Roof Repointing & Ridge Capping Nowra
Crumbling mortar along the ridges is the single most common fault we find on older tiled roofs here. It is also one of the cheapest to fix, provided the bedding underneath is still sound. We check that before quoting.
Two Layers, and Only One of Them Is Visible
The ridge capping finishes the roof where two planes meet. Underneath each cap is a bed of mortar holding it in place, and over the top is the pointing you can actually see from the ground.
The pointing cracks, separates and falls out first. The bedding beneath sometimes stays perfectly stable, and sometimes has gone with it. That difference is the whole job, because one is a repoint and the other means lifting the caps and rebedding them at roughly double the cost. Nobody can tell which you have from the footpath.
Fine surface cracks
Often just the exposed pointing giving up, which is the cheaper fix. How deep it goes still needs checking on the roof.
Open or missing sections
Where pointing has fallen out entirely, the bedding edge is exposed and water is getting in. Worth looking at sooner rather than later.
Caps that have moved
A capping sitting crooked or rocking is a bedding problem, not a pointing one. Pointing over it will fail again quickly.
Patch on patch
Several generations of repair along the same run usually means the underlying problem was never actually addressed.
Repoint, Rebed, or Just Fix One Section?
These are genuinely different jobs at genuinely different prices. Repointing renews the mortar you can see. Rebedding means lifting the caps and resetting them on fresh mortar underneath. Repointing over failed bedding is a false economy that fails again within a few years, and it happens more often than it should.
Repointing is enough when
- The caps are sitting straight and firm.
- The problem is in the aged, cracked pointing on top.
- Proper preparation is what gives the new pointing something to bond to.
- The ridge and tile details either side are still doing their job.
Rebedding is needed when
- Caps have moved or no longer sit evenly along the line.
- The bedding underneath is loose, badly deteriorated or gone.
- The same runs keep failing after previous work.
- Broken tiles or junction faults mean the work has to go wider.
A photo helps us understand the enquiry, but whether a cap is actually firm is something we have to check by hand on the roof. We will not quote a rebed off a photo, and we will not quote a repoint off one either.
A Ridge Meets a Lot of Other Things
Ridge and hip work runs into the field tiles, the cut tiles, the valleys, the flashings and the points where several runs intersect. Those junctions are where a rushed job shows up first, usually within a couple of wet seasons.
At every junction the question is whether the water can actually get away, or whether the new work has created somewhere for it to sit. That is the difference between ridge work that lasts fifteen years and ridge work that looks tidy for two.
What ridge work will not fix
- A leak coming from a flashing, valley or penetration somewhere else on the roof.
- Broken field tiles out across the roof, away from the capping line.
- Perished underlay, damaged battens or anything structural underneath.
- New mortar looking different to forty-year-old weathered mortar. It will.
If we find something outside the ridge work while we are up there, we will tell you and price it separately rather than folding it in or quietly ignoring it.
From Your Phone Call to a Finished Ridge
- 1
You tell us
Where you have noticed cracking, movement, debris in the gutters or a mark inside.
- 2
We review
Your photos and the roof area connected to the ridge line, so we arrive knowing what to look at.
- 3
We check by hand
Whether the caps are firm and the bedding is holding, along the whole run rather than at one spot.
- 4
We define it
Which runs need doing, what preparation is involved and any related repairs.
- 5
You get a quote
The work, the runs, the price and anything we could not confirm. In writing, and free.
Have a Look From the Ground
You do not need to get on the roof, and please do not. From the ground you can usually see whether the mortar is cracked along one ridge or all of them, whether any caps look crooked, and whether pieces of mortar are turning up in the gutters or on the lawn. That is genuinely enough for us to start with.
Roof pitch, height, access and how many ridge and hip runs there are all affect the price. Repointing a section typically runs $300 to $600, a full roof repoint $2,000 to $4,500, and rebedding and repointing a full roof $3,000 to $6,000. Every job is quoted in writing after we have looked.
What helps us most
- Roughly where the affected run is and how long it looks.
- Whether bits of mortar are ending up in the gutters or on the ground.
- If there is a mark inside, when it appears and whether the weather changes it.
- Any repointing, rebedding or tile work that has been done before.
Repointing and Ridge Capping Questions
Straight answers about ridge work, what it costs and where it stops. See our roofing FAQs for the wider picture.
Does cracked pointing mean the ridge needs rebedding?
Not always, and this is the question worth getting right. Cracking is often limited to the pointing on top while the bedding underneath is still sound, which makes it the cheaper fix. We check whether the caps are firm before recommending either one.
What is the difference between ridge and hip capping?
Ridge capping runs along the horizontal peak where two roof planes meet. Hip capping runs down the sloping external corners. Same materials and the same failure modes, but hips are longer and more exposed, so they are often further gone than the main ridge.
Can you just do the worst section?
Yes, and sometimes that is the sensible call. We will tell you which runs need doing now and which have years left in them, rather than quoting the whole roof by default. What we will not do is patch a run that is clearly about to fail entirely.
Will repointing stop my leak?
Only if the leak is at the ridge. If water is entering at a valley, a flashing or a broken tile somewhere else, perfect ridges change nothing. We work out where it is actually getting in before quoting the ridge work.
Does repointing include painting the tiles?
No. Repointing is ridge and hip work. Cleaning and coating the rest of the roof is a separate job with its own price, and if you want both we will quote them as separate line items so you can see what each one costs.
What does repointing cost?
Repointing a section of ridge capping typically runs $300 to $600, a full roof repoint $2,000 to $4,500, and rebedding and repointing a full roof $3,000 to $6,000. Roof pitch, height, access and the number of runs all move it.
Request a Free Repointing Quote
Describe what you can see along the ridges and hips, and mention if mortar is turning up in the gutters. We will tell you whether it is a repoint or a rebed, and price the two separately so you can see the difference.
- Photos from the ground are plenty.
- Mention any previous ridge work you know about.
- Please do not climb onto the roof to check.
Prefer to talk? Call (02) 4409 2597.