How long does a ridge repair take?

These are working expectations from the trade, not guarantees, and your own roof decides.

Repointing

Repointing means raking out the loose mortar and filling it again, with the tiles left in place. It is the quickest option, and a short ridge is usually a part-day job once access is up.

Re-bedding

Re-bedding lifts the tiles, clears the old bed, and relays the tiles with a fresh bed and mechanical fixing. Each tile is handled twice, so it takes noticeably longer than repointing. A typical terraced or semi-detached ridge is usually a day or two once the access is in place, while a long detached roof with hips takes longer.

Dry ridge

A dry system fits a batten, a roll and clipped units. With no mortar to cure, it is generally faster than re-bedding, and weather matters less. Our guide to ridge, hip and verge repair costs shows how the three methods compare on price.

Time on the ridge is rarely the whole story. A job that looks like one day on paper can stretch for several reasons, and these are the ones that come up most often.

• Length and hips. More ridge and more hips mean more tiles to lift and re-bed.
• Access. A narrow lane or a steep drive slows deliveries and scaffold erection, and the scaffold may be up before and after the repair itself.
• Timber underneath. A rotten ridge board or soft batten has to be repaired before tiles go back, and these are sometimes found only when the tiles come off.
• Matching tiles. Sourcing a profile that matches an older roof can delay the start.
• Other repairs. Chimney flashings or verge work found on the same visit lengthen the job.

A survey with photographs spots most of these in advance and lets us plan the sequence, including when the scaffold should go up, which tiles to order and whether any timber needs to be on site before we start. See our answer on scaffolding for ridge repairs for why access often sets the timetable.

Mortar work is the weather-sensitive part. Fresh mortar washed by rain loses strength and stains the tiles, and in frost, water in the mix can freeze before the bed has set. For that reason roofers avoid laying mortar in hard frost or heavy rain, and cover fresh work if rain is expected. A forecast that closes the window for mortar can push a job back a few days.

Wind matters for everybody. Lifting tiles and handling scaffold sheeting are unsafe in strong wind, and a high ridge in a gale is no place for a team. Dry ridge copes better with cold and damp because it has no bed to cure, which is one reason it suits winter repairs. Our guide to ridge repairs in winter covers that in detail.

Where a ridge is leaking, a temporary cover or make-safe can go on first, and the full repair waits for a settled spell. That staged approach means the house is protected quickly even when the proper work has to be booked around the weather, and it avoids rushed mortar work in poor conditions that would only need redoing.

Bedding mortar sets over a period, and strength builds more slowly over the following days. A ridge that looks complete on the day is not at full strength, and a mortar bed is only part of the system. BS 5534:2014 treats the bed as support, with mechanical fixings taking the load while the mortar gains strength. Ask whether a bedded ridge is also clipped or screwed, because that decides how soon it can face wind.

Whether mortar bedding is allowed at all is a fair question, and our answer on whether mortar bedding is still allowed explains the position.

After the work, we expect to leave a straight, even ridge with pointed joints, no stray mortar on the slopes and the gutters cleared of debris. If a spell of rain follows soon after, inspect the pointing and let us know if you see washed-out joints.

Ask for a start date and an estimated finish when you accept a quote, and expect either to shift if the forecast turns. The main steps are the survey, the written quote, scaffold or tower access, the repair, the clear-up and the check of the finished line. If a hidden fault turns up, we stop, show you photographs and agree the extra before going on.

Costs follow time. As a reference point, MyBuilder's 2026 national guide shows dry ridge at £40 to £60 per metre, repointing a ridge or hip at £200 to £400, and re-bedding at £300 to £600. None of those is our price. Longer jobs cost more mainly because labour and scaffold hire run for more days.

The written quote that follows the survey covers scaffold, materials and labour, and the finished repair carries a 10-year workmanship guarantee given in writing. We leave the site tidy and take the debris with us. For a first idea of timing on your own roof, send photographs on WhatsApp or ring 01453 933613. If your ridge is slate, read whether a dry ridge suits a slate roof, and see the main ridge, verge and dry-fix repairs page.