Ridge Tile Replacement Cost

How Much to Replace Ridge Tiles?

The roof of the home is often overlooked when it comes to maintenance and repairs. Many people completely forget about their roof, and the term 'out of sight out of mind' in here.

Annoyingly, by the time people notice issues with their roof, the damage is already done.

Ridge tiles are there to protect your roof from the elements. However, if one of these tiles becomes loose or breaks, water can then seep into the materials below.

You should aim to replace broken ridge tiles as soon as possible to prevent any further problems or additional damage.

A ridge tile installation or repair is not always necessarily involuntary.

Sometimes, you may want to improve the appearance of your roof, update or personalise a new home, or you may even choose to replace ridge tiles on an old home as a precautionary measure before they become a problem.

No matter your reasons for getting your roof ridge tiles replaced or repaired, this guide will provide you with everything you need to know about the job

This includes the average cost of replacing or repairing ridge tiles, the supply costs involved with this type of work, the labour costs, and any additional costs that may come up with this job.

We will also go over the timescales you can expect when replacing or repairing ridge tiles, the different types of tiles replacement or repair jobs, and the cost of removing ridge tiles.

If you need to have your ridge tiles completely replaced, you can expect to pay around £220-£500. However, the cost of installing ridge tiles will depend on the number of tiles that need to be replaced and your location in the UK.

Those based in the London area will pay more for the cost of labour than those based in the North or other parts of the UK.

In some cases, you may be interested in repointing ridge tiles. If you’re looking to get your ridge tiles repointed, you can expect this to cost around £150-£300 for around 10 metres of ridge tiles. If you need to repoint more or less than this length of tiles, then the prices will increase or decrease accordingly.

For a recementing ridge tiles repair job, you can expect to pay around £150-£500 for recementing around five tiles.

If you need to recement more or fewer tiles than this, then the prices will increase or decrease accordingly.

If the damage to your roof is quite substantial or if you’re looking to improve the aesthetic appearance of your roof, then you might need a full roof replacement.

This is not usually a very cheap job and will cost around £8000-£15,000 depending on the size of your roof, your location in the UK, and the materials used.

Ridge Tile Replacement Prices

Below is a table showing the average cost of various roof ridge tile replacement and ridge tile repair jobs:

The prices given above are average costs of the job, including both the cost of labour and the cost of the materials.

What are the Supply Costs for Ridge Tile Replacement or Repairs?

It’s not recommended to attempt this type of work as a DIY project as it’s quite a difficult job. Plus, working on the roof can be very dangerous.

However, if you have experience in replacing ridge tiles and if you have the appropriate safety equipment, you may consider completing the work yourself to save some money on the labour costs.

If that’s the case, you’re most likely interested in finding out more about the prices of roof ridge tiles without the cost of labour.

In the table below, we will discuss the costs of various roof ridge tiles without the cost of labour:

Roof Ridge Tile Comparison

If you are looking to replace your ridge tiles here's a comparison of concrete, clay, and slate roof ridge tiles, outlining their pros and cons:

Concrete Roof Ridge Tiles

Concrete ridge tiles are a popular and versatile option. They are manufactured from a mixture of cement, sand, and water.

Pros:

• Cost-Effective: Generally the most affordable option compared to clay and slate.
• Durable: Highly durable and can withstand harsh weather conditions, including strong winds, heavy rain, and even fire. They are resistant to rot, insects, and UV rays.
• Versatile: Available in a wide range of styles, shapes (flat, low profile, high profile, interlocking), and colours, often mimicking the look of natural materials like clay or slate. This allows for flexibility in matching various architectural styles.
• Low Maintenance: Generally require minimal maintenance.

Cons:

• Colour Fading: While modern manufacturing processes have improved, the colours of concrete tiles can sometimes fade over time due to UV exposure.
• Water Absorbent: Concrete is more porous than clay, leading to higher water absorption. This can make them heavier when wet.
• Shorter Lifespan: While durable, their lifespan (typically 30-70 years) is generally shorter than that of high-quality clay or natural slate.

Clay Roof Ridge Tiles

Clay ridge tiles are made from natural clay that is kiln-fired. They offer a classic, timeless aesthetic.

