Ridge tiles
Loose or fallen ridge tiles: is it urgent, and how are they fixed?
Ridge tiles cap the highest line of the roof, where the wind reaches first. Below: how urgent a loose one is, how it is fixed, and what published costs say.
The short answer
Yes, treat a loose or fallen ridge tile as urgent, though not as a reason to climb up. A tile that has shifted can drop in a gust and hit a path, a car or a person, so keep everyone clear of the ground below. A tile that has already fallen leaves the top of the roof open to rain. Photograph the ridge from the ground and call a roofer. The repair is refixing the ridge, and a survey shows how far along it the problem runs.
5 min read · Part of Roof repairs
Why a ridge tile comes loose
The ridge is the line where the two slopes of a pitched roof meet, and the ridge tiles are the curved or angled tiles that cap it. Traditionally each one was bedded in a strip of mortar. Over time that mortar can crack, crumble or shrink away from the tile, and once the bond has gone the tile only rests where it was laid.
The position of the ridge adds to the problem. It stands above every other part of the roof, so wind meets it first and hardest. For Cupa, which makes slate, a building on a hillside or by the coast is graded for higher exposure, with wind and rain the factors it stresses.
Marley explains that the 2015 amendments to BS 5534 made it clear that mortar could no longer be relied upon as the only means of securing the roof covering. Marley adds that installing to BS 5534 isn't required by law, yet the change explains why a modern ridge repair adds a mechanical fixing to the bedding. Where a ridge has been mortared for years and nothing else, that is the first thing to check.
What to do while you wait for a roofer
The steps are short, and none involves going on the roof.
- Keep people, pets and cars away from the ground beneath the damaged ridge.
- Photograph the ridge from the ground, using the zoom on your phone, and note the date.
- Check inside the loft for dampness along the apex, particularly if a tile has come down.
- If a tile lies on the ground, leave it where it fell until the roofer has seen it, and do not carry it up a ladder.
- If the damage followed a storm, tell your insurer and keep every receipt.
If tiles are sliding, or one has landed on a public pavement, treat it as an emergency. Our page on when to call an emergency roofer sets out the other signs that call for a quick visit.
A temporary fix for a missing ridge tile is to cover the gap and make the area safe, with the lasting repair following when weather and access allow. Even a gap of one tile is worth covering, because the felt beneath was not designed to face the weather for long.
How a ridge is refixed: mortar or dry-fix
There are two ways to fix a ridge, and the survey decides which fits your roof.
| Method | How it holds |
|---|---|
| Mortar bedding | Tiles are set in fresh mortar and pointed, with fixings added alongside it |
| Dry-fix system | Tiles are held by mechanical fixings and a ridge batten, so no wet mortar carries the load |
The BSI lists BS 8612 as current: it is the specification for ridge, hip and verge tiles that are held by dry fixings. Marley's explanation for such systems is that mortar's tensile strength could no longer carry the load alone.
Fixings matter as much as bedding. Each tile is tied down through the ridge batten or held by a clip, so that wind lifting one edge meets a metal fixing and not a line of old mortar.
Where the existing ridge tiles are sound, they can be lifted, the old bedding cleared and the same tiles refixed. Where they are cracked, or the ridge line has dropped, new tiles go on. We explain which applies, and why, at the survey. Our page on mortar falling off the roof covers the pointing that sits alongside this work.
What a ridge repair costs
The figures below show scale, and none of them is our price. Which? Trusted Traders price a new ridge tile, along the top of the roof, at £80 to £300, excluding VAT, from a November 2025 survey of its members. MyJobQuote's October 2026 guide says replacing ridge tiles averages between £225 and £550, with no VAT basis stated. Checkatrade gives £50 to £70 per metre for ridge tile repairs, which is a rate per metre, not a job total.
On your own roof, the cost depends on the length of ridge, how many tiles are cracked, whether the old fixings are sound, and whether scaffold is needed to reach it. A ridge above a bay or at a gable end can need more than a ladder, and the access can matter as much as the repair itself.
The quote you receive is one total, written after the survey, and it says whether scaffold is part of it. Read the roof repairs page for how we weigh a repair against replacement, and leaks in heavy rain if the gap has already let water in.
More questions
Can I refix a ridge tile myself with a bag of mortar?
It is not worth the risk. The work is at the top edge of the roof, and a bag of mortar is not enough by itself to hold a ridge in a gale. A roofer can fix it with the right bedding or a dry-fix system, and can see what else has loosened.
Will a missing ridge tile let rain into the loft?
It can. A gap at the apex leaves the top of both slopes open, and the felt beneath was not made to face the weather for long. A temporary cover or a quick refix limits the risk, so photograph the gap, check the loft and do not leave it for months.
Tell us what's wrong with the roof.
You'll get one written total price.