It happens that Reentrant formulated :
On 24/11/2016 13:23, Chris J Dixon wrote:
There seems to be a move to retro-fit plastic dry verges these
days, with plenty of firms touting for business.

My cement tiled roof is due for some attention, and I don't do
aerial clambering.

Are they a good idea? What are they screwed into?

What sort of prices are reasonable? I am in a semi, but next door
is lower, so I effectively have two gable ends.

Unusually for me, I was curious enough to allow a caller at my
door to give me a price, which started at £550, then dropped by
£100. I've just had a flyer for another outfit (devoid of street
address) which would be £298.

What dodges do the unscrupulous use, about which I should be
wary?

Chris

I think they screw to the fascia. They look awful though - retrofit ones in
particular.
Mortar always cracks after a few years - I guess it can't cope with the
movement caused by thermal expansion/contraction of the different materials.
I'm surprised no-one seems to have come up with a permanent, UV-proof,
flexible (and cheap) alternative filler to cement-based mortar.

Mortar, done properly will last for decades. That is how ours was done
70 years ago, using quite a poor mix, but it lasted until 15 years ago.
Then I replaced it with a better mix.

I used two lengths of angle iron as a former, welded together, one laid
on the tiles, the second to touch the wall and just filled up in
between. I waited until the mortar was near set, then slide it up the
roof, to do the next section. There is no signs of movement or cracking
anywhere - the mortar will move with the wall, the tiles move with the
wall and mortar expansion, so why would it crack?

Getting back to the original question, scaffold hire will take care of
much of those quotes, which suggests they will be working off ladders.
It is not the sort of job that can be done properly from ladder, so
they must be skimping somewhere. I suspect in the quality of the
workmanship - expect them to blow away in the first gale.