Pros:

• Durable: Exceptional durability and can last up to 100 years with proper installation and maintenance.
• Nice Aesthetic Appeal: Possess a unique, natural beauty with permanent colours that don't fade over time.
• Low Water Absorption: Have a low water absorption rate, making them less prone to mildew and staining.
• Energy Efficient: Natural insulating properties help regulate indoor temperatures.

Cons:

• High Initial Cost: Generally more expensive than concrete tiles due to their manufacturing process.
• Heavy: Can be significantly heavier than other roofing materials.
• Fragile: While durable, they can be brittle and prone to cracking or breaking under heavy impact.
• Installation Complexity: Installation requires skilled labour and specialised expertise.

Slate Roof Ridge Tiles

Slate roof ridge tiles are crafted from natural stone. They are considered a premium roofing material.

Pros:

• Exceptional Longevity: The longest-lasting roofing material available, with a lifespan that can exceed 100 years if properly installed and maintained.
• Timeless Aesthetic: Offers natural beauty with unique variations in colour and texture, providing a prestigious and elegant appearance.
• Durable & Resistant: Extremely tough and resistant to fire, water absorption, rot, insects, and harsh weather conditions.
• Low Maintenance: Once installed, slate roofs require minimal upkeep.

Cons:

• High Cost: The most expensive option in terms of both material and installation.
• Brittle: Despite their hardness, slate tiles can be brittle and prone to breaking.
• Specialised Installation: Installation is complex and requires highly skilled and experienced roofers familiar with working with natural slate.
• Limited Colour Choices: While natural variations exist, the colour palette is more restricted compared to manufactured concrete tiles.

What are the Additional Costs of Repairing or Replacing Ridge Tiles?

When it comes to replacing and repairing ridge tiles, there are several other things that you may need to budget for. Below is a list of the additional costs that may come up with this type of work:

Scaffolding Hire

To do the work safely you will need to hire scaffolding. The price will vary depending on how long you hire the scaffolding for, the size of your roof, and your location in the UK.

For a typical scaffolding structure, you can expect to pay anywhere from £200 to £1,000 or more per week.

Gutter Replacement

While your contractor is working on your roof to replace or repair ridge tiles, they may notice some problems with your guttering. Also, suppose you're interested in replacing your ridge tiles to improve the appearance of your home.

In that case, you may then be interested in updating your gutters to further improve the aesthetic appeal of your home.

When it comes to gutter replacements, you can expect to pay around £400-£700 for PVC guttering, depending on the size of your home.

This is the most common type of guttering and comes at the lowest price. If you are interested in other materials for your guttering, such as cast iron, aluminium or copper, you can expect prices to increase significantly.

New Soffits and Fascias Costs

If you are getting your gutters replaced you may also want to consider getting new soffits and fascias.

Fascias are positioned where the roof and exterior house walls meet helping protect the roof edge from weather damage.

Soffits are tucked under the fascia, running horizontally underneath the roof overhang.

Both are an important part of your roof and guttering system.

The cost of insulation for replacing Soffits and Fascias can range from £300 to £1200 depending on the size of your house.

Chimney Repairs

Similarly, while working on the roof, your contractor may notice some problems with your chimney. In this case, you may need to budget for some chimney repairs. The costs for this can vary depending on the type of work that is needed.

For example, a full chimney installation costs around £1900-£3500, chimney repointing costs around £200-£1100, chimney lining costs around £700-£900, and chimney sweeping costs around £10-£50.

If you think there may be some problems with your chimney but you’re unsure, you may want to invest in a chimney inspection. You can expect to pay a professional around £18-£25 per hour for a chimney inspection.

Roof Cleaning

To ensure you roof is in the best condition once your ridge tiles have been repaired or replaced you may also consider getting your roof cleaned.

This is a job that is often forgotten about but can help extend the lifespan of your roof as well as uncover any other issues that are being hidden by the build up of moss and algae.

The average cost for cleaning a roof is between £8-£12 per square metre. So the bigger you house the more you should expect to pay.

New Windows

If you are replacing your roof ridge tiles to improve the appearance of your home, you may also want to further improve the aesthetic appearance of your home by removing and replacing your old windows. This is one of the best ways to increase the kerb appeal of your property.

The average cost of replacing the windows in your home is around £200-£3000 per window. The price will depend on the type of window that you want to replace and the size of the windows.

