Homes with recurring leaks near a chimney
The single most common source of a persistent roof leak, and almost always a flashing or back gutter rather than the tiles around it.
Leadwork · Burnley & Lancashire
Leadwork and Flashings Chased Into the Joint, Not Stuck On With Mastic
Chimney flashings, valleys, abutments and soakers formed and dressed in code-correct lead; the junctions where most roofs leak, done the way they are meant to be done.
Over 10 years' experience · £1 million public liability · fixed written price, free and with no obligation
10+ years' experience
Junctions, valleys and stack details
Code-correct lead
Right thickness for the detail, properly dressed
£1m public liability
Insured on every job
Workmanship guarantee
Confirmed with your quote
What it involves
Every Junction on a Roof
Relies on Lead
Tiles and slates shed water down a slope. Lead handles everywhere the slope is interrupted: chimneys, walls, valleys, dormers, soil pipes. It is the most skilled part of ordinary roofing and the part most often botched.
Leadwork covers chimney aprons, step flashings, soakers and back gutters, lead valleys between roof slopes, abutment flashings where a roof meets a wall, dormer cheeks and tops, and small details around pipes and vents. On the stone and slate housing across East Lancashire and West Yorkshire, most of this lead is original and much of it has been patched at some point with sealant.
Lead is used because it can be dressed to fit an irregular surface, it moves with temperature without splitting when it is sized and lapped correctly, and it lasts for decades. It fails when it is cut too long between joints, laid over an inadequate substrate, or fixed to a wall face with mastic instead of being chased into a raked-out joint and wedged.
Where lead has failed, the fix is to form and dress new lead properly rather than add another bead of sealant. You get an inspection, photographs, an explanation of what has gone and a fixed written price to put it right.
Properties with lead valleys
Older houses with two roof slopes meeting in a valley, where the lead carries a large volume of water and failure is immediate and heavy.
Extensions and dormers
Anywhere a roof abuts a wall, a rear extension against the house, or a dormer cheek, where the abutment detail decides whether water gets in.
When this work is needed
- A leak that appears near a chimney, valley, or where a roof meets a wall
- Visible mastic or sealant smeared along a flashing line
- Lead that has split, cracked, or lifted away from the brickwork
- White or chalky staining running down the wall below a flashing
- Debris or vegetation collecting in a lead valley
- Damp inside against a party wall or an extension abutment
What happens if it waits
Failed Lead Leaks
Straight Onto Timber
Lead sits at the junctions, and junctions are usually directly over rafters, wall plates and party walls. When lead fails, water does not run harmlessly down the underlay, it goes into structure.
Sealant that lasts a season
Mastic smeared along a flashing shrinks, cracks and pulls away from the wall within a year or two, and it hides the failure behind it in the meantime.
Split lead from thermal movement
Lead lengths run too long between joints expand and contract until they fatigue and split. The split is often narrow and impossible to spot from the ground while it lets water in every time it rains.
Rotting rafters and wall plates
Water tracking behind a failed flashing lands on timber and stays there. Rafter ends and wall plates decay quietly and are only found when someone opens the roof.
Valley failure
A valley collects water from two slopes. When it splits or blocks, the volume going into the building is far greater than a single missing slate, and it lands in the middle of the roof structure.
Damp on internal walls
Abutment leaks show up as damp on the inside of the wall the roof meets, frequently misdiagnosed as penetrating damp and treated with wall coatings that do nothing.
Repeat call-outs
Each visit to re-seal a flashing costs access and time. Two or three of those cost more than forming the lead correctly once.
Mistakes that cost people money
- Fixing flashings to the wall face with mastic rather than chasing them into a raked joint and wedging them.
- Using lead too thin for the detail, so it fatigues early.
- Running lengths too long between joints, guaranteeing a thermal split.
- Cement fillets used instead of lead at abutments, they crack away within a couple of winters.
- Laying lead over an uneven or unsupported substrate so it works and splits.
- Ignoring the chimney back gutter because it cannot be seen from the ground; it is the part that fails most.
Lead done properly outlasts most of the roof around it. Nearly every lead failure comes from a shortcut at installation rather than from the material.
Our process
From First Look
to Guaranteed Finish
Trace the leak
The junction is inspected in the roof space where possible and from above, so the actual entry point is identified rather than the nearest visible defect.
Explain and photograph
You are shown what has failed and told why, with photographs of details you have no way of seeing yourself.
Fixed price
A written fixed-price quote covering access, lead and associated tiling or pointing work. Free, no obligation.
Form and dress
Old lead and sealant removed, joints raked out, new lead cut to correct lengths, dressed to the profile, chased in, wedged and pointed.
Check and guarantee
Junction checked, coverings reinstated, debris cleared, and the work backed by a workmanship guarantee confirmed with your quote.
What you get
The Difference a Proper
Job Makes
Leaks fixed at the actual junction
The entry point is traced properly, so you pay to fix the cause rather than to seal the nearest suspicious line.
No mastic-dependent repairs
Flashings chased into a joint and wedged, so the repair does not rely on a bead of sealant surviving the weather.
Correct lead code and lengths
Thickness matched to the detail and lengths kept within sensible limits with proper laps, so thermal movement does not split it.
