Tile Roof Ridge Waterproofing: A Case Study for Universitas Homeowners
Tile roof ridge waterproofing and repair — installed as a complete SealPro system by BloemGuard.
On an older concrete-tile roof, the ridge line is usually the first thing to fail. The cement pointing that beds the ridge caps hardens and shrinks over the years until it cracks, crumbles and eventually washes away in the rain. This case study walks through a typical ridge waterproofing project completed by an approved SealPro applicator, showing the problem, the repair process and the result homeowners in Universitas, Bloemfontein can expect from the same system.
The problem: failed ridge pointing and water ingress
Once the roof was inspected up close, the extent of the damage was obvious. The rigid cement bedding the ridge tiles had reached the end of its service life: long cracks ran the full length of the pointing, chunks of filler had broken away completely, and in several places the gaps were wide enough to slide a finger under the tile. A handful of tiles had also been chipped during a previous solar panel installation. Across the roof, more than fifty ridge sections showed this kind of failure.
That level of deterioration is a direct path for water. Once rain tracks under the ridge caps, it saturates the roof timber below and, left long enough, shows up as damp patches on ceilings inside the home. Nearby parapets and box gutters were also blocked and damaged, with standing water and weed growth taking hold — turning the job into as much a leak-prevention exercise as a ridge repair.
The solution: the SealPro ridge system
Working as an approved SealPro applicator, the contractor rebuilt every ridge with a flexible, fully waterproof system instead of simply patching the old cement:
- Rake out and clear. Every bit of loose, cracked and perished pointing was raked out back to a sound edge.
- Re-bed with Posi Screed. The ridge line was re-bedded and filled with a fibre-reinforced Posi Screed base to lock the tiles back down.
- Prime with Penetrar. The bedding and surrounding tile were primed so the waterproofing layer would bond properly.
- Reinforce with StretchSeal. Every joint was reinforced with the StretchSeal / RidgeSeal membrane system — a flexible band that moves with the roof instead of cracking like cement.
- Seal and colour match. A HydroSeal HF waterproof coating sealed the system, finished with two coats of roof paint colour-matched to the existing tiles.
- Repair and finish. Chipped and missing tiles were replaced, and the damaged parapet and pipe penetrations were sealed with the same flexible membrane.
The result: sealed, watertight and tidy
The ridges now sit on a flexible, reinforced system built to move with the roof through hot Free State summers and cold winters, rather than cracking apart again. The rebuilt pointing sheds water instead of channelling it inside, the repaired parapet penetrations are sealed against ingress, and the colour-matched ridge line ties the whole roofline together neatly — the kind of result that heads off an interior leak before it starts.
If your tile roof in Universitas has cracked ridge pointing, missing filler, or damp starting to show inside, it's worth having it inspected before the timber gets involved.
BloemGuard is an approved SealPro applicator serving Universitas and the greater Bloemfontein area.
Contact BloemGuard for a free inspection and quote: 072 933 0162 · bloemguard.co.za
The work, step by step
