Haverhill Roofers carries out lead flashing repairs and installations for homeowners in Linton and the surrounding villages.
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Lead seals the vulnerable joints where your roof meets something else - a chimney stack, a parapet wall, a dormer cheek or a roof valley. Without it, those junctions are open to rainwater. A well-fitted lead flashing keeps water out for decades; a failed one lets it work its way into the roof structure, the ceiling and eventually the walls before most homeowners notice anything is wrong.
The main types of lead work on a typical house are step flashings (which run in steps up a chimney or wall), apron flashings (a single sheet across the front of a chimney at the low side), soakers (small interlocking pieces that sit under the slates or tiles alongside a junction), and valley linings (the trough formed where two roof slopes meet). Each has its own fitting method and its own failure modes.
Lead moves with temperature - it expands in summer heat and contracts in winter cold. Over time this thermal movement can crack the lead, lift the edges of flashings away from the mortar joints that hold them, or cause soakers to work loose from beneath the tiles. On older houses the mortar pointing that secures flashings into the brickwork also breaks down and needs raking out and re-pointing periodically.
Common signs of a failing flashing include: damp patches on a chimney breast wall inside the house, staining on a ceiling below a valley or dormer, moss growing particularly thickly along a junction line, or visible cracks and lifting edges when you look from the ground with binoculars. A professional survey can confirm which joint is the source, because water travels before it shows itself.
Sealant repairs - where someone has painted over or filled a cracked flashing with mastic or roof sealant - are a common temporary fix that delays the inevitable. Sealant does not bond permanently to lead and will crack again within a season or two. If you can see brown or grey sealant on your flashings, expect a proper repair to be needed soon.
Lead work is a skilled trade. The quality of the job depends entirely on the person doing it, and unlike a coat of paint, poor lead work is invisible until it fails. Asking the right questions before you hire anyone saves you from paying twice.
Lead sheet comes in different thicknesses, measured as "code" numbers. Code 3 (1.32 mm) is one of the thinnest codes in common use and is mainly used for soakers. Code 4 (1.80 mm) is the standard for most flashings. Code 5 (2.24 mm) is used on valleys and flat areas carrying more water. A contractor who cannot tell you what code they intend to use, or who proposes using Code 3 for a chimney flashing, is cutting corners.
Ask whether they will be using virgin milled lead sheet or lead substitutes. Some contractors use aluminium or zinc-based alternatives in areas where lead theft is a risk - both can be acceptable, but they require different fixing techniques and behave differently over time. You should know what is going on your roof and why.
A proper lead flashing repair is not just replacing the sheet. The mortar joints (raggle grooves) that hold the flashing into the brickwork need to be raked out cleanly and re-pointed with fresh mortar. The lead needs to be lapped correctly at joints, dressed neatly into the brickwork and secured with lead wedges, not just pushed in. Ask the contractor to describe the process step by step. If they cannot, or if they say it is a quick patch job, look elsewhere.
For valley work, ask whether they will be lifting the tiles or slates either side of the valley to dress the lead properly beneath them, or whether they plan to lay new lead on top of existing material. Laying on top is almost always a false economy.
Lead work on chimneys or high gable walls usually requires scaffold or a properly set-up tower. Be cautious of any quote that does not account for access - working from a ladder alone on a chimney flashing is unsafe and generally produces poor results because the operative cannot work with both hands freely. Ask what access method is planned and whether it is included in the price.
A roofer who has done good lead work locally should be able to point you to jobs you can look at, or give you a contact who will speak to the quality of their work. You do not need to inspect the roof yourself - a brief conversation with a previous customer about whether the leak stopped, whether the site was left clean and whether the price matched the quote is enough.
For a straightforward chimney flashing repair, typical costs run from around £200 to £500 depending on the extent of the work and the access required. Full lead valley replacements on a typical semi-detached house can cost £400 to £900. Complex work on a large chimney stack with all four flashings replaced can reach £600 to £1,200. These are honest UK market ranges - any price dramatically lower should prompt questions about what is being left out.
A written quote should specify the lead code being used, the area or linear metres of flashing being replaced, whether re-pointing is included, the access method, and what happens to the old lead (it has scrap value, and some contractors will deduct this). It should also be clear whether the quoted price covers any tile or slate lifting and relaying that the job requires.
Lead work rarely happens in isolation on an older house. While a roofer is on the roof and the scaffold is up, it is worth asking them to check the condition of the surrounding tiles or slates, the ridge mortar and any other flashings. Access is often the largest single cost in roofing work, so combining jobs saves money overall. Haverhill Roofers also carries out tile and slate repairs, re-ridging and flat roof work, so if there is more than one issue to address, we can look at the whole picture during the same visit.
If you are in Linton or a nearby village and want a roofer to take a proper look before you commit to anything, call us to arrange a roof survey so you know exactly what you are dealing with.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
