How to Price Roofing Work in the UK: A Roofer's Pricing Guide (2026)

Roofing is one of the trades where getting your pricing wrong hurts the most. The jobs are physically demanding, weather-dependent, and often involve expensive materials. Underprice a re-roof by even a few hundred quid and you will feel it in your back and your bank account.

Yet a lot of roofers still price by gut feel. They look at a roof, think about what the last similar job cost, add a bit, and send a number. Sometimes that works. Often it does not. This guide breaks down a proper method for pricing roofing work in the UK so you can quote with confidence.

Step 1: Calculate Your True Day Rate

Before you price any job, you need to know what it actually costs you to turn up each day. Your day rate is not just what you want to earn. It has to cover everything.

Start with your target annual income. Say you want to take home 45,000 pounds a year after tax. Now add your annual overheads: van costs (fuel, insurance, MOT, finance), public liability insurance, tool replacement, accountant fees, phone, workwear, and waste disposal costs. For most self-employed roofers, overheads run between 8,000 and 15,000 pounds a year.

If your target take-home is 45,000 and your overheads are 12,000, your gross income needs to be roughly 57,000 (before tax). Assuming you work around 220 days a year (allowing for holidays, weather days, and quiet periods), that puts your minimum day rate at about 260 pounds. In practice, most UK roofers in 2026 charge between 280 and 400 pounds per day depending on their region and experience.

Use our day rate calculator to work this out properly for your situation.

Step 2: Measure and Estimate Materials Accurately

Roofing materials are your biggest variable cost, and getting them wrong is the fastest way to kill your profit margin. Here is how to approach common roofing jobs.

Tile re-roof. Measure the roof area in square metres. Add 10% for cuts and waste. Price up the tiles (concrete interlocking tiles run about 0.80 to 1.50 per tile, with roughly 10 tiles per square metre). Add battens, underlay (breathable membrane at about 1.20 per square metre), ridge tiles, hip irons, mortar or dry ridge kits, lead flashing, and fixings.

Flat roofing. Measure the area and add 150mm per edge for upstands. EPDM rubber at about 8 to 12 pounds per square metre, or fibreglass (GRP) at 12 to 18 pounds per square metre. Add adhesive, trims, outlets, and insulation boards if required.

Slate roofing. Natural slate is significantly more expensive. Welsh slate runs 2 to 4 pounds per slate, with around 20 slates per square metre. Spanish slate is cheaper at 1 to 2 pounds per slate. Factor in copper or stainless steel nails (not galvanised, which corrode against slate).

Always get actual supplier quotes for your materials rather than guessing. Prices move, and a 10% increase on timber battens across a whole roof adds up fast.

Step 3: Factor In Scaffolding and Access

Scaffolding is a cost that catches out new roofers. You cannot absorb it into your day rate. It needs to be a separate line item.

For a typical two-storey semi in 2026, expect scaffolding hire to cost between 600 and 1,200 pounds for a two to three week hire period. A detached property with access needed on all four sides could be 1,200 to 2,000 pounds. Always get a scaffolding quote before you price the job, not after.

If you are doing smaller repair jobs where a scaffold is not needed, factor in the cost of your ladder and any safety equipment instead. A cherry picker hire for a day runs about 200 to 350 pounds.

Step 4: Add Your Markup

Your materials cost and your day rate are your base costs. On top of that, you need a margin for profit, risk, and the time you spend quoting, buying materials, and managing the job.

A healthy markup on roofing work is 15 to 25 percent on top of your total costs. So if a job costs you 4,000 in materials and 1,600 in labour (4 days), your base cost is 5,600. A 20% markup puts the price at 6,720. That 1,120 covers your profit, your quoting time, travel to merchants, and a buffer for anything unexpected.

You can check whether your numbers add up using our profit margin calculator.

Step 5: Account for Waste Disposal

Old tiles, battens, felt, and other roofing waste need to go somewhere. A skip for a standard re-roof costs between 250 and 400 pounds. If you are using a tip run instead, factor in your time, fuel, and disposal fees.

