Lead Flashing

Stepped, chased and dressed — the fifty-year seal at every junction.

Wherever a roof meets masonry — chimney, party wall, abutting extension — the joint is sealed by flashing, and lead has been the material of choice for centuries because nothing else matches it: it moves with the building through every season, dresses tightly over any profile of tile, and lasts fifty years and more. When lead flashing is the source of a leak, it's almost always the installation or sheer old age at fault, not the material.

The craft is in the detail. Step flashing is cut to follow the mortar courses up a sloping junction, each step turned into a chase cut in the joint, wedged with lead and pointed — so water running down the masonry passes over the lead, always. Around a chimney that combines a front apron, steps up the sides, and a back gutter behind the stack: the back gutter, invisible from the ground, is the single most common failure point on a chimney and the first place we look.

We renew and repair flashings in lead — and in modern lead-free composites where theft risk or budget argues for them.

Benefits

Why choose Lead Flashing

Proper stepped detail, chased and wedged into the masonry
Back gutters — the hidden usual suspect — checked and renewed
Correct lead codes for each position
Fifty-year material, installed to live that long
Lead-free alternatives offered where they make sense

Features

What's included

Chimney aprons, steps and back gutters
Abutment and lean-to flashings
Chase cutting, wedging and repointing
Patination oil finishing
Composite flashing systems as alternatives

Repair options

Repair or replace

Lifted lead re-dresses and re-wedges cheaply if caught before it fatigues. Cracks along fold lines mean the lead has reached the end of its working life — renewal, not welded patches, is the durable answer. And where a previous owner's "fix" was mastic or flashing tape over the joint, the honest job is to strip it and do the detail properly; sealants over flashing are a countdown, not a repair. See also the general flashing repair page and leadwork repairs for valleys and aprons.

Common questions

Frequently asked

What are lead "codes"? +

The thickness grades of sheet lead — Code 3 is the thinnest in common roof use, Code 4 and 5 the workhorses for flashings and valleys. Thicker codes resist fatigue and wind better but cost more and are harder to dress. Using the right code per position is basic good practice, and worth asking any quoting roofer about.

Why has my lead flashing come away from the wall? +

The lead wedges (or worse, mortar snots) holding it in the chase have given up, or the flashing was never chased in at all — just surface-stuck. Wind then works the free edge. Re-fixing properly — cleaned chase, new wedges, repointed — is quick and durable; pushing it back and sealing over it is neither.

Is lead theft still a concern? +

On some buildings — churches, halls, terraces with easy rear access — yes. Where it's a live risk we'll discuss composite flashings, which have no scrap value, perform well, and remove the incentive entirely. On an ordinary house stack it's rarely a deciding factor.