The more windows you want to have replaced, the more you can expect to pay. If you’re looking to replace all of the windows in your home, you can expect this to cost around £2000-£8000 in total.

Waste Disposal Cost

Waste disposal costs will depend heavily on how much waste needs to be disposed of. If you are replacing a lot of roof tiles along side other upgrades it maybe worth hiring a skip.

Skips come in various sizes from a 2-yard skip that will cost you between £60-£120 to a large 18-yard skip that costs between £275 - £400.

Tradesmen Costs for Ridge Tile Replacement or Repairs

If you are planning on purchasing the supplies yourself and want to find a contractor at a later date, then you may be interested in the cost of the labour side of the job alone.

This is the price you will pay without the cost of the materials. It is purely for the time and expertise of the professional that you hire.

The standard labour costs to hire a roofer for your ridge tile replacement or repair is around £100-£200 per day. Roofers will most commonly work in pairs for safety purposes.

This means that you can usually expect to pay around £200-£350 per day in total for the work if the roofer is working with an assistant.

If you live in the London area, you will likely pay around 10-20% more for the labour side of the job as labour costs are more in this area than in other parts of the UK.

How Long Does It Take to Replace or Repair Ridge Tiles?

If you are getting new ridge tiles or having your ridge tiles repaired, you're probably curious about the timescales you can expect for this type of work. In this section, we will explore the various timescales that you can expect for different ridge tile repair and replacement jobs.

Most of the time, roof ridge tile replacement and repair jobs can be completed within a day. If you're having all of your roof ridge tiles replaced, this may take 2-3 days, depending on the size of your roof.

If you just need a small roof repair job completed, this will likely take just a few hours to complete as long as the damage is small.

Take a look at the table below for an overview of the timescales that you can expect for various ridge tile jobs:

Types of Ridge Tile Replacement or Repair Jobs

There are several different types of ridge tile repair or replacement jobs. In this section, we will take a look at the various different roof ridge tile jobs that you may require and the prices that you may expect for these types of repairs and replacements.

Small Roof Ridge Repairs

You will only need to have a few ridge tiles replaced on some roofs. This is usually where a small section of ridge tiles has become loose due to bad weather.

This type of job will usually cost around £200-£300 depending on your location in the UK, the type of contractors that are carrying out the work, and the equipment that is needed to access your roof.

If you require scaffolding to access the roof safely, you'll likely pay more for the work.

Also, those located in the London area can expect to pay more for this type of work than those based in the North or other parts of the UK.

Repointing Cracked Mortar on Ridge Tiles

Very few roofing companies will recommend this type of repair as it is simply a temporary measure and doesn’t completely fix the issue. However, some companies may offer this service if you wish.

For a typical three-bedroom semi-detached property, the price you can expect to pay for ridge tile repointing is around £150-£300.

Most large companies will refuse to complete this type of work as it isn’t a long-term solution, so you may need to seek out independent contractors if you want to have this type of repair completed.

10 Metres of Roof Ridge Tile Bedding

Re-bedding ridge tiles is a very common job and something that most roofers will be very familiar with.

The price for this type of work is usually around £250-£600, depending on where in the UK you are and the size of the company that you choose to complete the work for you.

This price assumes there is easy access to the roof and no scaffolding is required. An access platform will usually be used to ensure the job can be completed safely, and the roofer will replace any broken tiles as part of this job.

Complete Roof Ridge Tile Replacement

In most cases, you won't need to remove and replace all of the ridge tiles on your roof. Most of the time, it is just a small section that becomes damaged and needs to be replaced.

However, some people choose to replace all of the tiles on their roofs for aesthetic purposes and to improve the kerb appeal of the home.

The cost for this will depend a lot upon the size of your roof. However, it will usually be around £500-£1000, and the job will take around 1-2 days to complete.

Why Do People Get Ridge Tiles Repaired or Replaced?

The ridge line, where two roof slopes meet, is the most vulnerable part of your roof. It's crucial for keeping the elements out, but over time this area is prone to damage. Here’s why homeowners often find themselves needing ridge tile work:

1. Preventing Water Leaks

Ridge tiles seal the highest roof point. When they crack, shift, or lose mortar, rainwater can penetrate beneath, leading to damp interiors, rotten roof timbers, and mould. Most serious roof leaks start with ridge-tile failure.

