Walk around any Basingstoke estate and you will see both. The 1970s and 1980s developments are mostly roofed in grey or brown concrete tiles, laid in neat interlocking rows. The older village centres and the better Edwardian terraces tend to wear clay, in the warm orange-red that only fired earth produces. Both keep the rain out. They get there by different routes, they age in different ways and they cost different amounts to buy, fix and replace. If you are re-roofing, repairing, or trying to match an extension to the original house, this comparison covers the points that decide it.
How each tile is made
Concrete tiles are a mix of sand, cement and water, pressed or extruded into a mould, then cured. The colour is added to the mix or sprayed on as a surface coat, and many are finished with a thin protective layer that gives them their smooth, even look. Because the process is mechanical and uniform, concrete tiles come in large formats with deep interlocking side joints, so a roofer covers a lot of area quickly.
Clay tiles start as moulded clay, which is dried and then fired in a kiln. The firing turns the clay into a hard ceramic, and the colour comes from the clay itself and the way it is fired, not from a coating. Some clay tiles are machine-made and very regular. Others are hand-made, with slight variations in shape and shade that give a roof its character. Clay also comes in more forms: small plain tiles, curved pantiles and interlocking profiles.
That difference in origin explains most of what follows. A tile that is coloured through the clay cannot lose its colour by wear. A tile with a coated surface can.
How they look, and how they look in thirty years
New concrete and new clay can look alike from the pavement. The gap opens with age. Clay generally weathers gently. It collects moss and lichen on shaded slopes and acquires a mellow patina, but the underlying colour stays. That is why a clay roof on an old cottage looks as though it belongs there.
Concrete ages more visibly. The surface coating fades and wears, exposing the grey of the cement underneath, and the surface can become rough and porous enough to hold moss and algae. A concrete roof 40 years old is often streaked and patchy, particularly on north-facing slopes under trees. That does not mean it has failed; it often means the roof wants a clean, as our page on cleaning slate, clay and concrete roofs explains. But the colour will not return the way a clay tile's does.
Lifespan and the problems each one has
Well-made clay tiles can outlast the timbers under them, and it is common to find clay roofs reclaimed and relaid after more than a century. The usual causes of clay failure are frost damage and laminating, where the face of a poorly fired tile flakes off after water gets into it. We cover that in our answer on why clay tiles flake. Another is the fixings: the tiles last, but the nails or battens behind them do not.
Concrete tiles have a shorter proven record because the material has been in widespread use for a shorter time, and they are less forgiving in some ways. The tile body is strong, but the surface wears, the tiles can become brittle at the edges, and the interlocking joints can crack if the roof is walked on carelessly. If you are weighing up how long yours should last, our short answer on how long concrete tile roofs last goes into it.
Both materials share the same enemies: movement in the roof structure, failed fixings, blocked valleys and poor ridge detailing. In practice, the tile is rarely what lets a roof down. The nails, the battens, the underlay and the mortar usually go first.
Weight, structure and the 15% rule
Tiles are heavy, and the roof timbers are designed around that weight. Clay and concrete differ in weight depending on the profile, the thickness and the size, and a plain clay tile is not necessarily lighter than a large concrete one once you count tiles per square metre. The number to compare is the weight of the finished covering per square metre, which the manufacturer publishes, not the weight of one tile in your hand. Our answer on how heavy concrete and clay roof tiles are gives the background.
It matters because of a Building Regulations point. Approved Document A sets the test: if the new covering comes out 15% or more above the weight of the old one, building control must approve it and the rafters may need strengthening. Swapping lightweight tiles or slate for a heavy concrete or clay tile can cross that line. Swapping like for like normally does not. Where a house has an old, light roof structure, a heavier replacement may call for extra support in the rafters, and it is better to find that out before ordering tiles. The weight comparison is part of our survey, and where the job is notifiable we make the application to building control ourselves.
