The short answer
The main types of ridge tile are half-round, angled (also called angle or A-shaped), segmental (a shallow arc) and the tiles used in dry-fix systems, which are held by clips to a batten. Each comes in clay or concrete, and each suits different roofs. The profile should suit the roof covering and be screwed or clipped down as well as bedded.
Half-round ridge tiles
A half-round tile is a semicircle in section, like a tunnel sliced lengthways. It is the profile most people picture, and it suits plain clay tiles, pantiles and slate of almost any age. The curve sheds water well and sits comfortably on a mortar bed.
Along a Victorian or Edwardian terrace you will often see a clay half-round, sometimes finished with a decorative crest along the top. On a 1930s semi, clay or concrete half-rounds are common. Replacement is simple when the profile and diameter match; a tile that is slightly the wrong size leaves gaps at the joints that mortar then has to bridge, and those gaps are where the first cracks appear.
Colour matters as much as shape. Clay weathers differently from concrete, and a fresh orange tile among faded ones is obvious from the street.
Decorative versions exist as well, with crested, ornate or finial-topped tops on Victorian villas and public buildings. They are much less common today, and matching a missing section often means a specialist supplier or a reclaimed piece.
Angled ridge tiles
An angled ridge has two flat faces meeting at a point, like a tiny roof laid over the real one. It gives a crisp, modern line and is common on concrete tile roofs from the 1960s onward and on many newer estates. Angled tiles come in different angles, so they should suit the pitch of the main slopes below them.
The flat faces take dry-fix clips neatly, and many dry-fix ridge systems are built around an angled profile. If your roof has hips as well as a ridge, the same profile is usually carried down each hip. Our page on the hip iron explains the bracket that supports the foot of a hip tile, where the weight is greatest.
Angled tiles are less forgiving of poor bedding than half-rounds, because a gap at the apex shows as a dark line from the ground.
Angled ridge tiles are also the usual choice on modern roofs with a low pitch, where a tall rounded profile would look out of scale.
Segmental and other profiles
A segmental ridge is a shallower arc than a half-round. It sits lower, and it is often paired with plain concrete interlocking tiles and with some newer house types. Other shapes also turn up: a rolled Roman-style top, a block-end ridge and a bonnet hip for finishing a hip end. Clay ridge tiles may be made to match a particular tile range, and old roofs sometimes carry bespoke decorative crests that nobody has made for decades.
Matching an unusual old profile can be difficult. Reclaimed tiles or a specialist match may be the only way to keep a historic roof consistent, which is covered in our guide to heritage ridges.
When none of the standard shapes fits, the survey will flag it rather than forcing a poor match onto the roof.
Dry-fix ridge tiles
A dry-fix ridge uses the same tile shapes but fits them with clips, screws and a ventilated strip or roll instead of a wet bed. The systems are tested to BS 8612:2018, and they supply the mechanical fixing that BS 5534:2014 expects. Nothing in it can shrink and craze like a wet bed, and it can go on in conditions that would stop a mortar job.
MyBuilder's dry ridge guide, updated in August 2026, gives about £40 to £60 per linear metre as a national typical figure, and Checkatrade's repair guide gives £50 to £70 per metre excluding VAT. Neither is a price for your roof, which comes only with the written quote. The trade-off is appearance, because the strip sits a little differently from a pointed joint.
A dry-fix ridge also tends to include a ventilation path, which can help a roof space breathe. Our page on ventilated ridges explains how.
Clay or concrete, and how to tell
Ridge tiles come in clay and in concrete, and the material affects colour, weight and ageing. Clay is fired, usually keeps its colour for decades and weathers to a soft, natural patina. Concrete is moulded and coloured, often with a surface coating, and it can fade, lose its finish or grow moss in a way that clay does not.
Weight matters for the fixing. Concrete tiles are heavier, so brackets and clips need to be rated for them, and the ridge batten needs to be sound. Clay is lighter but more brittle, so a hard knock or a frost can crack it.
To tell which you have, look at a broken or loose piece. Clay is dense, even-coloured through the body and rings when tapped. Concrete is greyer inside, grainier and duller. Knowing the material helps when ordering a match, because a clay ridge on a concrete roof, or the reverse, rarely looks right.
Choosing, and what can go wrong
The profile has to suit the covering, the colour has to match, and the ridge has to be fixed properly. Common faults are a mismatch in tile length, a bed laid too thick and tiles held by mortar alone. The leak path is often at a joint, as our page on a leaking ridge describes.
The gable edge has its own details too. The strip under a mortar verge is covered in verge undercloak. At the survey we identify the profile on your own roof and photograph it, and a written quote follows. Repairs are covered by a 10-year workmanship guarantee in writing. See the main ridge and verge page or ring 01793 626096.
If you are replacing just one cracked piece, take a clean photograph of the profile from the end and a measurement of its length, and we can work out the match before the survey.