Choosing a conservatory roof is a trade between things that pull against each other. Polycarbonate costs least to buy and is the quickest to fit, but it is the loudest in rain and the shortest lived. Glass lets in the most light and gives the room its character, but it asks the most of the frame and of the glazing bars. A solid tiled roof is warm and quiet, and it turns the room into one you can use all year, with more cost and paperwork attached.
Hard figures are given only for lifespan and cost, from MyBuilder and The Eco Experts. The comparisons of heat, light and noise are set out in plain terms and explained. Prices are discussed at greater length in our guide to conservatory roof replacement costs, and the build of a tiled roof in our guide to solid conservatory roofs. The conservatory roof replacement page covers the service as a whole.
The three options side by side
The table sets out the sourced figures first, then the qualities that depend on how the room is built and used.
| Test | Polycarbonate | Glass | Solid tiled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical UK cost | £2,000 to £5,000 | £3,000 to £8,000 | £5,000 to £10,000 |
| Typical life | 10 to 15 years | 10 to 15 years | Around 50 years |
| Summer heat | Warms quickly | Depends on the glass | Steadiest |
| Light | Diffused | Clearest | Least, unless windows are added |
| Rain noise | Loudest | Moderate | Quietest |
| Building Regulations application | Check with building control | Check with building control | Needed |
Costs: MyBuilder, conservatory roof replacement cost guide, updated 21 August 2026. Lifespans: HomeBuilding (published April 2024) gives a polycarbonate roof a typical life of 10 years; The Eco Experts (updated April 2024) says about 10 to 15 years for glass or polycarbonate and around 50 years for solid or tiled. Lifespans are typical ranges, not promises.
The heat, light and noise rows are general descriptions, not measured results, and the sections below explain each one.
Polycarbonate: low cost and a limited life
Polycarbonate roofing is made of multi-wall plastic sheets set in aluminium or uPVC glazing bars. It is light, so the existing frame is rarely a problem, and replacement is the shortest job of the three. MyBuilder puts it at £2,000 to £5,000 in the UK.
What you get for the money
You get a roof that keeps the rain off and lets in diffused light. The sheets scatter daylight, which reduces glare but also takes the sky out of view. Because the material is thin and the air inside the sheets conducts heat readily, the room tends to warm fast in sun and cool fast after dark.
Noise and ageing
Rain on a thin plastic sheet is loud. Over time the surface also yellows and clouds, and the sealing tape at the sheet ends can fail. Our answer on how long polycarbonate lasts goes through the signs of ageing, and the one on a noisy conservatory roof deals with the sound.
Who it suits
Polycarbonate suits a utility conservatory, a lean-to that is used occasionally, or a budget replacement where the frame is sound and the room will not be a living space. It is also the right answer when the plan is to put money into a solid roof later and the present need is a dry room for a few years.
Glass: light and clarity, with weight and heat to manage
Glass is the other lightweight-looking option, though it is far from light. Units are sealed double glazing, often with a coating, set in aluminium or timber bars. MyBuilder gives £3,000 to £8,000 for replacement, and The Eco Experts puts a glass roof at about 10 to 15 years, as it does polycarbonate. In practice the life of the glass unit can be long and the sealing of the bars, gaskets and ridge is what wears out.
Light and view
This is where glass wins. You can see the sky, and the room fills with daylight. For a garden room beside a view, or a dining space where people want the sun, clear glazing is the closest to the original idea of a conservatory.
Heat and coatings
Plain clear glass overheats in summer. Coated units help, and so do blinds, but a glass roof is never as steady as an insulated one. The self-clean and solar-control coatings are separate products with their own limits, and our answer on self-cleaning conservatory glass looks at what the coating can and cannot do.
The frame and the bars
Glass units are heavy compared with plastic sheets, so the frame has to be checked before they are chosen. Our guide to conservatory frame checks covers the checks. A faulty glazing bar or a failed gasket is also where leaks begin, and our guide to conservatory roof leaks.
