How long does ridge repair take?

Length sets the baseline. The more metres of ridge there are, the more tiles to lift, clean, refix and point. A short run on a terraced house or a rear extension is a small job. A ridge along a long detached roof, or one with hips running down from it, can be several times that.

Repairs to a handful of loose or cracked tiles sit at the quick end. A skilled roofer can lift them, clear the old bed, set them again with a proper fixing and point the ends in part of a day, provided the rest of the ridge is sound. Repointing the whole face is slower, because every joint has to be raked out, brushed clean and filled. A full rebed adds lifting every tile, stacking them safely and laying them again one by one.

Hips and the junctions where several ridge lines meet are fiddly, and they take longer per metre than a plain straight run.

Wet work happens in stages. The bed has to take up before it is disturbed, and a shower on fresh mortar can wash out the face, so the job is planned around the forecast. A bedded ridge on a long roof may need a second day, particularly if the weather turns.

A dry-fix ridge is often quicker because there is no wet bed to wait on. The tiles are clipped or screwed to a ridge batten with a ventilated strip along the join. Dry-fix systems are tested to BS 8612:2018, and fitting can carry on in damp conditions that would stop mortar work. MyBuilder's dry ridge guide, updated in August 2026, puts a typical national job at £500 to £1,000, which hints at how modest the work usually is. Our guide to ridge repair costs lays the figures beside the factors that move them.

The state of the timbers under the old ridge is the usual surprise. If the batten or ridge board has rotted, it has to be replaced before any tile can be fixed to it. Cracked tiles beneath the ridge line, damaged underlay and loose hip tiles all join the list once the ridge is open and someone can see properly.

Access is next. A low roof reached from a tower or ladder is quick to set up. A tall house needing scaffold has to wait for the scaffold to go up and come down, which can be a separate visit. Our page on scaffolding for ridge repairs covers when it is needed.

Weather is the third. Wind, rain and frost all stop work on the top of a roof, and none of them can be argued with. A realistic plan allows a spare day in winter, and the winter ridge repairs page explains how cold-weather work differs.

On a typical visit the order is fixed. The area is made safe, the old bed and loose pointing are cleared, the timbers beneath are checked, and only then do the tiles go back. Skipping the checking step is how a quick job turns into a repeat visit, so a good plan leaves room for it.

For a small repair on a modest terrace, expect the roofer to arrive, set up access, work through the morning and clear away before the afternoon light goes. For a whole-ridge rebed, the first day often goes on lifting and cleaning, with the bedding and pointing following, and the final tidy afterwards. If mortar is used, it should be left to take up before heavy rain, which is why the forecast shapes the booking.

Tell us how many metres of ridge you have, how many hips run off it and whether any tile has already come down, because those three facts do more to set the time than anything else.

If water is already coming in along the ridge, that takes priority and the first aim is to stop it getting worse. A temporary cover, or a refix of the worst tiles, can be arranged quickly, and the full repair follows when the weather allows. That is better than leaving an open gap, though it is not a substitute for the proper job. Our guide to a leaking ridge explains the signs to look for indoors and how the cause is traced.

Where a mortar repair is practical, whether mortar bedding is allowed is worth a read. Under BS 5534:2014 a mortar bed is not treated as enough on its own, and adding a fixing to each tile adds only a few minutes per tile, so it rarely changes the length of the visit.

The survey is where a realistic estimate comes from. We photograph the ridge, check the hips and the verges, note the access and give the likely duration alongside the written quote. No two ridges are identical, so a figure that suited the house next door may not apply to yours.

Behind the work stands a 10-year workmanship guarantee in writing, and a tidy site at the end of it. The wider picture of ridge and verge choices sits on the ridge and verge repair page. Phone 01793 626096, or send photographs through WhatsApp or the enquiry form and we will come back to you with a time to survey.