A large share of Altrincham's older housing was originally slated. That makes the tiled roof question different here than it is on a 1990s estate, and the difference is worth understanding before you price anything.
In much of the country, "how much for a new tiled roof" is a straightforward question about tile ranges and roof area. In Altrincham it often is not, because a good deal of the housing stock is Victorian and Edwardian and was originally slated. Putting a tiled roof on one of those houses is a change of covering, not a renewal of it — and that changes the technical questions, the planning questions and the price.
This guide deals with both cases: the house that already has tiles and needs new ones, and the house that has slate and is considering tile.
This is the simpler case. A like-for-like tiled re-roof does not materially affect the external appearance of the building, so under section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 it is not development and planning permission is not in play at all. What sets the cost is the same set of variables that governs any re-roof: area and shape, the condition of the timbers, the tile chosen, access, and the associated work.
The main choice is between concrete and clay, and then between plain tiles and interlocking tiles.
| Concrete interlocking | Clay plain / clay interlocking | |
|---|---|---|
| Material cost | Lower | Higher |
| Tiles per square metre | Fewer, larger units | Plain tiles: many more units |
| Labour to lay | Faster | Slower, particularly plain tiles |
| Colour over time | Surface pigment weathers | Holds colour |
| Weight | Heavier | Varies; plain clay is also heavy |
| Suits a period property | Depends on the range | Generally better |
Interlocking tiles cover more area per unit and go on faster, which is why a concrete interlocking roof is usually the lower-cost option overall. Clay plain tiles are at the other end: many more units per square metre, double-lapped, and much slower to lay. The difference in labour is often larger than the difference in material.
Every tile has a minimum pitch below which the manufacturer will not warrant it. That figure is not a formality — it is what stops wind-driven rain being pushed back up the lap. On a shallow roof it can rule out plain tiles entirely and narrow the choice to specific interlocking ranges.
This is where Altrincham differs from newer areas, and there are three separate questions to answer before cost even arises.
A Victorian roof was framed for the covering it was built with. Concrete tiles weigh more per square metre than natural slate, and the increase is not trivial across a whole roof. That does not mean it cannot be done — very many slate roofs have been re-covered in tile — but it does mean the rafters, purlins and wall plates should be looked at rather than assumed. If they will not take a concrete tile, the answers are either a lighter tile or strengthening, and the second of those has a cost.
Slate performs at lower pitches than most tiles. A roof at the shallow end that works perfectly well in slate may sit below the minimum pitch for the tile you want. This is checked before anything is ordered.
Altrincham has designated conservation areas, and Trafford operates Article 4 directions covering development that affects areas and buildings of historic interest. An Article 4 direction withdraws permitted development rights, so work that would be unrestricted elsewhere may need an application. Swapping a slate roof for a visibly different tile is exactly the sort of change those controls exist to manage.
If the property is listed, listed building consent applies separately and covers works affecting the building's character. A roof covering on a listed building is firmly within that.
A new tiled roof is not just tiles. A complete quotation should cover:
Mortar-bedded ridges and verges were standard for decades and they fail predictably: the mortar cracks, water gets behind it, and ridge tiles work loose. Mechanically fixed dry ridge and dry verge systems cost a little more up front and remove that failure mode. On a full re-roof it is generally the better decision.
Replacing a roof covering renews a thermal element, and regulation 23 of the Building Regulations 2010 requires the thermal performance of that element to be improved where it is technically and economically feasible to do so. Approved Document L Volume 1 gives a single roof figure for existing dwellings of 0.16 W/(m²K).
In practice that usually means insulation at ceiling level in a cold loft, or between and over the rafters where the space is a room. Either way it is part of the job. The work is either notified to Trafford's building control or self-certified by a roofer registered under a competent person scheme, and you should be given the certificate at the end.
Apex Roofing does not publish a price list, and we would rather explain why than print a figure that turns out to be meaningless for your house. Two Altrincham semis on the same street can differ by a wide margin once you account for a valley, a chimney, a pavement scaffold licence and a set of rafter ends that need splicing.
What we will do is look at the roof, tell you what it needs, specify the tile properly for the pitch and the structure, and give you a written quotation you can compare like for like against anyone else's.
We will tell you which tiles suit the property, the pitch and the structure — and whether tile is the right answer at all.
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Often, but it is not automatic. Two things have to be checked: the roof pitch, because tiles generally require a steeper minimum pitch than slate, and the structure, because concrete tiles are considerably heavier than natural slate. If the property is in a conservation area or covered by an Article 4 direction, the change of appearance may also require permission.
Concrete is generally the lower material cost and clay the higher, with the gap narrowing on the better concrete ranges. Clay holds its colour, where concrete tiles tend to weather and lose some of their surface pigment over time. On a period property the appearance argument usually favours clay.
Concrete tiles are typically heavier per square metre than natural slate. On a Victorian roof designed around a slate covering, that loading has to be considered rather than assumed — which may mean the rafters and purlins are checked, or a lighter tile is specified.
Possibly. A like-for-like re-roof is not development at all under section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, because it does not materially affect external appearance. Changing from slate to a visibly different tile can materially affect appearance, and in a conservation area or under an Article 4 direction that matters. Trafford Council can confirm the position for a specific address.
Apex Roofing covers Cheshire and the surrounding area for complete roof replacement, new slate and tiled roofs and re-roofing.
Apex Roofing Cheshire · 105 Fence House, Fence Avenue, Macclesfield SK10 1LM
Tell us about the property and the roof in Altrincham, and we will come back to you — usually the same day.
Prefer to talk? Call 07377 461095 · WhatsApp +44 7465 861265 · Email apexroofing14@gmail.com
