The verge is the edge of the roof where the tiles finish over a gable wall. On older houses that edge is usually sealed with a strip of mortar, and so is the bedding under the ridge tiles where the ridge runs out to meet it. Both weather badly over time, and when they go the tiles at the edge are left relying on very little.
This Chester house has a concrete interlocking tiled roof over red brick walls with a dark fascia and black guttering. Our in-progress photos were taken at the top of the roof, and the finished shots were taken from the ground on a bright day.
Opening up the top of the roof
The first two photos show the messy part. At the gable end, the last ridge tiles have been lifted and turned on their side, and the old bedding underneath has been broken out, leaving loose red mortar and crumbs across the tiles. You can see the timber edge of the roof and the neighbouring brick wall just beyond.
Further along the ridge a section of tiles has been stripped back and a couple of tiles removed near the top, with lengths of timber batten laid on the slope ready for use. The old bedding there was dry and broken, which is typical of what we find once the tiles come up.
- Ridge tiles lifted at the gable end
- Old mortar bedding broken out and cleared
- Tiles near the ridge taken off to work on the edge
- Verge finished with dry fixed units rather than new mortar
Why a dry verge instead of new mortar
Re-pointing a verge in mortar puts back the same weakness that failed in the first place. A dry verge system uses interlocking units that clip over the ends of the tiles and are fixed mechanically along the gable, so there is no mortar strip to crack or drop out. They also close off the edge of the roof neatly, which helps keep birds and wind-driven rain out.
In the finished photos the gable edge runs down as a clean dark line beside the tiles, with the fascia and guttering undisturbed below. Dry verge units are part of our roof repairs in Chester, often alongside ridge work. You can see a ridge and verge done together on the valley and dry ridge job in Mickle Trafford.
Questions About This Kind of Job
What is a dry verge?
It is a set of plastic units that fit over the ends of the tiles along a gable edge and are fixed mechanically, replacing the mortar strip that older roofs use.
Do I need a new ridge at the same time?
Not always, but the ridge and verge meet at the top of the gable and often fail together. It usually makes sense to look at both while access is set up.
Will a dry verge match my roof?
Dry verge units come in several colours. On this Chester house the dark units sit comfortably against the brown tiles and dark gutters.
How do I arrange a look at my verge?
Contact us and let us know what you have noticed, such as mortar on the ground below the gable, and we will come out.
