Conservatory roof replacement in Leeds

Conservatory roof replacement runs to several thousand pounds, so the first honest thing to say is that it is not always worth doing. Below is what the work costs in Leeds, what moves that number up and down, and how to tell whether your conservatory is even a candidate before anyone comes out to look at it.

The reason people do it is simple enough. Most conservatories are unusable for a good part of the year: boiling by ten in the morning in July, freezing from October, and far too loud to sit in during heavy rain. An insulated solid roof stops the room being a corridor to the garden and starts it being a room.

I am a roofer, not a window company. There is no home survey appointment, no presentation at your kitchen table, and no price that expires when I leave. What I do is check whether the frames and base carry the extra weight, and where they do not, say so instead of quoting.

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conservatory roof replacement on a typical Yorkshire house

Solid roof conversion
Insulated panels
Glass and polycarbonate replacement

You probably need this if

Signs worth acting on

A room nobody uses in summer or winter
Rain on the roof loud enough to stop conversation
Condensation running down the inside of the glazing
Polycarbonate panels that have gone cloudy, green or started slipping

How I do it

What the job involves

1
Check the frames and base take the load
A solid roof is heavier than what is up there now. This gets confirmed before anything is agreed, not after the old one is off.
2
Agree a fixed price
One number, written down, covering the work described. If something unforeseen turns up you hear about it before it is done, not on the invoice.
3
Strip and build the new structure
Insulated panels on a timber frame, tied properly into the house wall and made watertight the same day the old roof comes off.
4
Finish inside as well
Plastered and ready to decorate, so it reads as a room rather than a converted conservatory.
5
Building control sign-off
A solid roof is notifiable building work. The paperwork gets done, because it is the part that surfaces years later when you sell.

Before you ring anyone

What a conservatory roof replacement costs

Almost nobody in this trade puts a number on their website, which is why the only figure most people find is a directory average. Here it is, with where it comes from, so you can judge a quote against something before you take a single call.

£5,200 to £10,000

Checkatrade publishes a Leeds range of £5,203 to £10,034 for conservatory roof conversions, averaging £7,209. That is the figure Google puts in front of people before they reach any roofer, so it is the sensible place to start. What it is not is a quote. Yours depends on the five things below.

What moves the number

Size and shape: A three metre lean-to off a semi and a five metre Victorian-style roof with hips and valleys are different jobs, and the shape matters more than the floor area.
What is up there now: Polycarbonate comes off easily. Sealed glass units are heavier, slower and need more care getting down.
Whether the frames carry it: Sound uPVC frames in good order usually take a solid roof as they are. Frames that have dropped need work first, and that is where a cheap quote turns expensive.
The finish inside: Plastered and skimmed ready to decorate costs more than a panelled ceiling. Spotlights, a roof window or a vaulted finish all move it again.
Access: A conservatory you can walk scaffold and materials up to is cheaper than one behind a locked ginnel or a steep garden.

When it is not worth doing: if the frames have dropped, the base has moved, or the conservatory was badly built to begin with, a new roof is money going onto a structure that needs redoing anyway. That is a rebuild conversation, not a re-roof, and it is better had at the quote than halfway through.

On your street

Where the Leeds conservatories are, and how old

The conservatory boom that put most of these on the back of houses ran through the late nineties and 2000s, which lands them on the estates built or extended in that window: Alwoodley, Cookridge, Holt Park, Whinmoor, Swarcliffe, Rothwell, Garforth and out towards Wetherby. Twenty-odd years on, that is exactly the age at which polycarbonate goes cloudy and green and the sealed units start misting.

On the older housing closer in, the same problem arrives as a glass lean-to on the back of a terrace or a Victorian villa in Chapel Allerton or Roundhay. Those are usually smaller, often taller, and the junction with a three-storey rear wall matters more than the roof panel itself.

Whichever you have got, the honest question to ask first is whether the frames are worth keeping. On a twenty-year-old uPVC conservatory in good condition they usually are, and re-roofing it is a fraction of the cost of rebuilding the room. Where the frames have dropped, the base has moved or the whole thing was built badly in the first place, spending on a new roof over it is money going into a structure that will need doing again. I would rather tell you that at the quote than halfway through the job.

One thing worth knowing before you start ringing round: putting a solid roof on a conservatory is building work, and it normally needs building regulations approval covering structure, thermal performance and how the room is separated from the house. A firm that tells you it needs nothing at all is telling you something useful about the firm.

Not sure if that is what you have got?

Send me a photo. I will tell you what I think it is and roughly what it costs, before anyone comes out.

Call 07770 902292

Conservatory Roof Replacement: common questions

What does it cost to replace a conservatory roof?

Most conservatory roof replacements land between £5,200 and £10,000, with the Leeds average around £7,200 according to Checkatrade. Where yours sits depends on the size and shape of the roof, whether the existing frames carry the extra weight, what is up there now, and how the room is finished inside. Anyone quoting before they have looked at the frames is guessing.

Can I get a grant to replace my conservatory roof?

Not realistically. The government energy-efficiency schemes are aimed at insulating heated living space, and a conservatory is usually treated as separate from the heated part of the house, which puts it outside them. If someone offers you a grant for a conservatory roof, check carefully whether what they are describing is actually a finance agreement.

Can you just replace the roof, or does the whole conservatory have to go?

On most conservatories the roof alone can be replaced and the frames and base stay. That is the normal job and it costs a fraction of a rebuild. The exception is where the frames have dropped or the base has moved, in which case a new roof sits on something that needs redoing anyway. Checking that is the first thing I do.

Is it worth putting a solid roof on a conservatory?

It is worth it if the reason you never use the room is temperature or noise, because an insulated solid roof fixes both and typically turns a three-season room into one you use all year. It is not worth it if the structure underneath is failing, or if you like the light and would miss it, in which case roof windows in the new roof are worth discussing before you commit.

Does a replacement conservatory roof need building regulations approval?

Normally yes. Swapping a lightweight roof for a solid one is notifiable building work covering structure, thermal performance and how the room is separated from the house. It matters years later, when a solicitor acting for your buyer asks for the paperwork and there is none.

How much does a roof repair cost in Leeds?

Most small repairs, a slipped tile or a bit of flashing, land between £150 and £400. A bigger job needs a look first. I quote in writing before anything starts, and the quote is the price.

Do you charge for quotes?

No. I come out, look at the roof properly, and tell you what it needs. If it does not need doing, I will say so.

How quickly can you come out?

For a leak, usually the same day or the next morning. I will get it watertight first and sort the proper repair once the weather allows.

Are you insured?

Yes, fully insured for public liability. Ask to see the certificate and I will send it over before I start.