Fakenham Roofers carries out lead flashing, valleys, soakers, and lead-lined gutters for homeowners in East Dereham.
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Lead is used wherever two surfaces on a roof meet and need to be made watertight. The most common locations are around chimneys, along the junction between a roof slope and a wall (the flashing), in valleys where two roof slopes meet, and around dormer windows. On older properties you also find lead soakers hidden beneath tile courses at abutments, and occasionally lead-lined gutters on parapet roofs.
When any of these fail, water finds a way in fast. The damage is often hidden inside a ceiling or wall cavity for weeks before a stain appears, by which point the timber structure underneath can already be wet. Getting lead work right matters more than almost any other part of the roof.
We work to BS EN 12588, the British Standard for milled lead sheet. This sets minimum thicknesses for each application - Code 3 for soakers, Code 4 for flashings and valleys in most situations, Code 5 for parapet gutters and wider valley boards. Using undersized lead is one of the most common reasons a job fails early, and it is something worth asking any roofer about before they start.
Correctly installed lead has a long service life - the material itself is not the weak point. Problems arise from installation errors, movement over time, or previous patch repairs that have masked a deeper issue.
Thermal movement is the main enemy. Lead expands and contracts significantly with temperature change. If flashings are fixed in one continuous piece that is too long, or if they are dressed too hard into a mortar joint without a proper chase, they will work loose and crack. Each bay of lead needs to be cut to a maximum length (typically 1.5 metres) and fixed so it can move freely at one end. Many failed flashings we see were installed without this allowance.
Mortar pointing is another common failure point. Where the top edge of a flashing is tucked into a mortar joint in brickwork or stonework, that joint eventually opens up. Water runs behind the lead rather than over it. A visual check from ground level will not always show this - the joint looks fine until you press it.
On older properties, lead flashings are sometimes replaced with cheaper alternatives during previous repairs. Mineral-capped bitumen strips bonded over tiles are not a like-for-like replacement and have a much shorter working life, often starting to lift or crack within a few years. When we find these on a job, we replace them with properly formed lead.
This is where most homeowners lose out. A good lead installation is only the start. Simple, low-cost maintenance carried out every few years will protect that work and catch problems before they become expensive.
The mortar that holds the top edge of a flashing in place is one of the most exposed joints on any roof. Frost and rain attack it year after year. On properties with brick or stone chimneys, checking the condition of this pointing every three to four years is a sensible habit. If it is cracking or pulling away from the brick, rake it back and re-point before water gets behind the lead. This is a straightforward job that costs very little compared with the damage a soaking chimney breast causes inside a property.
Patination oil is worth applying to new and repaired lead. It helps the surface develop a stable patina more quickly and slows the rate of carbonate runoff, which is the white staining you sometimes see on tiles or pointing below a lead flashing. Apply it with a cloth after installation and again every few years. It is available cheaply from roofing merchants and requires no special skills to apply.
Moss and lichen growing on lead is more than cosmetic. Root structures can work under the edges of flashings and begin lifting them away from the surface they should be sealing. If you can see significant growth on or immediately around a lead feature, have it cleared and check that the edges are still firmly dressed down.
Lead valleys and lead-lined gutters rely on water flowing freely. Leaves, moss debris, and silt will back up behind any obstruction and force water to find a way through or around the lead. A valley that pools water is also under more stress than one that drains cleanly. Clear debris from valleys at least once a year, ideally in late autumn after leaf fall, and again in spring.
If your property has a lead-lined parapet gutter, the outlet is the critical point. These gutters often have a single outlet at one end. If that outlet blocks, the gutter fills and water overtops the inner parapet edge and soaks straight into the building. Check and clear it regularly.
Flashings protect the junction, but they cannot compensate for a chimney stack that is deteriorating above them. Spalled brickwork, loose coping stones, open bed joints, and a cracked chimney pot all let water in from above and accelerate the failure of perfectly good flashings. If you have your lead work repaired or replaced, ask the roofer to cast an eye over the full stack at the same time. The two are connected.
After a storm, it is worth checking inside the loft around any chimney or dormer for signs of dampness. The interior is where problems show first. A damp patch or wet insulation does not always mean the lead itself has failed - sometimes the issue is higher up the stack - but it tells you where to look. Catching it early, before the water tracks down into a ceiling void, keeps the repair straightforward.
A well-executed lead flashing sits flush against the wall or chimney, with the top edge neatly tucked into a raked mortar joint and pointed back in. The lead is dressed cleanly down over the tile course or against the vertical surface without creases or buckles. Each section is clipped at the fixed end and free to move at the other. There are no overlapping strips of bitumen tape or self-adhesive flashing over the top. If the job you had done previously looks like a patch-up rather than a proper replacement, it probably is.
Lead valleys should show a consistent width of exposed lead, dressed up evenly on both sides with no lifted edges. A valley that has been repaired with roofing felt or similar material is not a long-term solution.
Lead work on a standard chimney stack - including stripping out old flashings, forming new step and cover flashings, and re-pointing the chase - typically costs between £350 and £700 depending on the size of the stack and how much existing mortar work needs to be made good. Valley relining costs vary considerably with the length and pitch of the roof but for a typical mid-terrace or semi-detached valley, expect to pay in the range of £400 to £900. These are working figures for Norfolk properties; the actual cost depends on access, the condition of what is found once the old material is stripped back, and the lead code specified.
If you are in East Dereham and want a straight answer on what your job is likely to cost, call us and we can arrange to have a look.
We carry out lead work across Norfolk from our base in Fakenham. As well as East Dereham, we work in Swaffham, Holt, Sheringham, and many of the villages across the county including Sculthorpe, Hempton, East Raynham, West Rudham, and others in between. If you are within Norfolk and need a lead work specialist, get in touch and we will tell you whether we can help.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
