How Long Does It Take to Fit Dry Ridge?

The capping row that finishes the apex of a pitched roof is the ridge, and a dry ridge system fixes the ridge tiles to a batten with clips, screws and a vented roll, rather than bedding them in mortar. Fitting is quicker than bedding in one respect: there is no mortar to mix, lay and wait on. But the time still comes down to the roof.

The first factor is length. A short ridge on a small extension roof is a fraction of the work of a long terrace or a roof with several hips, since each hip, the sloping ridge running down a corner, has its own run of tiles and its own cut at the top. The second factor is what is underneath. Old mortar has to be chipped off and cleared, the top batten checked and often renewed, and loose or cracked tiles beside the ridge dealt with. Sound roofs go faster than tired ones. Cutting tiles to finish at a chimney, a roof window or the top of a hip also adds time, as does a ridge that is not quite straight, because the battens then need packing so that the new line sits true.

We do not quote a number of hours or days before we have been up and looked, because the answer changes with each roof. After the survey we say how long we expect the job to take in days, and we update you daily.

Getting to the ridge safely takes as much planning as the fixing itself. On a bungalow, a ladder with a ridge hook plus proper roof ladders can be sufficient. On a house of two storeys, or where the ridge is long, the roofer will usually put up scaffold or a tower so that the tiles can be passed up and the work done with a guard rail. Setting up and striking the scaffold are part of the schedule, so a short ridge job can still take most of a day once access is counted.

For scale, Checkatrade's October 2026 roof replacement page lists £700 to £1,300 for scaffolding a complete new roof. Scaffold over a pavement adds a licence step before work can begin, so ask your roofer early who arranges it and how long it takes.

If gutters, fascias or the verges also need work, they can often be done while the scaffold is up, which saves a second visit.

Dry ridge is less fussy about weather than mortar. Mortar needs to cure and cannot be laid in a downpour or hard frost, while clips and screws can be fitted on a cold, dry day. But wind and rain still stop work at height. Roofers will not stand on a wet, steep slope or lift ridge tiles into a gale, and a day lost to weather is common between autumn and spring.

It also helps to cover the open ridge each evening. Once the old tiles and mortar are off, the top of the roof needs the underlay and ridge battens protected, so that an overnight shower does not run into the loft. A good roofer plans the job so that the open section at the end of each day is small, and so that the tiles are put back before the weather turns.

When we give a programme, we say it is subject to the weather, and we tell you if the plan changes. Ask any roofer how they protect the roof between visits, and who decides to stop work if the forecast turns. A sensible crew would rather lose an hour than leave a wet loft.

Ask how many days are expected on site and what they depend on, and ask what will happen to the old mortar and tiles. Ask which system is going on and whether it has been tested to BS 8612. You can also expect the quote to say how the tiles are fixed, since BS 5534 points towards mechanical fixings.

Find out who is on site each day, when they will arrive, and how the garden will be left clear when they pack up each day. Ask whether a hip or a verge on the same roof is included, and whether the price includes VAT and scaffold.

As a national guide, Checkatrade's June 2026 table gives £50 to £70 per metre for repairing a dry ridge, and £70 to £100 per metre for a dry hip. Your own roof sets the real price. For more on fitting to an older roof, see fitting dry ridge to an existing roof and our dry ridge and dry verge page.