Lead Work and Flashing Across Devon
Failed lead causes more roof leaks than almost anything else. We repair and replace flashing to chimneys, valleys, abutments and dormers anywhere in Devon.
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The Detail That Decides Whether a Roof Leaks
Tiles and slates shed water. Lead handles everywhere they cannot, which means every junction on the roof: around the chimney, down the valleys, where a roof meets a wall, and around dormers and rooflights. Those junctions are where roofs leak. A perfectly sound covering with failed lead at the chimney will let water in just as readily as a roof full of missing tiles.
Lead fails for predictable reasons. It expands and contracts more than anything around it, so runs that were cut too long fatigue and split. Too thin a gauge cracks early. Mortar fillets used instead of proper lead crack within a few years. And more often than any of those, someone has been up before us and covered the problem in sealant or self adhesive flashing tape, which buys a season and then traps water behind it. We take that off and do it properly.
We use correctly sized code lead, dressed and fixed as it should be, chased into brickwork where the detail calls for it rather than stuck on the surface. We are a family run team with over 10 years of experience across Devon, fully insured, and every job is backed by our workmanship guarantee.
Our Lead Work Services
Wherever your roof meets something that is not roof, there should be lead. Here is what we repair and replace across Devon.
Chimney Flashing
The lead sealing the stack to the roof, made up of an apron across the front, stepped lead running up both sides and a back gutter behind. Any one of the three failing will let water in, and this is the most common leak we are called out to.
Valley Flashing
Valleys carry more water than any other part of a roof, so the lead lining them takes the most punishment and fails first. We strip and reline valleys properly rather than patching over splits and hoping.
Abutment & Wall Flashing
Where a roof meets a vertical wall, on extensions, lean-tos, porches and conservatories. Sealed with stepped lead chased into the brickwork, and a very common leak point once the old mortar lets go.
Dormer Window Lead Work
Dormers are full of awkward junctions where the cheeks, the dormer roof and the main roof all come together. Detailed properly in lead so those joints stay watertight instead of becoming the reason the bedroom ceiling stains.
Skylight Flashing
The soaker and apron detail that seals a rooflight into the roof covering. We repair and replace the lead work around the unit so water is directed away rather than finding its way under the frame.
Lead Roof Repairs
Repairs to existing lead work. Splits, fatigue cracks, lifted seams and previous patch jobs in sealant or flashing tape, all put right using correctly sized code lead.
Other Services
Roof Emergency?
We answer 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If your roof is leaking right now, call us and we will get to you as fast as we can.
Appointment
Let's Find Out Where the Water Is Getting In
Tell us what you are seeing inside and we will arrange a convenient time to come and look at the roof. No pressure, no obligation, just an honest assessment and a clear written quote.
- We Find the Actual Junction
Water travels along timbers before it shows itself, so the stain inside is rarely below the fault. We work out which junction has failed before quoting for anything.
- Correct Code Lead, Properly Dressed
We use the right gauge of lead for the detail and fix it as it should be fixed. No mortar fillets, no flashing tape, no sealant holding a roof together.
- Clear Written Quote, No Hard Sell
You get a transparent written quote with no hidden extras. The price we agree is the price you pay, and you are under no obligation to proceed.
Make an Appointment
Fill in your details and we will get back to you quickly to arrange a visit. If it is urgent, please call us instead on 07449 211732.
F. A. Q's
Lead and Flashing Questions, Answered
Flashing is the part of a roof most people have never heard of until it fails. Below are the questions we are asked most often. If yours is not covered here, call us and ask.
The usual sign is a damp patch that appears near a chimney, a valley, a dormer, or where an extension roof meets the house wall. Look for lead that has lifted at the edges, visible splits or cracks, mortar crumbling out of the joint where the lead is chased into the brickwork, or previous repairs in sealant or silver flashing tape. If someone has been up before and used tape, the underlying problem is almost certainly still there.
It depends on why it failed. A short split in otherwise sound lead can sometimes be dressed and repaired. But where lead has fatigued along its length, where the gauge was too thin in the first place, or where runs were cut far too long, replacing the section is the only thing that actually lasts. We will tell you which situation you are in rather than doing the cheap version and leaving you to call someone again next winter.
Because it is quicker and cheaper on the day. A mortar fillet costs a fraction of a proper stepped lead flashing and looks fine at first, but mortar has no flexibility and the roof moves, so it cracks within a few years. Sealant and self adhesive flashing tape are worse, because they trap water behind them and hide the fault while it carries on getting wetter. We take those off and detail the junction properly.
Lead is graded by thickness, referred to as its code, running from Code 3 up to Code 8. Different details need different codes, and using too thin a gauge to save money is one of the most common reasons flashing fails early. Thin lead fatigues and splits under the same expansion and contraction that thicker lead handles for decades. We use the correct code for the detail rather than whatever is on the van.
Correctly sized lead, properly dressed and fixed, will comfortably last 50 years and often outlives the roof covering around it. That is the point of using it. When flashing fails after five or ten years it is almost never the lead that was at fault, it is how it was specified or fitted.
Leak Near the Chimney or a Valley?
It is almost always the lead rather than the tiles. Call JD Roofing Solutions Ltd a free assessment anywhere in Devon, and we will tell you exactly what has failed.