A Ridge Tile Fell Off: Is It an Emergency?

First: make the ground safe

Check where the tile landed. A fallen ridge tile is heavy, and if it came down onto a path, a car or a conservatory roof it may have caused damage. Keep children, pets and neighbours away from the area under that part of the roof, because the tiles next to the gap may be loose too. If the tile is lying in the garden and it is safe to pick up, move it to a place where it cannot hurt anyone and keep it. A broken tile can still tell us what failed.

Do not climb up

The urge to nip up and put it back is understandable and risky. The ridge is the highest and most exposed part of the roof, and a ladder, a wet surface and a heavy tile are a poor combination. Look from the ground, with binoculars if you have them, and photograph the gap, the neighbouring tiles and any sign of mortar on the roof. Our page on repointing ridge tiles yourself explains why we advise against ridge work from a ladder.

When it is an emergency

Treat it as an emergency if you can see daylight at the ridge from the loft, if water is dripping through a ceiling, if several tiles are loose or sliding, or if a storm is forecast that night. A single missing tile on a dry day is less pressing, but it should not wait for weeks, because an open ridge lets rain run into the roof space and wind lift the tiles on either side. A temporary cover or a quick refix can hold until a full repair is done.

Check the loft

If you can get into the loft safely, look at the underside of the ridge under the gap. Damp timber, a wet patch on the insulation or a drip are signs that water is already in. Put a bucket under a drip and move any stored items. Do not stand on the ceiling between the joists. Photograph anything you see, with a date. Our guide to the signs your ridge tiles are failing lists what else to look for.

What the fix involves

A single fallen tile is often a sign that the bed beneath has failed, so we check the whole ridge and the gap alike. The loose tiles are re-bedded, the missing tile is replaced with a match, and the ridge is mechanically fixed where the old bed has gone, as BS 5534:2014 asks. If the ridge is old and failing all along its length, we explain the options, including a re-bed or a dry system. Our guide to why ridge tiles come loose covers the usual causes.

Why one tile goes

A ridge tile rarely falls from a sound bed. More often the mortar underneath has crumbled over several winters, and a gust is simply the last push. Sometimes the tile at the end of the run has lost its support, because the end cap or the verge has failed, and wind gets under it. Frost can crack a porous tile so that it breaks away in pieces. Whichever it was, the neighbouring tiles share the same age and weather, so they are often not far behind. That is why a quick patch is only a first step, and why the survey looks along the full length of the ridge and any hips attached to it.

Storm timing is worth noting. Tiles often come down after a spell of strong wind following a hard frost, when the bed is weakest. If you saw it happen, note the date, the wind direction and what the weather had been doing in the days before.

Insurance and records

If a storm brought the tile down, tell your buildings insurer and keep the photos. Our answer on whether home insurance covers loose ridge tiles explains how insurers tend to treat these claims. Keep any receipt for emergency work.

How we respond

Ring or message us on 01256 213956 or WhatsApp, describe what you can see and send photos if you can. We cannot promise a time, but we prioritise emergency calls and we make a leaking or unsafe roof safe first. The free survey that follows includes photos of the ridge, and the fixed written quote shows what the lasting repair costs. See also our ridge and verge repair page.