A re-roof is a five-figure decision for most Scottish homes, and it is often made on the word of one roofer standing in the street. Before you sign anything, it is worth understanding what the money is actually buying and what would change the number.
Indicative re-roofing costs in Scotland, 2026
These are typical supplied-and-fitted ranges including strip-out, new membrane and battens, and waste removal. Scaffolding is usually quoted separately.
- Terraced house, concrete tile: roughly £5,000–£9,000.
- Semi-detached, concrete tile: roughly £7,000–£12,000.
- Detached, concrete tile: roughly £10,000–£18,000.
- Natural Scottish or Spanish slate: add roughly 40–80% over concrete tile for the same property.
- Reclaimed slate to match a conservation area or listed property: higher again, and lead time matters.
- Scaffolding: roughly £800–£2,500 depending on property size and access.
On top of that, budget for the things that only become visible once the covering is off: rotten sarking boards, failed rafter ends, and chimney work. A contingency of 10–15% is realistic on any older Scottish roof.
What actually drives the price
- Roof area and pitch. A steep roof is slower and needs more access equipment.
- Material. Natural slate costs more to buy and much more to lay than concrete tile.
- Complexity. Every valley, hip, dormer and chimney is a detail that has to be built and flashed by hand.
- Structural condition. Replacing sarking, battens or rafter ends adds days of labour.
- Access. A tenement or a house with no rear access changes the scaffolding cost substantially.
- Insulation and ventilation upgrades, which may be triggered by building standards on a full re-cover.
Do you actually need a full re-roof?
Sometimes yes. Widespread delamination on old slate, sagging that follows the rafter line, failed sarking, and repeated leaks in different places are all genuine re-roof signals. But a lot of roofs get quoted for replacement when the real problem is a run of slipped slates, a failed valley, or a chimney flashing — repairs measured in hundreds, not thousands.
Planning permission, listed buildings and conservation areas
Like-for-like re-roofing on most Scottish homes is normally permitted development, but listed buildings and conservation areas are different: changing from slate to tile, or from natural slate to synthetic, will usually need consent. Check with your local authority before ordering materials, not after.
How to compare quotes properly
Ask every roofer to price the same written scope. Confirm whether the price includes scaffolding, sarking replacement, new lead to chimneys and abutments, ridge and hip re-bedding, new dry verge or wet verge, gutter renewal, waste removal, and VAT. Confirm the guarantee and whether it is insurance-backed. Two quotes £4,000 apart usually differ in scope, not in greed.
The single best thing you can do is hand each roofer the same annotated photographs of every elevation. AyeInspect provides that for a fixed £99 residential or £149 commercial across Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling and Paisley, with each defect circled, described and graded, delivered within 24 hours.