Bedding is the mortar your ridge caps actually sit on. Pointing is the flexible seal over the joint. If the bed has broken down, new pointing is going onto something that is already moving, and it will not last. Rebedding fixes the layer underneath.
They get talked about as if they are the same thing and they are not. Knowing which one your roof needs is the difference between a job that lasts and a job you pay for twice.
The caps sit on a bed of mortar that holds them at the right height and line. When that bed cracks up, crumbles or washes out, the caps lose their support and start to move.
You can usually tell from the ground: a ridge line that has gone wavy, or caps sitting at slightly different heights.
Pointing is the compound sealing the joint between cap and tile. It keeps water out and it is the part exposed to the sun, so it is usually first to fail.
If the bed is sound and only the seal has gone, you want repointing and nothing more. We will say so.
More work than pointing, because the caps come off and go back on. Done properly it resets the whole ridge line.
The affected ridge and hip caps are carefully lifted so the bed underneath can be got at. Caps in good condition are kept and reused rather than replaced for the sake of it.
The old bedding mortar is removed and the area cleaned back, along with any debris that has collected in the ridge line.
Caps are re-bedded in fresh mortar, set back to a straight, even line at the correct height.
Once the bed has set, the joint is pointed with flexible compound, which is the part that keeps water out and moves with the roof.
Weep holes are opened back through the new pointing so the roof still drains properly.
Roof blown down, gutters cleaned, and the rubble taken away rather than left in a pile beside the house.
Ridge capping re-bedded and re-pointed runs $1,200 to $3,000 on a typical Perth home, and where the whole ridge line needs doing it sits toward the upper end. If only some sections have failed, we quote only those sections. The onsite look is free.
Our guarantee covers defects in our materials and workmanship for 15 years from the day the job is finished. Plain terms, on our warranty page.
We work right across the Perth metro, north and south of the river. These suburbs have a page of their own: South Perth, Applecross, Ascot, Baldivis, Canning Vale, Joondalup, Midland, Wanneroo. If yours is not listed we almost certainly still get there, so ask and we will tell you straight away.
"Mati and Ryan did a fantastic job and I can't believe how wonderful my roof looks! Tiles replaced, ridge capping repaired, painted and sealed, plus extra jobs done at the last minute!"
"Awesome job. Great at communications and really looks after his clients. Rare to find people who will do their job and provide proper support these days. Killi is definitely one of them."
"Mati and his team did a great job on my roof. He was so busy but promised he would have it done by Christmas and he did. So happy with his work. Would highly recommend this company."
Look along the ridge line from the ground. If it has gone wavy or the caps sit at uneven heights, the bed has likely failed and pointing alone will not fix it. If the line is straight and you can just see cracked mortar at the joint, it is a pointing job. We confirm which when we are up there.
Only the ones that are broken. Caps in sound condition are lifted, kept and re-bedded. Replacing a whole ridge line of good caps is an easy way to inflate a quote.
Ridge caps are re-bedded and re-pointed as part of every full roof restoration. Rebedding on its own is for a roof where the rest of the surface is still sound.
The fresh bedding mortar needs to cure before anything is coated over it. If the plan is rebedding and then painting, we sequence the two properly rather than rushing the coating on.
We come out, get on the roof and tell you whether it needs replacing or whether a restoration will do. If restoring will hold, that is what we will quote, and it is the cheaper job.