Ridge Cap
Also called: ridge shingles, hip and ridge, cap shingles
Ridge Cap is the shingle course that covers the peak where two slopes meet, and the hips where they meet at an angle. It is a distinct product from field shingles, it is priced separately, and it is exposed to more wind than any other part of the roof.
What it means
The ridge cap is the finishing course along the top of a roof, covering the joint where two slopes meet, and along the hips where slopes meet at an external angle. Field shingles run up each slope and stop; the cap bridges the gap and seals it.
It is a different product from the field shingles. Cap shingles are formed to bend over an angle without cracking, and they are sold and installed by the linear foot rather than by area, which is why they appear as their own line on an estimate.
Why it takes the worst of the weather
Because it sits at the highest and most exposed line on the roof.
Wind flowing over a building accelerates over the ridge and creates uplift there. The cap is the component sitting directly in that, and it is fastened along an angle rather than flat against a surface, so it has less to hold it. That combination makes ridge and hip the first place wind damage appears and the place it appears most severely.
On a wind claim it is therefore one of the most informative things to look at. Lifted, creased, cracked, or missing cap shingles are a strong indicator that the roof took a wind event, and their condition often tells you more about severity than the field does.
Hail hits it too, and because the cap is bent over an angle, an impact on the fold can crack it rather than merely bruising it.
Ridge venting
Many roofs have a continuous vent running along the ridge, with the cap installed over it. The vent lets warm, moist air escape from the roof space, working with intake ventilation at the eaves.
Where a ridge vent is present it changes the scope. Damage at the ridge may involve the vent as well as the cap, and both need to appear in the estimate. A scope that replaces cap shingles over a damaged vent has restored the appearance and not the function.
The cut-shingle question
Historically, ridge cap was often made by cutting field shingles into pieces and bending them over the ridge. On older three-tab roofs this worked reasonably well.
It works considerably less well with modern architectural shingles, which are thicker and laminated, and which crack along the fold when bent tightly. A cracked cap is a water path at the highest point of the roof.
Purpose-made hip and ridge products exist for this reason and are the normal specification now. A scope that uses cut field shingles for cap on an architectural roof is worth questioning.
Common mistakes
Leaving ridge and hip off the estimate entirely is a genuine and costly omission.
The second is scoping cap without the vent where a vent exists.
The third is inspecting the field carefully and glancing at the ridge, when the ridge is where the wind evidence lives.
On the call
Ridge and hip is its own line on an estimate and is sometimes left off entirely, so it is worth checking when a homeowner is comparing quotes. It is also the first place wind damage appears, which makes it a useful thing to ask about on a wind-damage intake call.
This is how our agents handle it on storm appointment calls and day-to-day roofing answering service intake.
Questions people ask about ridge cap
- Can field shingles be cut up and used as ridge cap?
- It was common practice historically and it is generally discouraged now. Purpose-made cap products are formed to bend over the ridge without cracking, whereas a cut field shingle, particularly a thick architectural one, can crack along the fold and fail early.
- Why is ridge cap priced separately from the roof?
- Because it is a different product installed by linear foot rather than by area. A roof estimate measures the field in squares and the ridge and hip in linear feet, so they appear as separate lines with different unit prices.
- What is a ridge vent and how does it relate?
- A ridge vent is a ventilation component fitted along the peak, with the cap shingles installed over it. Where one is present, damage to the ridge involves both the cap and the vent, and the scope has to account for both.
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