Downham Market · Norfolk
Lead flashing and leadwork in Downham Market
Stepped flashings, soakers, back gutters and valleys on Downham Market roofs, cut into the joint and dressed by hand. Not sealed over with mastic.
Lead flashing and leadwork in Downham Market
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Lead flashing and leadwork on Downham Market property
Georgian and Victorian brick with slate and clay pantile in town, and bungalows, farmhouses and barns across the fen villages around it. Wherever a roof meets a wall or a chimney on that kind of property, there is lead doing the work.
Lead flashing and leadwork on Downham Market roofs
The split is very clear here. In town it is slate and pantile work, valleys and chimney leadwork on older brick property. Out on the fen it is ridge and verge, storm damage, and re-covering long low roofs that have taken forty years of wind. We also do a lot of flat roof replacement on the extensions that were added to the bungalows in the seventies and eighties.
Patination oil is not cosmetic. New lead left untreated reacts with rain and runs a white carbonate stain down whatever is underneath it, which on a rendered or light brick elevation is very visible and hard to remove. Wiping new lead with patination oil at the end takes minutes and prevents it entirely.
It matters here because this is some of the most exposed ground in the east of England, with the wind coming off the washes and nothing to break it., and wind driven rain will get behind a flashing that has lifted even slightly.
What the job includes
- Code 4 or code 5 lead as the detail requires, in correct lengths
- Lead wedged and pointed in, then patinated
- Valley linings replaced with proper laps and clips
- New chase cut into the mortar joint, not into the face of the brick
- Old flashing and any previous mastic or cement repair cut out
Signs to look for
- Staining in the loft directly below a valley
- Mastic or cement visible along a flashing line
- Damp on a chimney breast or where a roof meets a wall
How leadwork should be done in Downham Market
If you can see mastic or sand and cement along a flashing line, someone has covered a problem rather than fixed it. Those repairs shed water for a season or two, then trap it behind the covering, and the damage underneath is always worse than it would have been. Cutting it out and redressing it properly is the only permanent answer.
Getting to you in Downham Market
We work across the fen and the Norfolk border every week, so Downham Market surveys are usually quick to book. We cover the town and Denver, Nordelph, Stow Bardolph, Ten Mile Bank, Hilgay, Southery, Barroway Drove and West Dereham.
- Denver
- Nordelph
- Stow Bardolph
- Ten Mile Bank
- Hilgay
- Southery
- Barroway Drove
- West Dereham
Our work
Lead flashing and leadwork work
FAQs
Lead flashing and leadwork in Downham Market: your questions
How long should new leadwork last?
Properly detailed lead in the right code, cut into the joint and free to move, is commonly expected to outlast the roof covering around it. It is one of the few materials on a house that is genuinely long term.
Why does lead flashing fail?
Usually because it was run in lengths that are too long. Lead moves a great deal with temperature, so a run over about one and a half metres without a joint will fatigue and split along the fold. The other common cause is lead that was face fixed or sealed instead of chased into the joint.
Do you do lead flashing and leadwork in Downham Market?
Yes. Downham Market is one of the towns we cover as standard, along with Denver, Nordelph, Stow Bardolph and the villages around them.
What does a lead flashing and leadwork job in Downham Market start with?
A free survey. We come out, get on the roof where it is safe to, photograph what we find and send you a written quote. There is no charge for that and no obligation afterwards.
Lead flashing and leadwork in Downham Market
Call 07934 565 449 or send the form and we will come out, look at it properly and put a price in writing.