Do Dry Ridge Systems Need Maintenance?

You can learn a lot about a ridge without leaving the garden. Step well away from the house until the whole line is in view, then sight along it like a ruler. A dry ridge should run straight, with each tile sitting snug against the next. A tile that has stepped up or down, a visible gap between two tiles, or a dark line where light shows through all point to a fixing that has loosened.

Binoculars help, as does the zoom on a phone, and photos let you compare the ridge before and after bad weather. Look at the lawn and the paths too. Fragments of ridge tile, a loose clip or a strip of seal roll on the ground tell you where to look above. Check the gable ends of the ridge as well, since the end pieces take the most wind.

There is no need for a fixed timetable. A look after any storm, and another when you clean the gutters in spring and autumn, is a sensible rhythm. Never climb up to look closer. A roofer can do that safely, with photos for you, and a survey costs far less than a fall. Our page on whether loose ridge tiles are dangerous explains why a wobbling tile should not wait.

Under the ridge tiles of a dry system sits a flexible roll, bedded along the line where the two roof faces meet. Its job is to close the gap between the sides of the roof so rain, spray and wind-driven snow cannot get under the ridge, a task that mortar used to do. Some rolls also let air move through, which is the idea behind a ventilated dry ridge.

Because the roll is tucked under the ridge tiles, you rarely see it, and that is the point. When you can see it, something has changed. An edge poking out beyond the tile, a sagging stretch or a patch that looks pulled away suggests the tile above has moved, or the fixing has let go. Rolls can also be pecked at by birds looking for nesting material, so check the ends of each run.

The roll is not something to push back with a finger or glue down with sealant. If the tile above is loose, a fix that ignores it leaves the roll exposed again after the next gust. A roofer should lift the affected tiles, check the batten and the fixings, relay the roll and refit the tiles to the maker's instructions.

Every length of a dry ridge relies on clips or fixings that anchor to a batten, which keeps the tiles still without any bedding. Where two lengths of ridge meet end to end, or where a ridge joins a hip, a union piece covers the joint and takes its own fixing. At the very end of the run, a gable end piece closes off the open end of the ridge tile.

These are the places that work loose first. A joint carries more strain than the middle of a length, and the end of a run takes the wind head-on. If you can see a clip hanging, a screw head standing proud, or a union piece that has shifted, the tiles it holds are no longer fixed as the maker designed. Corrosion is rarer, but a brown stain running down a tile from a fixing is worth photographing.

Fixings should be replaced like for like, since a mix of parts from different systems may not fit together. If the ridge tiles need replacing too, a matching profile and colour is part of the same job. Nothing here needs repeating often, but a loose clip is a prompt to act before the next storm.

If you think the ridge has been damaged in bad weather, start with safety. Keep people away from the area beneath, and do not go onto the roof. Photograph the damage from the ground, along with any fragments in the border, and note the date. Then tell your insurer first, because they may have a procedure for repairs, and keep the receipts and photos for any temporary repair. We cannot say what your policy will pay.

Where water is getting in, a temporary make-safe comes first, for instance covering the open section while the proper repair is arranged. A leaking roof is made safe before anything else. If the ridge tile has already blown off, our answer on a ridge tile blown off sets out the steps.

Our survey follows the entire ridge rather than only the visible damage, since neighbouring tiles often share the weakness. You receive photos of your own ridge and a single written total for the refixing. First, send us a picture of the line from your lawn, with a note of where the gap or loose piece sits. More background is on our dry ridge and dry verge page.