a traditional appearance matters. They are typically more expensive than concrete - budget around £90 to £140 per square metre installed - but the colour in clay tiles runs through the body of the tile rather than sitting on the surface, so they weather attractively rather than fading in patches.
Advantages: long natural lifespan, often 60 to 80 years or more for quality clay; excellent frost resistance in good-quality fired tiles; improved appearance over time as they weather; better resale appeal on certain property types.
Disadvantages: higher upfront cost; plain tiles require a steeper pitch than interlocking tiles (usually a minimum of 35 to 40 degrees); they are heavier than interlocking tiles and may require structural checks on older roofs; fewer colour options than concrete.
Natural slate - quarried in Wales, Spain or further afield - gives a roof a distinctive appearance that is difficult to replicate with other materials. Welsh slate in particular is highly regarded and can last well over 100 years when laid correctly. It is also significantly more expensive: natural slate roofs commonly run from £120 to £200 per square metre installed, depending on the slate origin and quality.
Advantages: exceptionally long lifespan; very low water absorption, meaning excellent frost resistance; thin profile looks elegant; adds value to the right property; individual slates can be replaced without needing to source a matching batch easily.
Disadvantages: the highest upfront cost of the standard options; the nail holes and fixings can corrode over decades and slates begin to slip - this is known as nail sickness, and it is the most common reason for replacing an otherwise sound slate roof; Spanish slate varies considerably in quality, so it is worth knowing the source; not every roofer has solid experience working with slate, so check before you commit.
Reconstituted or fibre-cement slate is made from compressed materials to replicate the appearance of natural slate at a lower price point. It sits between concrete tiles and natural slate in cost - roughly £90 to £130 per square metre installed - and has improved considerably in quality over the past two decades.
Advantages: lower cost than natural slate; lighter than natural slate, which can be helpful on older structures; consistent sizing makes laying straightforward; some manufacturers offer extended product warranties on the material itself.
Disadvantages: lifespan is shorter than natural slate, typically 30 to 50 years depending on product quality; appearance is not identical to natural slate and may matter on certain property types or conservation areas; replacement matching can be harder as product ranges change.
Where a property has a flat or very low-pitched section - a rear extension, a bay window top or a garage - the covering options are different. Traditional built-up felt (three-layer felt systems) remains in use but has largely been overtaken by EPDM rubber membrane on new and replacement flat roofs. EPDM is a single-ply rubber membrane that is bonded or mechanically fixed to the deck. It handles temperature movement well, is resistant to UV degradation, and does not require the heat welding that some other flat roof systems need. A flat roof covered in EPDM typically costs £60 to £100 per square metre installed. It is a sound choice for extensions, outbuildings and garage roofs where a long service life without repeated maintenance is the priority.
Whichever tile or slate you choose for the surface, the underlay beneath it matters. Traditional mineral felt is still used, but most installers now use a breathable roofing membrane as standard. A breathable membrane allows water vapour from the house to escape rather than condensing against the felt, which helps protect the roof timbers. It is more flexible than traditional felt and does not become brittle in the same way. On a full replacement, this is the right time to specify the better product - the cost difference is relatively small in the context of the total job.
New battens should be used on every full replacement. Reusing old battens to save cost is a false economy - they are often partly rotten or waterlogged, and new tiles fixed to degraded battens will not perform as they should. Batten size and spacing must be matched to the tile or slate being installed. Fixings should be stainless steel or silicon bronze rather than galvanised, particularly on coastal-facing elevations, where corrosion can become a problem within 10 to 15 years with lower-grade fixings.
We carry out roof replacements in March and the surrounding area. If you are weighing up your options and want a straight conversation about which material suits your roof and your budget, call Downham Market Roofers to arrange a survey.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
