Here is the short version: dry ridge is a mechanically fixed system that holds your ridge tiles on with screws and clamps; wet ridge holds them on with mortar. For almost every re-roof and most ridge repairs in 2026, dry ridge is the better choice, and since 2015 British Standards have required ridge tiles to be mechanically fixed on new work anyway. This guide explains how each one works, what they cost, and the handful of situations where mortar still earns its keep.
First, what is the ridge?
The ridge is the horizontal line along the very top of your roof where the two slopes meet, capped with a run of curved or angled ridge tiles. Hips, the sloping external corners on a hipped roof, are capped the same way and everything in this article applies to them too. The ridge takes more weather than any other part of the roof: it catches the full force of the wind, it is the last place snow sits, and every drop of rain that hits the roof starts its journey there. How those tiles are fixed matters more than most homeowners ever realise.
Wet ridge: the traditional way
A wet ridge is the method used on most British roofs built in the last century: each ridge tile is bedded onto a bed of sand and cement mortar, joint by joint, and pointed up neatly. When it is fresh it looks crisp and it is cheap to do, which is why it survived so long.
The problem is that mortar is rigid and your roof is not. Tiles expand and contract with heat, timbers flex in wind, and frost gets into every hairline gap and pushes. Mortar has no give, so it cracks, and once it cracks the sequence is predictable: water gets in, frost widens the crack, the pointing falls away, and eventually the bedding itself lets go. At that point the only things holding your ridge tiles on are habit and good luck. After every winter storm across Newcastle and the coast, the tiles lying in gardens and back lanes are nearly always mortar-bedded ridge tiles.
A well-done mortar ridge in a sheltered spot might give fifteen to twenty-five years before it needs attention. On an exposed North East roof it is often considerably less, and the maintenance is never a one-off: repointing, then repointing again, each visit with its own access costs.
Dry ridge: the modern way
A dry ridge system does away with mortar altogether. A ventilated ridge roll or union sits over the ridge line, and every ridge tile is mechanically fixed, screwed through to the timber below with stainless steel fixings and clamped at each joint. Flexible seals and the ridge roll keep the weather out while still letting air move.
The benefits stack up quickly:
- Mechanically fixed for life. Every tile is physically screwed down. Wind cannot peel off what is bolted on, which matters on exposed streets and anywhere near the coast.
- Nothing to maintain. No mortar means no cracking, no repointing, no re-bedding. Fit it once and forget it.
- Built-in ventilation. Most systems ventilate the ridge line, letting moist air escape the loft. That helps prevent the condensation that rots battens and soaks insulation, a genuine problem in well-insulated modern lofts.
- It moves with the roof. The components are designed to flex with thermal movement instead of fighting it, which is exactly where mortar loses.
- Compliant with the standard. BS 5534, the British Standard for slating and tiling, has required ridge and hip tiles on new work to be mechanically fixed since 2015. Mortar alone no longer meets it.
The honest downsides: it costs more on the day than a cheap mortar bed, and on a period property a visible clip between tiles will not suit every eye. That is the whole list.
Side by side
| Dry ridge | Wet (mortar) ridge | |
|---|---|---|
| How it is fixed | Screwed and clamped to the timber | Bedded on sand and cement |
| Typical life | Life of the roof | 15 to 25 years, less when exposed |
| Maintenance | None | Repointing and re-bedding, repeatedly |
| Storm resistance | Excellent, every tile fixed | Poor once the mortar ages |
| Ventilation | Built into most systems | None |
| Meets BS 5534 alone | Yes | No, mortar-only fixing fails the standard |
| Cost on a typical semi, 2026 | £600 to £1,500 as a conversion | Slightly less on the day, then again every time it fails |
The maths worth doing: a dry ridge costs a few hundred pounds more than a mortar re-bed on the day. But the mortar ridge comes with a repeat bill: repointing at year twelve, re-bedding at year twenty, scaffold or towers each time. Over the life of the roof the dry ridge is comfortably the cheaper option; the mortar ridge just spreads its cost out and adds interest.
So is wet ridge ever the right choice?
Occasionally, yes, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise:
- Conservation and period work. On listed buildings and in conservation areas, a traditional mortar ridge is sometimes required or simply right for the building. Done properly, with the tiles also mechanically fixed to satisfy the standard, it can be both correct and compliant.
- Small repairs to a sound ridge. If two or three joints have failed on an otherwise solid, relatively young mortar ridge, re-bedding those tiles is a perfectly sensible repair. We do it regularly. What we will not do is re-bed an entire ridge that has already failed once and call it fixed, because it is not.
- Matching existing work. Mid-terrace, shared ridge line, neighbour's half in fresh mortar: sometimes matching in is the pragmatic call.
What wet ridge should never be in 2026 is the default. If a roofer quotes you a full re-roof with a mortar-only ridge, they are quoting you a roof that fails the British Standard on the day it is finished. It is worth asking them why.
What we fit, and why
Every Willow Roofing re-roof comes with a dry ridge and dry verge system as standard, not as an optional extra. We price in the middle to upper part of the market and this is part of the reason why: the difference between our quote and the cheapest one is usually hiding in exactly these details, the parts of the roof you cannot see from the street and only hear about when they fail. A ridge that is screwed down does not come off in a storm, does not need repointing, and does not generate a call-out in year twelve. That is the roof we would want on our own homes, so it is the only one we fit.
If your ridge is already showing the signs, cracked or missing pointing, slipped ridge tiles, debris in the gutters after wind, our guide on whether your roof needs a repair or a replacement covers how we diagnose it. The survey is free either way, and if a small re-bed is all it needs, that is what we will tell you.
Dry ridge questions we get asked most
Can you just repoint my ridge tiles instead of replacing them?
You can, and plenty of roofers will happily take the money. But repointing only replaces the outer face of the mortar: the bedding underneath is still the original, still cracked, and still the only thing holding the tiles on. Repointing a tired mortar ridge usually buys a few years at most, and you pay for access every time. If the mortar has failed once, converting to dry ridge fixes it permanently for not much more than a proper re-bed.
How long does a dry ridge system last?
The systems we fit are designed to last the life of the roof and carry manufacturer guarantees, typically ten to fifteen years on the components themselves, though in practice the fixings outlive that comfortably. There is no mortar to crack, so there is nothing to maintain: no repointing, no re-bedding, no loose tiles after a storm.
Does dry ridge look worse than a mortar ridge?
From the street the difference is hard to spot: the same ridge tiles sit in the same place, and the fixings are largely hidden beneath them. On some systems you can see a slim clip between tiles if you look for it. Up close a crisp mortar joint on a period property has a traditional look some owners prefer, which is one of the few genuine reasons to choose wet ridge today.
Will a dry ridge cope with coastal wind?
Better than mortar ever did. Every tile is mechanically fixed through to the timber, so there is nothing for the wind to peel off. That is precisely why the British Standard moved to mechanical fixing: mortar-only ridges were the tiles that ended up in gardens after every named storm. For exposed and coastal streets across the North East, dry fix is the sensible choice.
How much does it cost to change a mortar ridge to a dry ridge?
On a typical semi in the North East in 2026, converting an existing mortar ridge to a dry ridge system usually lands between £600 and £1,500 depending on length, access and whether any ridge tiles need replacing. If scaffold is already up for other work, doing it at the same time is significantly cheaper than as a stand-alone job.