Lead Flashing Repairs in East London & Essex

Lead flashings seal the joints where a roof meets a chimney, wall, parapet or dormer. Lead is durable, but it lifts, splits and perishes over time, and a small gap at a chimney stack is one of the most common causes of damp in older homes. Repairing the flashing is usually far cheaper than repairing the plaster it damages.

We repair and replace lead flashings on chimney stacks, parapets, abutments, dormer cheeks and valleys across East London and Essex. We choose the right lead thickness for each detail, and we fix the cause of the failure rather than only the split you can see.

Why lead flashings fail

Lead still needs checking. It expands and contracts with changes in temperature, it can fatigue and crack along folds, and it lifts when the fixings or the mortar holding it have failed. The most common fault is at a chimney stack, where the flashing was dressed into a joint that has since weathered and no longer holds. Water then runs behind the lead and into the stack, the chimney breast and the room below, often for years before anyone notices the staining.

Chimney stack flashings: steps, aprons and soakers

On a pitched roof, a chimney is sealed with stepped flashings that lap up the slope where the roof meets the brickwork, and an apron flashing across the front of the stack. Each step is dressed into the brick joint, so water runs out over the roof covering rather than behind it. Soakers, the small lead sheets that sit under the slates or tiles at the sides, carry water down the roof. Where any of these have slipped out of their joints, or the lead has split along a fold, the repair means re-dressing the lead, re-pointing the joint and fixing the flashing securely. A chimney that has been capped or rebuilt needs its flashings checked again afterwards.

Parapets, abutments and dormers

Parapet walls and abutments, where a roof meets a higher wall, rely on lead to shed water from the join. Cover flashings are often dressed into a raggled slot, or a chase cut into the brick and pointed, so the lead sits in the wall and the water runs over it. Dormer cheeks are commonly clad in lead, and the valley linings where they meet the main roof need careful lapping, so that water is carried away from the joints rather than pooling in them. On the roofs of terraced houses in Hackney and Walthamstow, these details are often the first to need attention.

Choosing the right lead

Lead is sold in codes that show its thickness per square metre, and each detail needs a code suited to the load and the job. Flashings and soakers are not the same as valley gutters or box gutters, which carry far more water and need a heavier lead. We select the thickness for each detail rather than using one size for everything. Lead that is too thin tends to fail early, and lead that is too heavy is harder to dress tightly and can crack at the folds.

Dressing, fixing and mortar joints

Lead has to be dressed by hand to the shape of the roof and the brickwork, so it sits tight without being stretched. Because lead expands and contracts with heat, it is usually fixed at the top with clips or wedges and allowed to move at the lower edge, rather than locked rigidly in place. Where lead is set into mortar joints, the joint is raked out, the lead is wedged and the joint is re-pointed. That is why the condition of the mortar matters as much as the lead itself. Lead dressed into a loose joint is likely to lift again after a few winters of wind and rain.

Lead on older and conservation-area homes

Many Victorian and Edwardian homes in East London and Essex have original lead on their chimneys, parapets and bay roofs, and some sit within conservation areas. Lead details on these buildings are often original, and replacing them with a different material can need approval. We will tell you early if planning or conservation rules apply. Where it is possible, we repair the original lead rather than replacing it, which keeps the character of the house intact. Our <InlineLink to="/services/leadwork">leadwork</InlineLink> service covers wider lead roofing and cladding work.

Chimney and lead repairs across our areas

We work on chimney flashings on terraced houses in Walthamstow and Clapton, and on older semi-detached homes across Essex. Because lead is often hidden behind brickwork and under the roof covering, we check the flashings as part of any <InlineLink to="/services/chimney-repairs">chimney repair</InlineLink>, rather than treating the chimney and the roof as separate jobs. You can see more of our local work on our <InlineLink to="/locations/walthamstow">Walthamstow</InlineLink> and <InlineLink to="/locations/clapton">Clapton</InlineLink> pages.

Guarantees on lead flashing repairs

Each repair is carried out to written terms and comes with the written guarantee that applies to that work. Our 25-year company guarantee applies to qualifying new roofs, and our 10-year insurance-backed guarantee applies only to qualifying new GRP Cure It installations. Ask us for the written terms before work starts, so you know exactly what is covered and for how long.