Anyone pricing a new conservatory roof meets the same problem quickly: the figures are far apart. A polycarbonate replacement and a tiled roof are different jobs, with different materials, different labour and different paperwork, so a single average tells you very little. This guide sets out the national ranges published for each roof type, then goes through the factors that move a price on a real conservatory in and around Stroud.
All of the money figures below come from MyBuilder's conservatory roof replacement cost guide, updated 21 August 2026. They are typical UK ranges, not Supreme Roofing prices, and they will not match every site. A firm figure follows the survey, in writing. Still undecided about replacing? Our guide on whether to repair or replace a conservatory roof deals with that choice. The hub page for conservatory roof replacement covers the whole service.
The published range for a replacement conservatory roof
MyBuilder gives the average cost of replacing a conservatory roof as about £4,500, inside a wide overall range of £2,000 to £10,000 or more. That spread is the first thing to understand. It is not a sign that prices are random. It reflects three families of roof that share a name but little else.
| Roof type | Typical UK range |
|---|---|
| Polycarbonate | £2,000 to £5,000 |
| Glass | £3,000 to £8,000 |
| Solid (tiled or slate-effect) | £5,000 to £10,000 |
| Structural reinforcement, if the frame needs it | £500 to £2,000 |
Source for every row: MyBuilder, conservatory roof replacement cost guide, updated 21 August 2026.
Read the bands as overlapping rather than stacked. A large glass roof can cost more than a small solid one, and a simple lean-to is cheaper to roof than a faceted Victorian shape of the same floor area. The table tells you which end of the market each material lives in, nothing more precise than that.
Why the guide splits out reinforcement
Reinforcement is mentioned because it is not part of every job. It arises when the existing frame, built to carry a light sheet, has to take something heavier. We deal with that check in our guide to conservatory frame checks. For pricing purposes the point is simple: a quote that is silent on the frame has not yet answered the question.
Polycarbonate and glass: the lighter end of the market
Polycarbonate is a twin-wall plastic sheet, and it is the usual covering on conservatories built to a budget. MyBuilder puts a replacement at £2,000 to £5,000. Sheets are light, fast to fit and cheap to buy, which is why the band is the lowest. The trade-off is lifespan. HomeBuilding gives a typical polycarbonate life of around 10 years, and The Eco Experts says about 10 to 15 years for glass or polycarbonate. Those are typical ranges, shaped by exposure and fitting quality, not a promise.
What glass adds
Glass moves the price into the £3,000 to £8,000 band. You pay for heavier units, stronger glazing bars and, usually, more careful installation, because a sealed glass unit cannot be flexed into place the way a sheet can. Modern glass can also carry a solar-control or thermal coating, which is a further choice on the quote rather than a given. Our comparison of glass, polycarbonate and tiled roofs weighs these materials against each other on lifespan, comfort and noise, and leaves the cost question to this page.
Like for like can still change the bill
Swapping polycarbonate for polycarbonate looks like the lowest-cost route, and in material terms it is. In practice the existing glazing bars, rafters and eaves beam have to be sound enough to take a new roof, and in older conservatories the sealing details around the ridge and the wall abutment have often failed. Replacing those parts adds labour that a sheet-for-sheet quote can miss.
If only one or two sheets have gone, a full replacement is not the right comparison at all. Our answer on replacing a single polycarbonate sheet looks at that smaller job.
Solid and tiled roofs: why they cost more
A solid conservatory roof is a different object from a glazed one. It is a timber or steel structure, insulated and covered in tiles or slate-effect slates, with a plastered or boarded ceiling underneath. MyBuilder's range for this type is £5,000 to £10,000, the highest of the three. Our guide to how solid conservatory roofs are built explains the layers, so only the cost logic is covered here.
What drives the cost
The premium comes from the build-up. There are more trades involved than on a glazed roof, and a good deal more material: structural timbers or steel, insulation, underlay, battens, tiles, lead or lead-substitute flashings at the wall, a ridge, internal plasterboard and finishing. Each of those is something a written quote should state, which is how we set our written quotes out.
Paperwork is part of the price
A solid roof in place of a glazed one is material alteration work, so it needs a Building Regulations application. Homebuilding & Renovating (updated July 2023) says a building control application must be submitted and a building inspector will check the work. Any charge from the building control body is a cost on top of the build. We explain the process in Building Regulations for a solid conservatory roof. We handle that notification as part of the job; the fee is passed on and shown on your quote.
