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Lead Work

Lead Work in Newmarket

Lead work seals the joints where a roof meets a wall, chimney or window - and when it fails, water gets in fast. We carry out lead flashing, soakers and valley work across Newmarket and surrounding villages.

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What's involved

How we handle lead work

Lead Work in Newmarket

Lead is still the most reliable material for sealing the critical joints on a roof. Where a slope meets a chimney stack, a parapet wall, a dormer or a roof window, a correctly dressed lead flashing keeps water out for decades. When that lead fails, whether through cracking, lifting or poor original workmanship, water tracks straight down the joint and into the roof structure or the room below. We carry out lead work on properties throughout Newmarket and the surrounding area, from minor flashing repairs to full valley replacements.

Where Lead Is Used on a Roof

Lead appears in several different places on a typical domestic roof, and each application works slightly differently. Understanding what you are looking at helps when you are describing a problem or getting a quote.

  • Step flashings - these run up the side of a chimney or dormer in a stepped pattern, tucked into the mortar courses of the brickwork and lapping over the tiles below.
  • Apron flashings - a single flat piece of lead dressed over the lower edge of a chimney or dormer where it meets the main roof slope.
  • Soakers - small individual lead pieces woven between each course of slates or plain tiles alongside a chimney or abutment. They work together with step flashings above them.
  • Valley gutters - lead-lined channels running between two roof slopes. Lead valleys are common on older properties and generally last well when they were laid at an adequate weight.
  • Parapet flashings - wide sheets of lead dressed over the top of a low wall where it sits against a roof slope. These are prone to splitting if the lead was laid in one long piece without allowance for thermal movement.
  • Roof light and skylight kerbs - lead work around the frame of a roof window prevents water from running behind the unit and into the ceiling below.

Why Lead Flashings Fail

Lead is a soft metal and it moves with temperature changes. In summer it expands; in winter it contracts. This is normal, but it means flashings need to be fixed and dressed in a way that allows that movement. A common problem is lead that was fixed too rigidly or laid in lengths that are too long. Over time the metal tears at the fixings or splits across the sheet.

Mortar joints in chimney stacks deteriorate and the lead becomes loose. Once the upstand is no longer held into the joint, rain gets behind it and runs down the inside of the chimney breast. Repair with mortar or sealant is a common temporary fix, but it does not last. Mortar shrinks away from the lead and sealant cracks within a season or two. The correct repair is to rake out the old mortar joint, re-dress the lead, and point it back in with a proper lead wedge and fresh mortar.

Lead Standards and Material Weight

Lead sheet for roofing is sold by code, which refers to its thickness and weight per square metre. Code 3 lead (1.32 mm thick) is the minimum for soakers. Code 4 (1.80 mm) is used for most step and cover flashings. Code 5 (2.24 mm) is appropriate for valleys and parapet gutters that need to carry standing water. Using undersized lead is a false economy. Thin lead splits sooner and needs replacing more frequently.

Lead valleys on properties in the Newmarket area, and in nearby villages such as Cheveley and Kirtling, typically last thirty to fifty years when laid in the correct code and with adequate welted joints. Cheaper alternatives such as sand-and-cement fillets, which are sometimes used instead of proper lead soakers at abutments, tend to crack and fail within a few years.

What a Lead Work Repair or Replacement Involves

A flashing repair to a single chimney usually takes half a day to a full day, depending on access and how much of the existing lead needs to come out. The old lead and mortar are removed, the brickwork joint is cleaned and cut to a consistent depth, new lead is cut, dressed and fixed with lead wedges, and the joint is pointed. Where soakers are needed alongside a chimney, some tiles or slates must come off to weave them in, then be relaid correctly.

Valley replacements take longer. The tiles on both sides of the valley need stripping back by several courses, the old lead or mortar is removed, the boarding underneath is checked and replaced if needed, and new lead is laid in manageable lengths with proper drips formed to control water flow. Tiles are then relaid from the bottom up.

Typical costs for lead flashing work in the Newmarket area start from around £200 to £400 for a small repair to a single chimney flashing, rising to £600 to £1,200 or more for a full chimney strip and re-lead including both step flashings and soakers. Lead valley replacement varies considerably depending on the length of the valley and access requirements.

Working in Newmarket and the Surrounding Area

We carry out lead work across Newmarket and into the surrounding area, including Ely, Mildenhall, Haverhill, Bury St Edmunds and neighbouring villages.

Book a Lead Work Inspection

If you have a damp patch near a chimney breast, around a dormer or at a roof junction and are not sure what is causing it, call us to arrange an inspection. We will get onto the roof and tell you exactly what we find, rather than guessing from the ground.

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Urgent leak or storm damage?

Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.

Call now: 01638 596970
Questions

What people ask first.

The cost of a new roof depends on the size and pitch of the roof, the materials chosen, and whether any structural timber repairs are needed. Larger homes, complex roof shapes or premium materials such as natural Welsh slate will push the cost higher. The only reliable way to get an accurate figure is to have the roof properly inspected and measured first.
A standard semi-detached or detached house in the Newmarket area typically costs between £5,000 and £15,000 for a pitched roof replacement, depending on size, materials and the condition of the structure underneath. Flat roof replacements on extensions are usually in the £1,500 to £4,000 range. The only way to pin down an accurate figure is a site visit, because the state of the battens, deck and flashings cannot be assessed properly from the ground.
Minor repairs such as re-fixing slipped tiles or repointing a small ridge section typically cost £150 to £400. More substantial work - a full ridge re-bed on a semi-detached house or lead flashing replacement on a chimney - commonly runs between £400 and £900. The exact figure depends on what the inspection finds, the materials needed and the access required.
EPDM rubber membrane installation typically costs £70 to £120 per square metre, while a two-layer torch-on felt system runs roughly £50 to £90 per square metre. A standard single-garage flat roof often comes to between £900 and £2,000 in total. The final price depends on the size of the roof, the condition of the deck underneath and the complexity of the edge and upstand detailing.
For a typical semi-detached house, expect to pay in the region of £800 to £1,500 for a full uPVC roofline replacement. Larger detached homes or properties needing more extensive scaffold access will cost more. The condition of the timber underneath also affects the price, since rotten rafter feet need cutting out and replacing before new boards can be fixed.
Most lead work is priced by the job rather than by the metre, because access, the number of tiles that need lifting and the amount of mortar raking all affect the time involved. A small flashing repair to one chimney in the Newmarket area typically costs in the region of £200 to £400. A full strip and re-lead of a chimney with step flashings and soakers is more likely to be £600 to £1,200. We will give you a clear price once we have inspected the job.
A partial chimney rebuild on a standard residential property in the Newmarket area typically costs between £800 and £2,500. The main variables are the height of the stack, how many courses of brick need replacing, the scaffold required and whether lead flashings need replacing at the same time. A full rebuild from roofline level upward on a larger property will sit toward the higher end or beyond that range. No reliable price can be given without seeing the stack first.
A chimney take-down to below roofline level on a standard residential property in the Newmarket area typically costs between £600 and £1,800. The size of the stack, the scaffold required and the extent of the roof reinstatement are the main cost drivers. A taller stack on a steeper roof will cost more than a short pot stack on a shallow pitch. You need someone to look at the job before any figure can be relied upon.
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