Wind, noise and everyday weather
Both tiles shed rain well, and the difference shows in the wind. Large interlocking concrete tiles lock together along their sides, so a gust has to overcome the whole row rather than one tile. Small plain clay tiles hang individually on nibs, which suits a steep pitch and gives a roof that moves a little with the timbers, but each tile needs its own fixing discipline. In both cases the exposure of the site and the quality of the fixings matter more than the tile body. Our guide to BS 5534 and roof tile fixing explains how that works.
Sound travels differently too. A tiled roof is a hard surface, and heavy rain on it is audible in a bedroom directly under the slope, whichever material is on top. Insulation and the underlay below do more to quiet a roof than the choice between clay and concrete. Warmth is similar: neither tile insulates, and the loft insulation and ventilation do that work. Clay and concrete both absorb a little water and release it again, which is part of why both need decent ventilation below them to stay healthy.
What each one costs
Concrete is the cheaper tile to buy, and its large format means fewer tiles per square metre and faster laying, so labour is usually lower. Clay costs more, with hand-made and specialist clay costing most. Typical UK ranges reported by one cost guide put a re-roof in concrete tiles on a three-bedroom semi at £6,500 to £10,500, while a wider guide reports a spread of £4,000 up to £13,000 across new roofs on semis and detached houses. These are national orientation figures, not Beacon prices. Once we have seen the roof, your fixed quote follows the survey, because the size of the roof, the access, the scaffolding and the condition of the timbers drive the total as much as the tile.
The better question is cost over time. A concrete roof that costs less now may need replacing sooner than a clay roof that cost more. Against that, a house you plan to sell in a few years may not need clay. If you plan to stay, the extra can be spread across many more winters. Our page on the cost of tiled roof repairs deals with the repair end of the same question.
| Point | Concrete tile | Clay tile |
|---|---|---|
| Colour | Coated or pigmented, fades and wears at the surface | Fired through the body, keeps its colour |
| Ageing | Streaks, roughens and holds moss and algae | Develops a patina, can flake if poorly fired |
| Cost to buy | Lower | Higher, highest for hand-made |
| Laying | Large interlocking format, quicker | Plain tiles slower, interlocking clay quicker |
| Matching later repairs | Hard once the surface has weathered | Reclaimed tiles often blend well |
Repairs, matching and mixed roofs
This is where homeowners most often discover the difference. A broken tile on a 30-year-old concrete roof is easy to replace in principle and hard to match in practice, because the surface colour has shifted and new tiles look like patches. A reclaimed concrete tile of the same profile can help. On clay, a reclaimed tile from a salvage yard often disappears into the roof, because the colour range of old clay is wide. We go into this properly in our page on matching new tiles to an old roof.
Profiles matter as much as colour. A tile that looks the same from the ground may have a different headlap, a different side lock or a different thickness, and tiles from different manufacturers are rarely interchangeable. Mixing profiles on one slope almost always shows and can leak. On an extension, the usual solution is to match the existing tile as closely as can be done, or to use a clearly different but complementary tile on a separate roof section.
Which suits which house
For an estate house from the 1970s or later, with concrete tiles in decent order, concrete is the natural like-for-like choice, and a replacement in the same profile keeps the street coherent. For a period house, a house in a conservation area or one with clay hung on the walls, clay is the better match and may be required by the council. Check with your council's planning team or conservation officer before you change the look of a roof in a protected area.
A few other practical points belong here. Clay is the better material under overhanging trees, because it resists moss better than rough concrete. Concrete is the better material for a tight budget on a plain roof with simple shapes. And if you are keen on a particular look, such as the narrow-gauge appearance of plain tiles, you should know that plain clay tiles take far more labour per square metre than interlocking ones, which affects the quote. Our guide to plain tiles and interlocking tiles compares those two formats directly.
How we help you decide
We survey the roof before we recommend a tile. We photograph the condition of the existing covering, check the fixings and battens, and note whether the structure can take a heavier covering. If the existing tiles have years left, we say so and quote a repair. If a new covering is the sensible answer, the report sets out the options with the reasoning, and the fixed quote spells out the tile, the fixings and the finish. We clear the site afterwards and the work comes with a written 10-year workmanship guarantee. You can read more about pitched roofing in Basingstoke on our service page.
