Tiled conservatory roofs
Can my conservatory frame take a tiled roof?
The short answer
Sometimes, but not on the frame as it stands without checking. A tiled roof is far heavier than glass or polycarbonate, so the frame, the base walls and the foundations all have to carry it, and the pitch must suit the tile. A solid roof also needs Building Regulations approval. A survey and, usually, a structural engineer's calculation decide whether your conservatory can take one.
What a tiled roof asks of a conservatory frame, why pitch matters as much as weight, and the approval that goes with it.
Why weight is the first question
A conservatory was designed around a light roof. Glazing bars and sheets of glass or polycarbonate weigh little, and the frame, the low walls and the foundations were sized for that load. Replace the roof with tiles, battens, insulation and plasterboard and the weight rises sharply.
That extra load has to travel somewhere. It passes from the rafters into the frame, from the frame into the base walls, and from the walls into the ground. If any link was built for a lighter roof, it can bow, crack or settle over time. Doors that stick, cracks at the junction with the house and a ridge that sags are the usual warnings.
Before a much heavier covering goes on, the Planning Portal wants the structure checked by an engineer or surveyor. Approved Document A calls a loading rise of more than 15 per cent significant. A tiled roof on a conservatory built for glass is far past that, so treat the engineer's check as the starting point and not an optional extra.
Pitch decides which tiles will work
Many conservatories have shallow roofs, and tiles and slates will only keep water out above a minimum pitch. Marley's published figures show how much that varies: its concrete plain tile needs 35 degrees, its Edgemere interlocking tile 17.5 degrees, and its Ludlow Plus 22.5 degrees. For natural slate, Cupa Pizarras quotes BS 5534 as indicating a minimum of 20 degrees. Whatever the table says, the data sheet for your exact tile has the final word.
If your existing roof sits below the tile's minimum, you either choose a different product, or change the pitch. Changing it means altering the frame itself, which brings back the structural question, and may mean a taller ridge against the house wall.
Some manufacturers make lightweight tile-effect roofs sold as a complete conservatory system, with their own rafters, battens and fixings. These carry a smaller load than a traditional roof but are still solid, so they need the same approval. Our guide to lightweight conservatory roofs covers those options.
The frame, the walls and the ground
When we survey, we look at the whole load path, not only the roof. In the frame we check the condition of the head, whether the sections are joined solidly and whether the existing bars could be kept or must be replaced. In a uPVC or aluminium frame the sections are often hollow, so they may not be designed to carry tiles unless reinforced.
Next come the dwarf walls or base. Brick or block walls under the frame are the part that really carries the weight, and a conservatory often stands on shallower foundations than the house. Cracks, movement or damp in the base are worth knowing about before you commit.
Finally, the junction with the house. A tiled roof needs flashings dressed into the wall, in lead, and a proper abutment. Our answer on foundations for a solid conservatory roof explains how an engineer assesses the base, and why some conservatories need underpinning or new support and others do not.
Building Regulations approval for a solid roof
A glass or polycarbonate roof on a conservatory sits in a lighter-touch category. A solid roof does not. For a replacement roof on a conservatory, the Planning Portal expects the building regulations to be met for safety of structure, fuel efficiency and air flow. That usually means an application to building control before work starts.
Your building control body can be the council or a registered building control approver. In Arun, the council's own building control team will say which route fits your job. Approval looks at the structure, the insulation and the ventilation, and those are exactly the things a tiled roof changes. Allow time for it in your plans, because work should not begin before the application is in.
It also pays to ask your own council whether the work affects planning. For a listed building or a conservation area the answer may differ, so check with Arun District Council's planning team, or the council for your own area, before work begins. Our guide to solid conservatory roof regulations sets out the steps.
When the answer is no, and what else to ask
Some conservatories cannot take a tiled roof economically. The frame may be too slight, the base too shallow, or the roof too low in pitch. The honest answer then is to say so, and to look at lighter options before spending money on a design that cannot be built.
If the engineer says yes, put three questions to whoever quotes. What exactly will be added to the frame? Who submits the building control application? And how will the junction with the house wall be dressed and sealed? Those answers show whether a firm has thought the job through.
We survey the conservatory, photograph the frame, the base and the abutment, and give a plain verdict on whether a tiled roof is realistic. Once that is settled, a single written total follows. Our other conservatory work is described on our conservatory roof replacement page.
Related questions
Tiled roof queries
Can I keep the old frame and add lightweight tiles?
Possibly. A lightweight system is designed to put less load on a conservatory frame, but the frame, base and pitch still need checking, and a solid roof still needs Building Regulations approval. The survey and an engineer's view decide whether the existing frame can be kept or needs strengthening.
Who checks that the structure can take the weight?
A structural engineer does, working from the survey findings and the frame, base and foundation details. The Planning Portal advises that check before a significantly heavier covering goes on. Your building control body then looks at the proposal as part of the application for the new roof.