Leadwork Roofing Service in Norwich and Norfolk

The strength, quality and style of leadwork means it's the perfect option for creating a long term, weather resistant barrier for your roof. When looking for roofing leadwork services, there's a variety of options available, such as repairing damaged lead flashings or installing leadwork from scratch.

Let DH Roofing Contractors in Norwich and Norfolk complete the leadwork on your roofing project. Get in touch today for a free, no-obligation quotation.

A guide to roofing leadwork

Where lead is used on a roof

Lead is used wherever a roof meets something that is not roof: flashings where a slope meets a wall, aprons and back gutters around chimneys, valleys between two slopes, and coverings on bay windows, dormers and small flat roofs. These junctions are where water most often finds its way in, which is why the leadwork matters as much as the tiles.

Rolled lead and BS12588

Rolled lead sheet for building is made to the standard BS EN 12588, which sets its thickness and quality. Lead sheet comes in codes, from code 3 to code 8, with the higher codes thicker and used where more strength is needed. We use rolled lead to BS12588 British standards on every leadwork job.

How leadwork is fitted

Lead is dressed by hand to the shape of the roof, fixed with clips and laid in lengths short enough to allow it to expand and contract. Flashings are tucked into a cut in the brickwork and pointed in, and stepped flashings follow each course of brick up a wall or a chimney. Done properly, it needs no mastic or sealant.

Repair or renew?

Lead that has lifted can sometimes be dressed back and refixed, and loose pointing renewed. Lead that has split, cracked or worn thin is better replaced, along with any section laid in lengths too long for it to move without splitting. An old repair made with tape or sealant usually hides a fault that will come back.

Leadwork on new roofs and extensions

On a new roof, an extension, a dormer or a conservatory, the leadwork is installed from scratch: flashings where the new roof meets the existing wall, valleys where two roofs join and coverings on any small flat areas. The strength, quality and style of leadwork makes it the perfect option for creating a long term, weather resistant barrier for your roof.

Lead codes and where they are used

Lead sheet is graded by code, and each code carries a colour mark on the roll so it can be identified on site.

Soakers and stepped flashings

Where the side of a tiled or slated roof meets a wall or a chimney, small pieces of lead called soakers are laid between each course of slates or plain tiles, turned up against the wall. A stepped flashing then covers them, cut so that each step tucks into a brick joint. With larger interlocking tiles, a single cover flashing is dressed over the tiles instead. Either way, it is the lead and not mortar that keeps the water out.

Lead valleys

A valley is the internal angle where two roof slopes meet. Water from both slopes runs down it, so it carries more water than any other part of the roof. A lead valley is laid on boards in the angle, in lengths that overlap, with the tiles cut to sit over its edges. A valley that is too narrow, laid in lengths that are too long, or with tiles cut badly, will leak.

Patination oil

New lead reacts with rain and forms a white carbonate that can wash down and stain brickwork, tiles and windows. Brushing new lead with patination oil when it is fitted stops this while the lead weathers naturally to its dull grey.

Leadwork on chimneys

A chimney needs lead on all four sides: an apron at the front, stepped flashings and soakers down each side, and a back gutter behind the stack to carry water round it. Damp on a chimney breast inside the house is very often a leadwork problem rather than a fault in the chimney itself.