Ridge capping rebedding and repointing

Ridge caps are the curved tiles that cover the joins along the top and the hips of a tile roof. They sit on a bed of mortar and are sealed with pointing, and when that bedding cracks or the pointing breaks away, water gets in and caps can lift in high wind. Repointing renews the outer seal; rebedding lifts the caps, replaces the mortar underneath and then points over it. A local independent roofer assesses which one your roof needs and prices it directly with you.

How do you know the ridge capping needs work?

You can often spot ridge trouble from the footpath with a phone camera zoomed in. Signs include:

• Gaps or missing chunks of mortar along the ridge or hip lines.
• Caps that sit crooked, rock when touched or have come off altogether.
• Grit and broken mortar in the gutters below a hip.
• Water stains on the ceiling or on the timber under the ridge in the roof space.
• Daylight visible along the ridge line from inside the roof space.
• Birds nesting under caps, which usually means there is a gap they can get through.

What causes ridge capping to fail?

Older roofs were bedded with a sand and cement mix. It is rigid, and a roof is not: timber moves with heat and moisture, and the mortar cracks over time. Once a crack opens, water gets in, washes out the fines and the bedding loses its grip on the cap. Poor original work makes it worse, for example bedding mixed too weak, caps laid without enough mortar contact, or no mechanical fixing. Foot traffic from aerial, solar or gutter installers can crack pointing too.

Repoint, rebed or replace: what is the difference?

Approach	When it suits	What happens	Melbourne price guide
Partial repair	A few caps or one short run has failed	Lift the affected caps, rebed, point and refix	$420 to $1,250
Full rebed and repoint	Bedding is cracked or loose on most runs	Remove every cap and old mortar, rebed, point the whole roof	$840 to $3,675
Repoint only	Bedding is solid, outer pointing has cracked	Clean back, apply new flexible pointing over sound bedding	Usually priced inside a rebed or restoration quote
Part of a restoration	The tiles also need cleaning, repairs and coating	Ridge work done before primer and top coats	$4,200 to $11,550

These ranges come from the Melbourne roofing price table at What’s The Damage (October 2026, GST included). Repointing over loose bedding is cheaper on the day but often fails within a few years, because the new pointing is only as good as the mortar it sits on. For a fuller picture of how quotes are built up, read the roof restoration cost guide for Sunbury.

Flexible pointing versus old mortar

Modern flexible pointing compounds are acrylic based and stay slightly elastic once cured, which lets them move with the roof instead of cracking. They come in colours to match common tile shades. They still need a sound bed underneath. A careful roofer will press on caps and probe the old bedding before deciding that repointing alone is enough.

Ask how the caps will be held in place. Some roofers clip caps or fix them to the ridge batten with mechanical fasteners as well as bedding them. AS 2050 is the Australian Standard for installing roof tiles, and it is reasonable to ask whether the provider’s method follows it and what the tile maker recommends for your profile.

What a provider will check or need from you

• Roof height, pitch and access, so they can plan edge protection or scaffold.
• The total length of ridges and hips, which drives the price more than anything else.
• The tile profile and colour, for matching replacement caps and pointing.
• Whether any caps are cracked and need replacing rather than rebedding.
• Signs of water entry in the roof space, which may mean timber repairs.
• Solar panels, aerials or skylights near the ridge that may need moving or protecting.

What the work involves

1. Set up safe access and protect the gutters and paths below.
2. Lift each cap, number or stack it, and chip off the old bedding.
3. Clean the tiles and ridge line so the new mortar bonds.
4. Lay a fresh bed and reset each cap to line and level.
5. Fix caps mechanically where the method calls for it.
6. Apply flexible pointing over the bedding, tooled to a neat finish.
7. Clear debris from the roof and gutters and show you photos of the result.

On a full restoration this work comes before coating. If you only want the ridges done, ask the roofer to quote ridge work separately from any cleaning or painting so you can compare like for like.

Rules and safety

Ridge rebedding on concrete or terracotta tiles is not plumbing work. The Building and Plumbing Commission’s description of roofing (stormwater) work excludes roof coverings of non-metallic tiles and concrete. If the job also involves metal flashings, a new valley iron or gutter work, that part needs a plumber registered or licensed in the roofing (stormwater) class. You can confirm a plumber’s class on the BPC’s find and check a practitioner page.

Ridge work is done at the highest point of the roof. Ask how the provider will stop a fall from the edge before they start, and do not accept a plan that relies on someone balancing on the ridge with no protection.

What a careful roofer will not skip

• Removing all loose bedding, not just the outer crust.
• Replacing cracked caps instead of filling them with pointing.
• Checking the roof space after rain if a leak was the reason for the call.
• Telling you if the tiles under the caps are also failing, since rebedding cannot fix a brittle roof.

Ridge work around Sunbury

Many Sunbury houses were built during the town’s growth from the 1980s onward. A tile roof of that age that has never been rebedded still sits on its original mortar, and that bedding is usually the first part of an older roof to give way. Further north in Riddells Creek and Gisborne, a house on an open rural block with little shelter takes the full force of the wind, and loose caps show up sooner. The Sunbury area page covers local housing in more detail.

What to do next

Photograph the ridge lines from the ground, note any leaks and the year the house was built, then request a ridge capping quote. If the tiles themselves look worn, ask for a quote on a full roof restoration at the same visit.

Send a job enquiry