The short answer
A dry hip system fixes the tiles that cap a roof's sloping corners with mechanical parts instead of wet mortar. A starter piece or bracket takes the bottom tile, a tray or batten carries the line, and clamps, screws or clips hold each hip tile. The top end finishes with a junction cap. Because nothing relies on mortar, the hip stays secure when mortar would have shrunk and cracked.
What the hip is, and why it needs capping
On a hipped roof, the roof slopes on all four sides, like a bungalow or a classic semi-detached with a pitched end. Each outward corner, where neighbouring slopes join, forms a diagonal rib that falls from the ridge towards the gutter. That rib is called a hip, and without a cap, the gap between the two sets of tiles would let rain into the roof.
The cap is a row of hip tiles, shaped to straddle the join. On a mortar roof, each hip tile was traditionally bedded on mortar and the first one at the bottom held by a hip iron. The diagonal is a testing place, because gravity wants every tile to slide to the eaves, and wind and temperature changes work at the joints year after year.
A dry hip is the modern answer to that: a set of parts that carry and lock the hip tiles in position without leaning on bedding.
The parts of a dry hip kit
Kits vary by manufacturer, but they share a set of components. At the foot of the hip sits a starter or adjustable bracket, which does the job of the hip iron and takes the weight of the first tile. Along the line, a tray or batten is fixed to the roof structure beneath, and the hip tiles sit on it with a gap that lets air move. Clamps, clips or screws then secure each tile mechanically.
At the top, where the hip meets the ridge, a junction piece or cap closes the three-way meeting of tiles. Some systems add a sealing strip or flexible flashing band under the tiles that keeps wind-driven rain from entering the open joints.
The key idea is that every tile is individually fixed. If one fails, it does not pull the rest with it, and one damaged tile can be swapped while the rest of the hip stays put.
What BS 8612 and BS 5534 say
Since BS 5534:2014, hip tiles have been fixed mechanically, with mortar no longer expected to do the job alone. Dry systems meet that expectation by design, since the fixing is the system.
BS 8612:2018 is the specification dry-fix kits are tested against. Marley describes it as the test specification here, and says that products proven by testing are the ones that can show compliance. When a roofer specifies a dry hip, ask which tested system it is and whether it suits your tiles.
Not every kit fits every roof. Plain tiles, interlocking concrete tiles and slates have different profiles and pitches, which affects which tray and clamps suit the roof. Our page on dry ridge on slate shows how the same idea adapts to a different covering.
Dry hip against a mortar hip
Mortar is traditional, and a mortar hip with proper fixings is accepted practice. Its weakness is age. Mortar shrinks as it dries, takes in water, and cracks with frost, and the hip tiles then loosen. Our page on ridge mortar cracking describes the pattern.
A dry hip avoids that failure. It also goes on faster, since there is no waiting for mortar to set, and a roofer can work in weather that would stop a bedding job. Ventilation is a further point, because the tray allows a small amount of airflow beneath the hip.
The disadvantage is look. Some dry systems show clamps, caps or a slightly different line, and on a heritage building that may not suit. In those cases mortar with mechanical fixings can be the better choice. We look at the building before recommending either, and our guide to ridge rebedding sets out the other route.
What a dry hip costs
National figures give a range. Checkatrade's repair cost guide, updated in October 2026, lists dry hip at £70 to £100 per linear metre and dry ridge at £50 to £70 per metre, both excluding VAT. MyBuilder's dry ridge guide, updated on 21 August 2026, gives £40 to £60 per linear metre for dry ridge, with a typical job between £500 and £1,000.
Those are typical figures across the UK. A hip is shorter than a ridge on many houses, but a hipped roof has four of them, so the total grows quickly. Access also moves the price: a hip on a bungalow can be reached from a tower, and a hip on a tall house needs scaffolding.
After the survey we put the price in a written quote. Whoever you ask, find out if VAT and scaffolding are covered in the total.
Spotting trouble, and what to do
Signs of a failing hip are easy to see from the garden. Look for a tile that has crept out of line, a gap along the join, mortar on the ground, or a hip that seems to dip. If you have a dry hip already, a clip or cap that is missing or a tile that rattles suggests something has worked loose. Colour mismatches in dry verge caps are a related issue, covered on the dry verge colour page.
Openings along the summit are another warning, and they are explained in gaps under the ridge.
Stay off the roof and send photographs. We look at the corner on the survey, advise whether a repair or a full dry hip is sensible, and give the answer in writing. See the ridge, verge and dry-fix pages for more, or ring 01793 626096. A written 10-year workmanship guarantee comes with the work.