New roof frame: 2026 price per m², types of roof structures and when repair beats replacement

A new roof frame comes up in two situations: you are building a house, or the old frame has had its day — rot, wood-boring beetles, a sagging ridge. Either way it is one of the most expensive parts of the house, so it pays to understand what you get for your money.

Price of a new roof frame in 2026

Prices exclude VAT and are per m² of roof surface (not footprint — at a 40° pitch the roof is about 1.3× the footprint). Stripping and disposing of the old frame adds CZK 150–300 per m². General trade rates are in the 2026 construction price list.

Types of roof frame and who they suit

• Purlin roof (classic carpentered frame): open attic, loft conversion possible, 100+ years of life. Pricier and slower (2–3 weeks). Our choice for houses with a habitable loft.
• Collar-beam roof: a simple option for spans up to ~8 m with no posts in the middle. The most economical carpentered solution.
• Prefabricated trusses: pressed from slim timber in a factory, assembled in 1–2 days. Cheap and precise, but the attic is filled with diagonals — no habitable loft. Ideal for bungalows.
• Rafter roof: for small buildings, garages and extensions.

Repair or replace?

Repair is enough when only a few members are damaged (a rotten wall plate, one rafter by the chimney, beetle at the edge). Replacing individual members plus chemical treatment costs CZK 40,000–120,000.

Replace when the ridge sags, rot affects more than a third of the members, beetles are active in load-bearing parts, or when you switch to a heavier covering (steel sheet to concrete tile) the old frame cannot carry. In old houses a frame replacement is often combined with a knee-wall raise and a loft conversion — see roof renovation.

What a quote for a new frame must include

1. A structural design or production drawings (always for trusses).
2. Timber specification: class C24, kiln-dried KVH or planed; moisture below 18%.
3. Treatment against insects and fungi (not to be confused with a coloured coating).
4. Anchoring to the ring beam, wall plates, fixings.
5. Crane, scaffolding, disposal of the old frame — who pays and how much.

How long it takes

We erect a carpentered frame on a family house in 2–3 weeks; trusses go up in 1–2 days. A complete roof replacement including covering takes 4–6 weeks, with the house protected by tarpaulins throughout. We discuss roof shape in hip or gable roof.

Free quote

We build and replace roof frames in Prague and the Central Bohemian Region. We come out, inspect the attic, measure and send an itemised budget with a fixed price within a week. Get a guide roof price in our online calculator too.