How to replace a plastic Gable End Cap

[Homeowner51]

My roof was re-tiled last year and we had plastic Dry Verge Caps fitted. The top of the cap is screwed in to the timber batons and the lower end of the Dry Verge Cap is not secured (the bottom one is screwed onto the guttering too though).

Unfortunately 1 of the Dry Verge Caps blew off in the storms in Feb. My builder is going to fix it under warranty but I am wondering how to make sure he does it properly.

It looks to me like the only exposed screw is at the very Apex of the roof on the round cover piece and that every Dry Verge Cap lower down has the screw covered by the Dry Verge Cap above it.

Should he have scaffolding put up or a Cherry picker so he can safely remove all Dry Verge Caps from the top down then screw it back in properly or can he get away with sliding it in and using some sort of glue, is so what glue? I am worried about him just turning up and screwing that 1 piece in because that will be the only exposed screw. I'm also worried the end of the timber baton is now weak as the screw has been ripped out by the wind once already, does he need to screw in a new short piece of timber baton and get a nice new screw hole into that? That would mean removing at least the Dry Verge Cap above the missing one.

One other idea is that he could glue the dry verge cap onto a short length of timber baton and slide it then going into the loft secure the short piece of baton. This seems a bit cowboy but might save a whole scaffolding because I know he can't safely reach the apex without scaffolding.

Anyway I just wondered what the proper way to do it is.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

Why not alleviate yourself of having to ask 20 questions (most of which are outside your control) and employ a reputable roofer to conduct the repair? If concerned re what they're charging, ask 2-3 roofers to quote.

As long as they're reputable, insured etc, exactly how they complete the repair isn't really of concern to you?

 

[Homeowner51]

Yes, that is basically true but having a repair done under warranty can be a risk if the work is done too cheaply and needs another repair and another repair. Some people, not just builders, will do this until the warranty period runs out and you're left with a mess.

In this case, I'm just concerned that he should do this job properly with scaffolding or cherry picker and re-fit all the end caps but might risk a less good repair or just the 1 Dry Verge Cap from a ladder.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

I may well be wrong, however I doubt they would take the whole row off and essentially start from scratch. I reckon they'll simply piece a replacement part in and secure.

Roofers on here or those more in the know are better placed to advise.

 

[Homeowner51]

Thanks, to secure the 1 cap only would mean it would have to be secured in a different way to all the others because each cap has it's securing screw covered by the cap above. Securing just 1 cap in the middle would mean and exposed screw which would look odd (as the others caps have the screw covered by placing the nest cap up over the screw fixing) or using glue which would work well if the glue was really good but no idea if that would really last.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

Tbh I'm not sure if you're a low level troll or simply overthinking this

You have a loose part on your roof. You need to get it fixed. As I said, maybe ask 2 or 3 (reputable) roofers to quote to repair. Of course you're free to ask them how they're going to go about it. Choose the quote/roofer you prefer. Job done.

All the best with it, last comment from me on this

 

[Mike1973]

Anyone else lolling at how many times the op say’s gable end cap?

IT’S A DRY VERGE CAP!!!!

As diy fun suggests, just get a roofer to fix it.

 

[Homeowner51]

For the benefit of anyone looking at this in future, the solution was that the roofer used a ladder only, he gently bent and twisted the Dry Verge Cap that was above the gap, up and out the way. This takes a bit of bending because they have a C section shape, not just flat. This then gave space to put the 1 screw into the Dry Verge Cap that was being put back in, he found a good piece of batten to screw it into...

Bend and gently swivel the Dry Verge Cap back down and hey presto it covers the newly attached cap fixing.

So in conclusion easy when you know how although this was the part of the roof that leaked before the roof was re-tiled last year so I suspect it has the highest wind load and the Dry Verge Cap might blow off again in future! Will post on here if it does in case anyone is thinking of getting their roof done like this. In hindsight, I wish we'd gone for the proper verge roof tiles rather than the plastic Dry Verge Caps.

 

[PaulDMW]

"I wish we'd gone for the proper verge roof tiles rather than the plastic Dry Verge Caps." It takes them 5mins to fit the plastic ones:

 

[datarebal]

I wish we'd gone for the proper verge

yes