Re-bedding vs Re-pointing: What's the Difference and Which Does Your Roof Actually Need?

Most homeowners hear these two terms and assume they mean the same thing. A lot of tradies use them that way too, which makes it worse. They are not the same. If you get the wrong one done, you will be calling someone out again in 18 months.

On a pre-war terracotta roof in the inner east, getting this call wrong is expensive. We see it regularly on Federation and Edwardian homes in Kew, Hawthorn, and Camberwell. Someone re-points a roof that needed re-bedding underneath, it looks fine through summer, then the tiles start moving again come July.

One holds the tiles. The other keeps water out.

At the ridge and hips, tiles are held by two things. The bedding is the mortar bed underneath, sand and cement, the stuff the tiles actually sit on. The pointing is the sealant layer on top of that, the bit you can see, which keeps water out of the joint.

When the bedding goes, tiles move. When the pointing goes, water gets in but tiles stay put. These are different problems and they need different fixes.

Re-bedding

The old mortar bed comes out entirely and gets relaid fresh. You do this when the bedding has broken down to the point where tiles are no longer sitting stable.

On a roof that has not been touched since it was built, which on a lot of inner Melbourne homes means the 1910s or 1920s, the mortar is probably well past it. It crumbles when you press it. Tiles shift if you push them. That is a re-bedding job, not a re-pointing job.

It takes longer and costs more. Tiles come off, the old bed gets cleared out, new mortar goes down, tiles get reset. Then pointing goes on top once the bed has cured.

Re-pointing

The old pointing compound gets stripped back and a fresh flexible sealant goes on over the existing bedding. You do this when the mortar underneath is still solid but the surface seal has cracked or failed.

Re-pointing over a failed mortar bed is a waste of money. It will look fine for a year, maybe two, and then you are back to square one with the same moving tiles and the same water ingress. If the structure underneath is not right, the surface fix will not hold.

How to tell which one your roof needs

Push a ridge tile. If it moves, the bedding is the problem. If it sits solid but the sealant around it is cracked or missing, re-pointing is probably enough.

A roofer who gives you a quote without getting on the roof has not checked. The visual from the ground tells you almost nothing about whether the mortar underneath is intact.

Signs the bedding has failed:

• Ridge or hip tiles that have visibly shifted or lifted
• Mortar that crumbles or falls away when touched
• A re-pointing job done in the last few years that has not held
• A roof over 50 years old that has never had ridge work done

Signs re-pointing will do the job:

• Tiles are sitting flat and have not moved
• The sealant is visibly cracked or missing but the mortar underneath is firm
• Water is getting in around the ridge but there is no tile movement

What we do on Melbourne's older roofs

We check both separately. We will tell you which sections need re-bedding and which only need re-pointing, and we will tell you straight if the roof is not urgent. We are not going to re-bed a roof that only needs its pointing touched up.

All ridge and hip work carries our 10-year workmanship warranty. If you want to understand what a full roof assessment covers, the Roof Tiling and Restoration page has the detail. If there is an active leak, start with the Roofing Repairs page.
 

Get it checked before winter

If the ridge on your terracotta roof has not been inspected in the last five years, do it before the wet season. Mortar that is on the way out will deteriorate faster once the rain starts, and a tile that shifts in a storm is a water damage problem, not just a roof problem.
Call us on 0413 477 740 or get a fixed-price quote online. Monday to Friday 7am to 9pm, 24/7 for emergencies.