Leadwork and Flashings Done Properly, Not Patched

Lead flashing does a small but critical job on a roof, sealing the gap where a roof slope meets something upright, a chimney, a wall, a dormer cheek. When it's fitted properly it lasts for decades, but when it's patched with sealant instead of properly dressed and pointed, it fails within a season or two and starts letting water in.

We get called out a lot across Coventry, Solihull and Rugby to fix flashing that's been botched with mastic or roofing sealant as a quick fix by a previous roofer. Sealant cracks in the sun, shrinks in the cold, and never bonds properly to brickwork long term. We remove it, rake the joint out properly and dress new lead in, tucked into the mortar course so it's mechanically fixed rather than just stuck.

Soakers are the small individual pieces of lead woven between tiles or slates at a junction, most commonly where a roof meets a wall on the side rather than the top. They're less visible than a chimney flashing but just as important, and when they corrode or come loose they cause leaks that are tricky to trace without getting up close.

Valleys, where two roof slopes meet, take more water flow than anywhere else on the roof, so lead valleys need to be the right width and properly lapped to cope with heavy rain. A cracked or undersized valley will show up as a leak lower down the roof, sometimes well away from the actual fault, which catches people out.

We work with code 4 and code 5 lead depending on the location and exposure, following standard lap and fixing practice so the work holds up to wind uplift and thermal movement over years, not just months. On older Warwick and Kenilworth properties we take care matching detailing to what's typical for the age of the building.

Cost depends on how much lead needs renewing, access, and whether we're repairing an isolated section or renewing flashing around an entire chimney or roof junction. We'll always inspect properly and give you a free written quote rather than guessing from the ground.