You are cleaning out the gutter after a windy week and you notice it: little crumbs of grey, sandy mortar sitting in the bottom. Or you glance up at the roofline and one of the capping tiles along the top looks like it has shifted, sitting slightly proud of the others. Both are the same story. The mortar that holds and seals the caps along your ridges is breaking down, and that is where roof repointing comes in.
It is one of the more common jobs we get called out for across the Peninsula, and one of the most misunderstood. People often think a bit of loose mortar up top is nothing. Left alone, it lets wind lift the caps and lets water track in behind them, so a small fix turns into a leak. Here is how to read the signs, and what a proper repoint actually involves.
What ridge capping and pointing actually are
Run your eye along the very top of a tiled roof. The ridges, plus the diagonal lines where two roof faces meet (the hips), are finished off with a row of curved capping tiles. Those caps are not just clipped on. They sit on a bed of mortar, and a second layer of mortar seals the joint on the outside.
The bed underneath is the bedding. The sealing layer over the top is the pointing. Repointing means renewing that outer sealing layer. When we do it properly today we use a flexible pointing compound rather than the rigid sand-and-cement that was standard on older roofs. The flexible stuff moves a little as the roof heats up and cools down, so it does not crack apart the way the hard old mortar does.
The signs your pointing has had enough
A few things are worth checking, ideally from the ground with binoculars rather than climbing up yourself:
- Cracked or crumbling mortar along the ridges, or gaps opening up between the caps and the tiles.
- Grit and small chunks of mortar collecting in your gutters or on the ground below the eaves.
- A ridge cap that looks lifted, crooked or loose, especially after a strong blow.
- Moss or weeds growing in the joins, which means moisture is sitting where it should not.
- Damp patches or brown stains on an internal ceiling that line up with a ridge above.
That last one is the one people miss. Failed pointing often shows up inside as a leak long before it looks dramatic from the street, and those leaks tend to appear first in heavy rain, when driving water finds every weak joint.
Why Peninsula roofs lose their pointing faster
Roofs down here cop a bit more than most. The closer you are to the water at Mount Martha, Rye or along the Mornington foreshore, the more the salt air and strong onshore wind work at the mortar. Add the big swing between a cold winter night and a hot summer afternoon, and rigid old cement pointing expands, contracts and eventually cracks.
Homes that were reroofed decades ago with hard mortar are usually the first to need attention. If your place has never been repointed and the roof is getting on in years, the pointing is often the oldest thing up there.
Repointing or rebedding? They are not the same
These two get mixed up, and the difference matters for what you pay. Repointing renews the outer sealing layer only, with the caps and the bed underneath left in place. It is the lighter job. Rebedding means lifting the capping tiles off, removing the old mortar bed and laying a fresh one, then repointing over the top. That is the bigger job, and it is what we recommend when the caps themselves are moving or the bedding has gone soft.
A good roofer will tell you honestly which one your roof needs. Repointing is also a normal part of a full roof restoration, so if you are already weighing up a restoration, the pointing usually gets sorted as part of that work rather than on its own.
What a repointing job involves
On a straightforward repoint, the steps are much the same every time. We check the caps are sound and re-secure any that have moved. The old, loose pointing is cleaned back. Then flexible pointing is applied in a neat, consistent line along both sides of every ridge and hip, colour matched to the roof as closely as we can.
Access and safety take up a fair share of the time, because walking a tiled roof without cracking tiles is a skill in itself. If you want the full picture of how we handle ridge lines and caps, our repointing and ridge capping service page walks through it. Most repoints on an average home are done in a day or so, weather permitting.
Should you try repointing yourself?
You can buy pointing compound at the hardware shop, so the question comes up a lot. The honest answer is that it is doable in theory and risky in practice. Working at height on brittle tiles is where people get hurt, and one wrong step cracks a tile you now also have to replace. Getting a long, even line that actually seals, and looks right from the street, takes practice too. For a small patch you might manage. For a whole roof, the cost of doing it twice usually wipes out the saving.
When to book it in
Pointing needs dry conditions to go on and cure properly, so we plan repoints around settled weather rather than the middle of a wet week. Spring and autumn tend to be kind for it on the Peninsula, though any decent dry spell works. If you have spotted the warning signs heading into winter, it is worth booking sooner rather than waiting, because that is exactly when the driving rain finds every gap.
Common questions about roof repointing
What is repointing on a roof?
It is renewing the outer layer of mortar that seals the capping tiles along your roof’s ridges and hips. The old, cracked pointing is cleaned back and a fresh flexible compound is applied over the top. The bedding that holds the caps in place stays where it is.
How long does roof pointing last?
Flexible pointing lasts a good deal longer than the rigid cement mortar it replaces, because it flexes with the roof instead of cracking apart. How long you actually get depends on how exposed your roof is to wind and salt and how well it went on. A quick look each year tells you whether it is still doing its job.
Can you repoint a roof yourself?
You can buy the materials, but we do not recommend it for a whole roof. The real risks are falls and cracking tiles underfoot, and a poor line will not seal properly anyway. A small repair might be within reach for a confident DIYer, but most people are better off leaving a full repoint to someone set up to work safely at height.
What time of year is best for repointing?
Any dry, settled stretch. The compound needs dry weather to cure, so we avoid wet weeks. Spring and autumn usually suit well on the Peninsula, but a run of clear days in any season does the job.
How much does roof repointing cost?
It depends on the size of your roof, how many ridge and hip lines it has, how easy the access is, and whether the caps also need rebedding. A straight repoint sits at the cheaper end; a full rebed and repoint costs more. The only way to get a real figure is to have someone look at the roof, which is why we start with an inspection.
Is repointing the same as rebedding?
No. Repointing renews only the sealing layer over the top. Rebedding lifts the caps off, replaces the mortar bed they sit on, then repoints over that. Rebedding is the bigger job and is needed when the caps or the bed have come loose, not just the pointing.
If the mortar along your ridges is cracking, or you have found grit in the gutters after a blow, it is worth getting it looked at before the next big storm. Take a look at our repointing and ridge capping work, or get in touch for a straight assessment of what your roof actually needs.