List waste disposal as a separate line on your quote. Customers understand this cost, and hiding it within your labour rate just makes your day rate look expensive by comparison.

Step 6: Consider Weather Risk

This is something unique to roofing. You cannot work in heavy rain, and a roof that is stripped and exposed cannot be left uncovered. You need to factor in weather risk, especially for larger jobs.

Some roofers add a contingency of 5 to 10 percent for weather delays on jobs lasting more than a week. Others price in an extra half-day of labour to cover potential delays. However you handle it, do not ignore it. Getting caught out by three days of rain on a job you priced too tightly is a painful lesson.

Step 7: Present Your Price Properly

This is where many roofers fall down. You have done all the maths, worked out a fair price, and then you send it as a rough text or a verbal figure. The customer compares it to a nicely formatted PDF from another roofer and goes with them, even if their price is higher.

Your roofing quote should include your business name and contact details, your accreditations (TrustMark, NFRC, or Competent Roofer scheme), a clear scope of work describing exactly what you will do, an itemised price breakdown, the scaffolding cost shown separately, a timeline with start date and expected duration, payment terms, a validity period, and a note about your public liability insurance.

For a full breakdown of what to include, read our guide to quoting roofing jobs or look at our free roofing quote template.

Real-World Pricing Examples (2026)

Here are some ballpark figures for common roofing jobs in the UK. Use these as a sense-check against your own calculations, not as prices to copy.

Tile re-roof (3-bed semi): Materials 2,500 to 3,500. Labour (3-4 days, 2 roofers) 1,800 to 2,800. Scaffolding 700 to 1,000. Skip 300 to 400. Total: 5,300 to 7,700 plus VAT.

Flat roof replacement (single garage): Materials (EPDM) 400 to 600. Labour (1 day) 300 to 400. Total: 700 to 1,000 plus VAT.

Ridge tile re-bedding (full ridge, semi): Materials 150 to 250. Labour (1 day) 280 to 380. Scaffolding or tower 200 to 400. Total: 630 to 1,030 plus VAT.

Slate re-roof (3-bed semi, Spanish slate): Materials 4,000 to 6,000. Labour (4-5 days, 2 roofers) 2,400 to 3,500. Scaffolding 800 to 1,200. Skip 300 to 400. Total: 7,500 to 11,100 plus VAT.

The Bottom Line

Good pricing is not about being the cheapest. It is about knowing your numbers, being transparent with the customer, and presenting your price professionally. A roofer who sends a detailed, itemised PDF quote will win more work than one who texts a round number, even if the PDF price is slightly higher.

If you want to speed up the quoting process without sacrificing quality, QuoteSmith can generate professional roofing proposals in minutes. You enter the job details, it handles the formatting, and you get a branded PDF ready to send. Check out some example proposals to see how they look.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should a roofer charge per square metre in the UK?

In 2026, UK roofers typically charge between 50 and 80 pounds per square metre for a standard tile re-roof, including materials and labour. Slate roofing is more expensive at 80 to 120 pounds per square metre. Flat roofing with EPDM or fibreglass ranges from 60 to 100 pounds per square metre. Prices vary by region, with London and the South East at the higher end.

What is a good profit margin for roofing work?

Most successful roofing businesses in the UK aim for a net profit margin of 15 to 25 percent after all costs including labour, materials, overheads, and waste. On materials alone, a markup of 15 to 20 percent is standard. If your margins are consistently below 15 percent, you are likely underpricing your work or not accounting for all your overheads.

How much do roofers charge per day in the UK in 2026?

Self-employed roofers in the UK typically charge between 250 and 400 pounds per day. In London and the South East, day rates are commonly 350 to 450 pounds. In the Midlands and North, rates range from 250 to 350 pounds. These rates should cover your time, expertise, tools, insurance, and vehicle costs.

Should roofers charge for scaffolding separately?

Yes. Scaffolding should always be listed as a separate line item on your roofing quote. Most domestic scaffolding hire in the UK costs between 500 and 1,500 pounds depending on the size of the property and duration of hire. Showing it separately makes your quote transparent and avoids customers thinking your labour rate is inflated.