Leadwork
Lead, dressed to the last step
Flashings, valleys, aprons, lead flat roofs, bays and dormers, installed and repaired across Blackpool and the Fylde Coast.
Most roof leaks start at a junction. This is where we stop them.
01 What we do in lead
Five kinds of leadwork
- 1
Brick abutment wall
- 2
Each step of the flashing is turned about 25mm into a bed joint, held with lead wedges and pointed
- 3
Step flashing in lead, lapped over the soakers so water runs onto the slates
- 4
Soakers: a lead piece under each slate, turned up the wall (hidden behind the flashing)
- 5
Slates, double-lapped
- 6
Battens
- 7
Rafter
scale
Flashings for chimneys and walls
Step flashings, aprons and back gutters around chimney stacks and wherever a roof runs into a wall, plus lead around windows and skylights, where water would otherwise find the joint.
WhereChimney stacks · Abutment walls · Roof windows
- 1
Open channel left between the slates, so water runs straight down the lead
- 2
Slates cut to the valley line and laid over the lead
- 3
Lead lining dressed over the valley boards
- 4
Each edge of the lead turned over a tilting fillet and welted, so water can't creep back
- 5
Valley boards laid either side of the valley rafter
- 6
Battens on underlay
- 7
Valley rafter
scale
Lead valleys and lead guttering
Valleys lined in lead where two roof slopes meet, and lead-lined gutters behind parapets and between roofs, dressed over boards and fillets so water runs straight off.
WhereValleys between slopes · Parapet and box gutters · Between roofs
Lead dormers
Lead on dormer roofs, cheeks and aprons, worked to the shape of the dormer and lapped so water can't get behind.
WhereDormer roofs · Dormer cheeks · Aprons below
Lead flat roofs and bays
Small flat roofs, canopies and bay roofs covered in lead sheet, with rolls and drips that let the lead move with the weather.
WhereBay windows · Canopies and porches · Small flat roofs
Lead for period buildings
Lead details on older houses renewed in lead, so the roof keeps its character: finials, hips, bays and the original flashings.
WhereVictorian and Edwardian houses · Tudor-style gables · Bay and turret roofs
02 Read the detail
Where lead does the work
Tap the numbers. A good flashing is a set of small decisions, each one about where the water goes.
Around a chimney
Where a roof meets a wall
We had ongoing issues with a small leak around the chimney area and after trying another company with no success, Nicholson Roofing finally solved the problem properly.
Leak where the roof meets a wall or chimney?
Send a photo of the junction from the ground. We'll tell you whether the lead can be re-dressed or needs replacing.
07940 714766Lead goes with