Roof Structure / Carcass – cost per m² – UK 2026 Rate Guide

Budget rate for supply & lay · typical budget rate before your adjustments

Labour, plant, materials, outputs and waste — yours to edit, as an Excel. Three free.

Rates are UK national (non-London): central London and constrained urban sites typically run dearer — adjust the labour, plant and access lines in the build-up accordingly.

Roof structure / carcass

per m² · supply & lay

£45 – £105 / m²

What is it

The supply and fixing of a pitched-roof structural carcass — prefabricated trussed rafters (Fink) or a traditional site-cut roof of rafters, ridge, purlins and ceiling ties, with the wall plates seated & levelled, diagonal & longitudinal bracing, tilting fillets and galvanised lateral & holding-down restraint straps, set out, lifted, plumbed, braced & fixed to the engineer’s layout — priced per m² of roof plan (footprint) area. This is the roof STRUCTURE the covering, roofline & leadwork all sit on. This rate prices the structural carcass SUPPLY & FIX only — the roof covering & its details, the roofline & rainwater goods, the leadwork & flashings, insulation and the scaffold are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

Wall plates & set-out — wall plates bedded & levelled on the masonry, the roof set out to the engineer’s layout and the trusses / rafters positioned to centres.
Trussed rafters or cut roof — prefabricated Fink trusses lifted, plumbed & fixed, OR a traditional cut roof of rafters, ridge, purlins & ceiling ties framed on site.
Bracing, straps & fillets — diagonal & longitudinal bracing, galvanised lateral & holding-down restraint straps, tilting fillets and the fixings that tie the carcass to the structure.

Rate range

Low£45 – £56 / m²

Typical£53 – £68 / m²

High£90 – £105 / m²

Budget rate per m².

3 key cost drivers

Roof type & access

A straightforward prefabricated trussed-rafter roof to a simple rectangular plan is the priced default. A traditional site-cut roof (rafters, ridge, purlins & ceiling ties framed on site) is much slower per m²; a hipped, valleyed, dormered or large-span roof and restricted access slow the gang again. The London & South-East market runs dearer. It is a key driver of the labour per m²; region rides this note, not a dropdown.

Roof-carcass material spec

A standard trussed-rafter carcass with ordinary graded softwood, wall plates, bracing & restraint straps is the priced default. A lightly-loaded shallow span is cheaper; a heavy cut roof with large-section C24 rafters, purlins, steel or timber beams and attic-truss / room-in-roof framing runs dearer. It is the driver of material cost — the published band already spans it. Structural & ancillary timber plus fixings are about two-thirds of the per-m² rate, so the spec is a strong lever, and there is no product-scenario switch here, so no calculator: the band is the answer.

Location

London and the South East typically add around 20% to labour.

Estimator

Budget rate generator

£53 – £68 / m²

Covers the structural timber / trussed rafters, wall plates, bracing, tilting fillets, restraint straps & fixings, the carpentry gang and O&P · excl. the roof covering & its details, roofline, leadwork, insulation, structural design, bearings, scaffold & VAT

Exclusions

Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
The roof COVERING & its field / ridge / hip / verge / valley details, the roofline & rainwater goods (fascia / soffit / gutter), the leadwork & flashings, and roof / loft insulation
Structural design & the engineer’s calculations, the masonry / steel bearings the carcass sits on, and access / scaffold & VAT
Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
VAT