Roofs and flat roofs
What should you ask if the ridge tiles look sound but the hip irons are missing?
Ask about the foot of each hip, not the ridge, because hip irons are the straps that stop the lowest hip tiles sliding off. The ridge can be solid while those straps are missing or rusted through, which is not a failed ridge and not roof spread. From the ground a surveyor may see a bare foot of hip, or only that the lowest tile looks unrestrained.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
A hip iron is a small piece of metal at the eaves end of the hip. When it rusts away, the lowest hip tile is the one that can creep. The ridge mortar, or a dry ridge, can look entirely ordinary at the same time. Reporting “ridge satisfactory” does not answer the hip. A home survey should name the hips it could see and say if the iron was missing, corroded, or simply not visible from that viewpoint.
Replacing a strap and resetting one or two hip tiles is not the same instruction as rebuilding a ridge. There is no national price for either. Ask a roofer to look at each hip end, including any hip that faces away from the road. Do not accept a ridge quote as if it included the irons unless the quote says so. A missing iron is also not evidence that the hip rafter has failed.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which hips still have an iron, and which did you see without one?
- Is the lowest hip tile present, loose, or gone?
- Are you treating the ridge as a separate element?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask for the hip ends to be listed in any roof quote.
- Do not pay for a new ridge system because a strap is missing.
- Look at the rear hips on a second visit if the survey only saw the front.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Is a rusty iron the same as a missing one?
Not quite. A rusty iron may still be holding. A missing one is not holding. The survey should say which it saw.
Do concrete hip tiles need irons too?
They still need something to stop the lowest tile sliding. Ask what is there. Do not assume a modern hip has no restraint.