Who it suits
Glass suits a room used mainly in spring, summer and autumn, where light is the point, and where the budget for the frame and the glazing sits comfortably. It also suits an owner who is happy to pair it with blinds and good ventilation in the hottest weeks, and to keep the bars, seals and gutters clean so the roof reaches the top of its expected range.
Solid and tiled: the roof that makes the room an extension
A solid roof has rafters, insulation, a tile or slate covering and a plastered ceiling. MyBuilder puts it at £5,000 to £10,000, the top of the three bands. The Eco Experts quotes around 50 years for a solid or tiled roof, a long way past a glazed one.
Warmth and quiet
The build-up insulates and the covering is heavy, so the room is steadier through the year and rain is barely audible. A solid roof is the one that lets the space behave like a proper room, usable in January and July alike. The heating and cooling gains will depend on the rest of the conservatory, which is why we do not put a figure on them.
Light
The cost of that comfort is light. A solid roof removes the view of the sky. If daylight matters, the new roof can include roof windows or glazed inserts. Our answer on conservatory roof skylights explains how that is done.
Paperwork and frame
This is the one option that definitely needs a Building Regulations application, because the roof structure is replaced with a solid one, as Homebuilding & Renovating (updated July 2023) puts it. Our guide to Building Regulations for a solid conservatory roof covers the application. The frame often needs strengthening for the weight, and MyBuilder lists reinforcement at £500 to £2,000.
Who it suits
A solid roof suits a conservatory that has become the family room, an office or a dining area, and a house where the room is meant to last for decades. It also suits an owner who has had one leaking glazed roof too many and wants the weatherproofing to sit in a few well-understood layers, not in dozens of metres of sealed joints. It is also the strongest answer to rain noise.
Matching the roof to how the room is used
The right roof follows from the room's job. A short list of questions helps.
Who sits in the room, and when?
A conservatory used for meals, work or children's play needs a stable temperature and a quiet roof, which points to a solid roof. A room used for plants and the odd cup of tea in summer can live with glass or polycarbonate.
What is the frame like?
If the frame is worn, out of square or too slight, it limits the choice. A light roof such as polycarbonate asks the least of it. A solid roof asks the most, and the cost of reinforcement can tip the decision.
What does the house look like?
A stone or tile-covered house often looks better with a tiled conservatory roof that picks up the main roof's colour and texture. A modern house with large glazing suits a glass roof. For a listed or conservation-area property, the roof material should be agreed with the planning officers at the council before you commit to a material.
How long will you stay?
If you plan to move within a few years, spending on a roof that will outlast your stay has to be weighed against the sale price. If you plan to stay, the cost per year of a solid roof falls well below that of a short-lived one. House values are left out here, because nothing we can cite supports a figure.
If your present roof is polycarbonate that has aged, the question is rarely which sheet to buy next. It is whether the room deserves a better roof than the one it started with.
Getting an option priced and surveyed
Published ranges are a guide to which band you are in. They do not take account of the shape of your conservatory, the width of the span, the state of the frame or the way up to the garden. That information comes from a survey, which for a conservatory roof looks at the frame, the eaves, the wall junction and the existing sealing, with photographs of your own roof.
What a good quote contains
Look for the make and type of roof, stripping out and carting away the old one, reinforcement if the frame needs it, flashing where the roof meets the house, the inside finish, and the Building Regulations route. Each should have a price. A line that reads only roof supply and fit tells you very little.
Cleaning, repair and the alternatives
If the existing roof is sound and just dirty, cleaning may be all it needs, and our answer on repairing or replacing a conservatory roof helps with that decision. If it leaks, the cause is often a seal, a bar or a flashing, not the whole roof.
What we put in writing
We will price each option you want to compare, including the application and any structural work, once the survey is done. Our workmanship guarantee runs for 10 years and comes on paper, and we clear the site on completion. Your quote shows VAT. Until 31 March 2027, insulation installed in the roof space of a house carries zero-rated VAT.
To begin, send pictures of the conservatory taken outside and in, with its width and projection, and say which roof you lean towards. We can then say what the survey must check for that choice, such as the frame for glass or the pitch for tiles.