2. Battling Weather Damage

UK weather strong winds, heavy rain and frost all take their toll on ridge tiles. Freeze–thaw cycles especially can crack them, and gusts of wind can loosen their grip.

3. Deteriorating Mortar & Poor Installation

The mortar that holds ridge tiles in place will degrade over time and becomes porous and crumbly. Once the bonding fails, tiles can shift or fall off, leaving the roof exposed.

4. Improving Safety & Structural Integrity

Loose ridge tiles pose a serious safety risk, potentially blowing off in storms. This not only threatens the roof but also the safety of people or property below so must be dealt with as soon as a problem is noticed.

How Much Does It Cost to Remove Ridge Tiles?

In some cases, you may be curious about the cost of hiring someone to remove your roof tiles for you. You may need to have roof ridge tiles removed if you are planning on installing new ones or if they're damaged and need to be replaced.

The standard labour costs to hire a roofer for your ridge tile removal is around £100-£200 per day. Roofers will most commonly work in pairs for safety purposes.

This means that you can usually expect to pay around £200-£350 per day in total for the work if the roofer is working with an assistant.

In most cases, roofers should be able to remove your ridge tiles within a day. This will depend on the number of ridge tiles that need to be removed. Smaller roofs may just take a few hours to complete.

FAQs

Q: What can affect the cost of cementing roof ridge tiles?

A: There are several things that can affect the overall cost of cementing ridge tiles, including the following:

• The type of roof on your home.
• The extent of the damage to your ridge tiles.
• The ease of access to the roof and whether or not scaffolding is needed.
• Whether you need new ridge tiles or you’re reusing old ones.
• The VAT status of the company that you choose as they may add 20% onto the bill if they are VAT registered.
• Applications and approvals for diversions if your property hangs over a public footpath.
• The location of your property.

Q: Can roof ridge tiles leak?

A: Yes, roof ridge tiles can absolutely leak. Especially if they are cracked, broken, or have come loose over time.

When ridge tiles are damaged or the mortar starts to deteriorate, gaps can form. These gaps allow rainwater to seep through into the roof structure below. If left unaddressed, this can result in serious problems like water ingress, dampness in the loft, rotting timbers, or even mould growth inside the home.

Additionally, in severe weather conditions such as storms or high winds, loose ridge tiles which not only compromises the weatherproofing of your home but can also pose a safety hazard to people or property below.

To prevent leaks and more costly repairs, it’s important to regularly inspect your ridge tiles and have any damaged or missing ones repaired or replaced by a qualified roofer as soon as possible.

Q: What is a ridge tile for?

A: The ridge tiles are needed on your roofing system to prevent rain, hail, snow, and any other bad weather conditions from entering the home's interior.

These tiles are crucial for keeping the structure of the roof intact when it comes to bad weather and the elements. The curved side of the roof tiles is placed on the roof, and the circular side is positioned over it to cover any joints and provide waterproofing qualities.

Q: How long does it take to replace one tile?

A: If the tile is not nailed down or cemented in place, then you will just simply need to slide the tiles out of the way to lift that tile away from the batten.

Then you can easily replace that with a new one. This can be completed within minutes if nothing goes wrong, and providing the roof can be accessed easily with a ladder.

If you need scaffolding, the job will take much longer, and if the tile is cemented or nailed down, this will also add some extra time to the length of the job.

Q: Can I replace a ridge tile myself?

A: It can be very dangerous to work on a roof, so it's not recommended that you attempt this work yourself. If you do want to do it as a DIY job, you will need to ensure that you have the correct safety equipment, and you must be physically fit.

You will also need specific tools to complete the work, so you may need to purchase additional things to complete the work yourself.

If you don't complete the work properly, this can lead to tiles falling off, which could cause damage, leaks, and may cause injuries to someone below.

If you hire a professional, this guarantees knowledge and experience, and you can be sure the job is completed to a higher standard and that the roof is as safe and secure as possible.

Author: Kim J

I have a bachelor's degree in Journalism, which I studied in both the UK and USA. I've been a freelance writer for over eight years and have experience working with many large brands. My experience in writing is over a wide range of different niches, and I've specifically worked in the DIY and trades section for nearly two years. My favourite thing about freelance writing is working wherever I want as I love travelling and discovering new places and cultures.