The saving on the other side
MyBuilder's source states no figure for heating savings, and neither do we. What can be said is that a solid roof with insulation changes how the room behaves through the year, and a longer expected life belongs in the sum. The Eco Experts gives solid or tiled conservatory roofs a life of around 50 years, against 10 to 15 for polycarbonate. Spread over the years, the gap between the bands narrows, although a typical life is never a guarantee.
Structural reinforcement: the line that surprises people
Most conservatories were designed around a light roof. A frame that carried a few sheets of polycarbonate was never asked to carry slate or tile and the rafters, wall plate and ceiling that go with them. Homebuilding warns that polycarbonate-era frames end up supporting a far heavier load once a solid roof goes on. MyBuilder puts structural reinforcement at £500 to £2,000.
What reinforcement can involve
The work depends on what the survey finds. Typical items include extra support at the eaves beam, steel sections at the corners or across a wide span, packing and levelling of the base, and tying the new roof back to the house wall. A frame in good order may need little. A frame that has already moved, or a wall plate that was never fixed properly, will need more. We cannot tell which from a drawing or a phone call, which is why photographs of your own roof and frame are taken at the survey.
The weight rule
The Planning Portal's re-roofing advice is that a new covering which makes the roof 15 per cent or more heavier needs Building Regulations approval, and that a structural engineer or surveyor should be consulted before work starts. A solid roof is far heavier than the one it replaces, so the question is not whether the structure matters, only how much it needs. If the answer is a steel section or an engineer's calculation, that is extra work and the quote makes it clear.
A quote for a solid roof that carries no allowance and no mention of the frame is incomplete. Ask what has been assumed about the structure underneath.
What moves a Stroud quote up or down
Beyond the roof type, a handful of site factors decide where in a published range your job lands. Stroud's valleys and terraced hillsides make several of them more relevant than on a flat estate plot.
Size and shape
Area matters, but so does the plan. A rectangular lean-to is the simplest to cover. A Victorian or Edwardian shape with a faceted front, hips and a ridge has more cutting, more flashing and more joints to seal. Each facet adds labour and each junction adds a place that can fail.
Access and scaffold
Where the conservatory sits behind a steep drive, down a lane or behind a terrace, getting materials to it takes time. Heavy slates or tiles, steel sections and glass units all have to be carried or lifted. Scaffold or a working platform may be needed to reach the eaves safely. We work access into the quote at the survey so that it is not a surprise on the day.
The wall and the house roof
The flashing where the conservatory meets the house wall is a repeat source of leaks. Lead is the usual material, and the cost depends on the length and code. Where the house wall is stone, the chase and pointing take longer than on brick. Our guide to conservatory roof leaks goes through those junctions.
Ceiling, lighting and finishing
A solid roof includes an internal ceiling. Spotlights, a roof window or a plastered finish are extras, agreed with you before they go into the quote. Glazed panels can be added to a solid roof to keep some daylight, which affects both price and the thermal calculation.
Protected homes
Protected status limits material choice. In a listed home or a conservation area, natural slate may be expected where a cheaper substitute would otherwise do. Check with Stroud District Council's planning team before assuming a material.
How a written quote should be laid out
National ranges are a starting point for a conversation. They are not a quote. Once we have surveyed the conservatory and photographed it, our written quote covers the work: access, strip and disposal of the old roof, any reinforcement, the new roof structure, insulation, covering, flashings, internal finish and making good. You receive one price for the whole job, which puts it on the same footing as any other contractor's quote.
What to compare
The lowest total can be the one with the most left out. Check each quote for the following:
- Whether the old roof removal and waste disposal are included.
- What has been allowed for the frame and its condition.
- Which Building Regulations route applies, and who submits the application.
- The type, make and thickness of the insulation in a solid roof.
- The finish of the ceiling inside.
- What is guaranteed, and for how long.
VAT
Roof replacement is normally standard-rated. Putting insulation into a dwelling is zero-rated until 31 March 2027 under VAT Notice 708/6, though your written quote will show how VAT applies to your job; we offer no VAT advice on mixed work.
What we put on paper
Our work carries a 10-year workmanship guarantee, in writing. Typical ranges are public before any visit; the written quote comes once we have seen the roof. We clear up and take away the waste on completion. If you would like a replacement priced, send us photographs of the conservatory from outside and inside, with the approximate width and projection; that tells us enough to plan a survey. Our guide to the replacement process shows what follows.