With the hottest weather of 2019 sadly now behind us in all probability, it’s important to turn your attention to autumn and make sure your roof is suitably prepared. Those areas where your roof meets with a wall or roof plane – your roof’s verges and ridges – can be especially vulnerable.
Therefore, you should pay extra-special attention to those parts of the roof, but what risks could they really pose if not adequately maintained? The answer might surprise you…
What are your roof’s verges and ridges?
In roofing parlance, the terms “verges” and “ridges” can initially look like bewildering jargon until the actual verges and ridges on your roof are pointed out. With that done, identifying them can suddenly feel like second nature… so, where exactly should you look for them?
Do you have a pitched roof? If so, HomeAdviceGuide usefully explains that the verge is where that roof’s border meets the triangular upper section of the wall where a ridged roof ends.
Meanwhile, as the Fixmyroof site clarifies, the ridge is typically where tiles are fixed to the top or apex of a roof. Therefore, a ridge does not have to be hard to spot on a roof that, in whole or in section, goes straight up and down, from front to back.
If your roof has at least three faces, it might also have hip ridges, which would conceal an external junction between two of that roof’s sloping faces. Identifying hip ridges, again, is a case of “easy once you know how”, as they indeed pertain to your roof’s “hips”.
Why should you be concerned about your ridges?
While many parts of your roof are naturally likely to be battered during treacherous weather, the ridge tiles differ from standard tiles in that they will only be struck directly by rain, rather than left to channel running water. They are also vulnerable to where wind changes direction, says Saga.
All of this is justifiably worrying, as ridge tiles are crucial – perhaps surprisingly so – to your roof’s overall integrity. As these tiles fasten down the roof’s nearest two rows of tiles, ridge tiles loosened by storms and high winds can lead further tiles to dislodge.
As different rows of tiles help to reinforce each other on the roof, its whole tiling structure could end up falling off. Okay, so that’s more of a worst-case scenario, but the general point still stands: those ridges aren’t just incidental features, but instead vital to your roof’s integrity as a whole.
You can benefit from our expertise
The chances are that your current verges and ridges rely heavily on mortar, and this could warrant cause for concern, too, given mortar’s tendency to deteriorate over time. For this reason, all mortar in roofs will eventually need replacing – and, in many instances, with a more future-proof solution.
Whether you call upon our roofers in Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Durham or elsewhere in the region, we can fit dry ridge and dry verge systems to lessen your reliance on mortar.
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