Roofs and flat roofs
Ridge tiles are bedded in mortar and no mechanical fixing was seen. Does that observation retire the ridge?
No ridge bedded only in mortar, with no mechanical fixing seen, retires that ridge. The observation records how the ridge tiles are held, as far as the visit could tell. It does not take the ridge out of service, it does not prove every tile will slip, and it does not prove the ridge is secure. A fixing can be hidden in the bed. Absent from view is not the same as absent from the roof. The ridge stays an open fixing question, not a whole-roof condemnation.
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?
Older ridges were commonly bedded in mortar. Later ones may add a mechanical fixing into a batten you cannot see from the slope. A surveyor who sees only mortar should say so, because a cracked bed can let a tile rock. Saying no fixing was seen is not condemning the ridge or specifying a new system. The tiles may still be seated. The note leaves the fixing to be checked rather than treating the ridge as finished.
A roofer can look at the ridge ends and any exposed fixing, then quote repointing, a mechanical fixing, or both, for this ridge alone. Do not let the estimate become a re-cover of the slopes because mortar was the only thing in sight. The pitches were not the subject. Ask the quotation to say whether a mechanical fixing turned up once they were at the ridge, and keep both slopes out of that figure.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was any mechanical fixing visible at the ridge ends, or none where you looked?
- Was the mortar cracked and were any ridge tiles loose, or only unfixed to the eye?
- Are you writing the ridge off, or recording that no mechanical fixing was seen?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask a roofer to confirm whether mechanical fixings are actually missing.
- Keep any quotation to the ridge, not to a re-cover of the slopes.
- Do not read the observation as the ridge having been retired.
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
Does mortar bedding mean the ridge tiles have already failed?
No. Mortar is how many ridges were bedded. The note is that no mechanical fixing was seen, not that every ridge tile has slipped off the roof.
Will the survey specify a new mechanical ridge system?
No. Choosing a ridge system is a roofer's specification. The survey only records mortar bedding and the fact that no fixing was in view.