Most British roofs are tiled rather than slated, and the word covers two quite different products. Plain tiles are small and laid in double lap like slates. Interlocking tiles are large, lock together at the side, and cover far more area per tile. The difference decides the labour, the minimum pitch and the look.
Concrete, clay, plain and interlocking
Concrete tiles dominate post war housing: cheap, heavy, durable, and they weather to a duller colour as the surface pigment erodes, which is why an old concrete roof looks tired long before it is finished. Clay tiles cost more, hold their colour because it is the fired body rather than a coating, and suit period buildings. In both, plain tiles are small and double lapped, so there are roughly sixty per square metre and a great deal of labour; interlocking tiles are large, around ten per square metre, and far quicker to lay. That ratio is most of the price difference.
Retiling roof cost: what the job actually includes
Stripping the old covering, removing and disposing of it, inspecting the rafters and replacing any that have gone, new battens at the correct gauge for the tile and pitch, a new underlay, new tiles or salvaged and sorted old ones, and new ridge, hip and verge details. On most houses the battens and underlay are why the job is worth doing at all: the tiles often outlive them. Add the scaffold, which is not optional on a full re roof, and the tiles themselves are a modest share of the total.
How much to replace ridge tiles, and why they are their own job
Ridge tiles used to be bedded in mortar, and mortar cracks, loosens and eventually lets ridges go in a gale. Repointing or rebedding a ridge is a common repair and it is skilled work at the most exposed line on the roof, needing proper access, which is why a short ridge job can cost more than the tiles suggest. Modern practice is a dry ridge system, mechanically fixed with a ventilated union rather than bedded, which does not rely on mortar and ventilates the ridge line at the same time. If ridge mortar is failing, replacing the lot with a dry system is usually better value than repointing it again.
Slipped roof tile repair cost, and what a missing tile means
One slipped or missing tile is a small repair and a genuinely urgent one, because the underlay beneath is a secondary barrier rather than a roof and driven rain will find its way through a gap. What matters is why it slipped. A single broken tile after a storm is bad luck. Tiles slipping in several places usually means failed nails or perished battens, and that is a roof telling you it is near the end rather than a list of separate small jobs.
Cleaning roof tiles cost, and when not to
Moss and algae on tiles are mostly appearance, and they matter when growth is thick enough to hold water, lift tiles or break away and block gutters and valleys. Cleaning is priced on access and area like any roof work. The caution is that aggressive pressure washing strips the surface of a concrete tile, drives water under the laps and can shorten the life of a covering that was fine, so the method matters more than the price.
Questions people ask about roofing tiles
How much does it cost to retile a roof?
It turns on area, pitch, access, tile type and whether battens, underlay and any rotten rafters are being renewed, which they normally are. The tiles are a modest share of the figure; the labour and the scaffold are not.
Are dry ridge systems better than mortar?
For most houses yes. They are mechanically fixed rather than relying on mortar that cracks, and they ventilate the ridge. If ridge mortar is failing along the run, replacing it with a dry system usually beats repointing again.
Is a single missing tile urgent?
It is worth dealing with promptly. The underlay beneath is a secondary barrier, not a roof, and driven rain will get past a gap.
Clay or concrete tiles?
Clay costs more and keeps its colour because the colour is the fired body. Concrete is cheaper and durable and fades as the surface pigment erodes. On a period house clay usually looks right and may be required.