Hipped roof - Dry or Mortar?

[Ivor Windybottom]

Currently have clay Rosemary tiles, hipped all round. The hips are looking a bit iffy, but the tiles look as good as new. Planning to re-roof with new battens and membrane, re-using the old tiles with new hip tiles. Will add new tiles to the back to make up the losses from the hips and breakages.

The hips are a ridge-type of tile bedded on mortar, not the angled hip tiles.

I'd like the ventilation from a dry hip/eaves system, as it currently gets very hot in summer.

We had something very similar done with our last house and used mortar, and I remember that, due to the small size of the tiles, there were some pretty small bits on some of the corners. I thought the mortar did a good job of sticking all the fragments together, so concerned that a dry system might leave some bits a bit prone to movement. I also thought the black mortar looked really neat, much neater than a load of clips and bolts.

I could alternatively add some tile vents near the top for ventilation if using mortar.

What are current opinions on mortar vs dry? Do building control demand that they are used these days?

 

[datarebal]

If you add tile and halves where needed then no need for little cuts .
Personally I would bed the hips back with a mechanical fix in the joints to keep insurers happy

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

I know there are tile and a half jobs available. Even so, the worst case is you need just over a half. Then you end up with a triangle that has little or no top edge.

I think I'll just get it done the old way. I wouldn't hesitate to use them on a ridge, where gravity just pushes everything together, but a hip is very different. Plus I've seen examples where the line is all over the place, as they follow the tiles and can't be bedded up to make a straight line.

They've lasted 70 years with mortar alone, so re-doing them the same way will definitely see me out.

 

[datarebal]

he worst case is you need just over a half

if you need just over a half, then it will be under the hip anyway and cut from a full tile

 

[datarebal]

Plus I've seen examples where the line is all over the place, as they follow the tiles and can't be bedded up to make a straight line

You have a straightforward plain tile aside from slate one of the easiest to bed up true
And if you use dry, the hip trays hold the line, unfortunately a lot of guys do not realise they should be used.