Structure protected
Getting water off the junctions keeps it away from rafters, wall plates and party walls, where damage is expensive and hidden.
Combined with other work
Leadwork sits naturally alongside chimney repointing and roof repairs, all done on one set of access.
Guaranteed workmanship
The finished job carries a workmanship guarantee, not just a promise on the doorstep.
In detail
Leadwork
in Detail
Each lead detail on a roof has a specific job and a specific way of being formed. These are the ones that come up most often.
Chimney flashings
A stack needs a front apron, side soakers interleaved with the slates or tiles, step flashings over those soakers dressed into the brick courses, and a back gutter behind the stack. Each of those is a separate piece doing a separate job.
Step flashings are chased into a raked joint, wedged with lead and pointed. Fixing to the face of the brickwork with sealant is the shortcut that produces recurring chimney leaks.
Back gutters
The back gutter takes water arriving down the slope above the stack and carries it round both sides. It is invisible from the ground, it holds water longer than any other lead on the roof, and it is the detail that most often fails.
It is formed with correct upstands against the stack and onto the roof, and adequate cover under the covering above, so water cannot back up behind it.
Lead valleys
Valleys carry the combined water from two slopes. They need adequate width, correct lead code, proper support beneath, and lapped joints at sensible intervals to allow for movement.
Old valleys frequently fail at the laps or where debris has held water. Renewal means lifting the coverings back each side, replacing the support boards where they have rotted, and re-forming the valley in lengths that will not fatigue.
Abutments and cover flashings
Where a roof meets a wall: extension against house, lean-to, dormer cheek; the covering is weathered with a soakers-and-step-flashing arrangement or a cover flashing, again chased into the joint.
Cement fillets are often found doing this job on older property. They crack away and let water behind, and they are replaced with lead rather than patched again.
Dormers, parapets and small details
Dormer cheeks, tops and the junctions with the main slope all need lead formed to shape. So do parapet gutters, cappings and the small details around soil vent pipes and flues.
Small details cause disproportionate trouble because they are easy to skip. A poorly weathered pipe penetration leaks exactly as reliably as a failed valley, just more slowly.
Materials and fixings
Lead is chosen by code, the thickness appropriate to the detail and its exposure, and formed to fit the profile of the covering rather than forced flat over it.
Fixings, clips and welts are used where wind uplift is a factor, particularly on exposed elevations at the top of the valleys around Burnley, Nelson and Colne where the wind does the testing for you.
Where we carry out leadwork & flashings
Based near BB8 0JP, this work is carried out across East Lancashire and West Yorkshire, from stone terraces in Burnley and Colne to hillside properties around Skipton and Keighley.
Related services
Most roofs need more than one thing looking at. These jobs are often quoted alongside leadwork & flashings.
Straight answers
Leadwork & Flashings
Questions, Answered
Anything not covered here, ring Samuel on 07534 748896 and ask. You will get a straight answer rather than a sales pitch.
How much does new lead flashing cost?
It depends on the detail, its length and how it is accessed. A chimney flashing set, a valley and a short abutment are all very different jobs. Samuel inspects it and gives you a fixed written price, free of charge.
Why does my roof leak near the chimney?
Almost always the flashings: a failed back gutter, split step flashings, or lead that was sealed to the wall face rather than chased into a joint. The stack pointing and flaunching are checked at the same time.
Can lead flashings just be sealed instead of replaced?
Sealant is a temporary measure at best. It shrinks and cracks within a year or two and hides the failure behind it. Where the lead itself has gone, it is replaced properly.
How long does lead last?
Correctly sized, correctly lapped and properly fixed lead lasts decades, frequently outlasting the covering around it. Failures come from lengths run too long, lead too thin for the detail, or fixings that rely on mastic.
Do you replace lead valleys?
Yes. Valleys are stripped back, rotten support boards replaced and new lead formed in appropriate lengths with proper laps before the coverings are reinstated either side.
What is a cement fillet and why replace it?
A mortar wedge used instead of lead where a roof meets a wall. Mortar cannot move with the roof, so it cracks away and lets water behind it. Replacing it with a proper lead flashing is the permanent fix.
How long does leadwork take?
A chimney flashing set is often completed within a day once access is in place. Valleys and larger abutments take longer. The expected duration is given with your quote.
Do you need scaffolding?
It depends on the position and the extent of the work. Where safe access requires scaffold or a tower, it is included in the fixed price rather than added afterwards.
Is leadwork insured and guaranteed?
Yes, £1 million public liability on every job and a workmanship guarantee confirmed with your quote.
Which areas do you cover?
Across East Lancashire and West Yorkshire from BB8: Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Clitheroe, Blackburn, Accrington, Preston, Skipton, Keighley, Bradford, Halifax, Leeds and Huddersfield.
Stop Re-Sealing It
and Fix It Properly
If a leak keeps coming back near a chimney, valley or wall junction, the lead is the place to look. Send your postcode and Samuel will trace it and price the repair.
- Free fixed-price quote
- £1 million public liability
- Workmanship guarantee on all work
- Over 10 years on local roofs
Request your free quote
Send your postcode and a short description of the job. Samuel will arrange a look and price it properly.
Free, no-obligation quote. Your details are only used to price and discuss your job. Prefer to talk? Call 07534 748896.