Brandon Roofers carries out lead flashing, valley and chimney work for homes in Littleport - and if you've just discovered a lead leak, knowing what to do while you wait for a roofer (and what to leave well alone) can stop the damage getting worse.
Lead is the primary weatherproofing material at every junction on your roof - chimney stacks, dormer walls, roof windows, abutments and valleys between two roof slopes. It is used because it is soft enough to be dressed tightly against masonry and tiles, and durable enough to last decades when it's installed correctly to BS EN 12588 standards. The most common lead applications on a domestic property are step flashings, apron flashings, back gutters, soakers and lead valleys, each requiring a specific thickness (lead code) suited to the volume of water it will handle.
When lead work fails, it rarely fails suddenly. More often there is a gradual deterioration - cracked mortar in the raggle joint, a piece of lead that has lifted slightly in a storm, or lead that has cracked because it was installed in pieces that were too long to move freely with temperature changes. By the time you see a stain on an interior ceiling, water has usually been finding its way in for some time.
Finding a damp patch near a chimney breast, dormer or roof window is unsettling, particularly if rain is forecast. The good news is that the immediate steps to protect your home are straightforward, and none of them involve going onto the roof yourself.
Start inside. If water is actively dripping, place a container underneath and lay down towels or old sheets to protect flooring. If there is a light fitting or electrical cable in the affected area, switch off that circuit at the consumer unit as a precaution. Water tracking along timbers or plasterwork can reach electrical installations some distance from the visible leak, so don't assume the drip point is the only area at risk.
In the loft, if you have access, check whether any insulation has become wet. Saturated mineral wool or foam insulation traps moisture against timbers and can cause rot if it stays damp for weeks. If you can safely move wet insulation away from the area without going near any structural work or electrical cabling, do so. Increasing ventilation in the loft space - for example by opening any roof vents if accessible - will help the area dry once the leak is fixed.
When a chimney or dormer is leaking, the temptation to do something - anything - while you wait for a roofer is understandable. Most DIY fixes to lead work, however, create more work and sometimes more expense than simply waiting for a professional.
Do not apply silicone or mastic to the flashing from the ground or a ladder. Silicone does not bond reliably to lead or masonry over time, and it seals moisture in behind the lead as often as it seals it out. More importantly, it makes a proper inspection much harder - a roofer who arrives to find a joint packed with silicone cannot easily assess what the lead underneath looks like or whether it can be repaired. Removal of silicone before proper lead work adds time and cost to the job.
Do not try to press lead back into place by hand from a ladder. Working at roof height without correct access equipment is dangerous. Beyond that, a piece of lead that has lifted has almost certainly done so because the fixing above it has failed or because there is a problem with the raggle joint. Pushing it flat without addressing the cause will not hold.
Do not attempt to re-point mortar joints at chimney level from a ladder. Chimney stacks are almost always higher than they look from the ground, and a ladder leant against old or loose brickwork is unstable. The correct access for chimney work is usually a scaffold or tower platform, not a leaning ladder.
Do not use expanding foam in or around roof junctions. Foam is not a weatherproofing material. It absorbs water, degrades in sunlight and can compress tiles or flashings in ways that cause further damage.
If you are waiting several days for a roofer and rain is forecast, there are a small number of temporary measures that are safe to consider. A tarpaulin fixed over the affected section of roof from the ground using sandbags or weighted edges can reduce water ingress temporarily - though it needs to be secured so that wind cannot lift it and cause further damage. This is a last resort, not a substitute for getting the roof inspected promptly.
Inside, if you can see where water is entering the loft and it is pooling on a flat timber surface, a container placed carefully in the loft (if it is safely floored and accessible) can protect the ceiling below while you wait. Do not enter an unboarded loft by stepping between joists - a foot through a ceiling causes damage that a small drip would not.
When you call Brandon Roofers, the more information you can give us about where the damp appears - which room, which wall, whether it's near a chimney or a window, and whether it's worse during rain or after a period of rain - the quicker we can assess the likely cause. If you have photographs from the ground of any visible lead or chimney detail, share those. They help us prepare for the right materials and access equipment before we arrive.
It also helps to know roughly how old the existing lead work is, if you know it. A twenty-year-old flashing that has lifted in a storm is a different job from a forty-year-old installation that is failing across the whole chimney stack. If you have any paperwork from previous roofing work on the property, have it to hand.
A proper lead work inspection involves getting to roof level - not just looking from the ground - to assess the condition of each component. We'll check the lead code used, look at the raggle joints and pointing, check for cracking or lifting, and inspect the underlying tiles or slates and the mortar on the chimney stack itself. A leak at a chimney junction is sometimes caused by the chimney brickwork or pot rather than the lead, and it matters to identify which before committing to a repair.
We'll give you a clear explanation of what we've found and what needs doing. If a repair is appropriate, we carry it out to BS EN 12588 standards using the correct lead code for the application. If the installation is old enough or in poor enough condition that replacement is the better answer, we'll tell you that and explain why.
If you've found a damp patch in your Littleport home near a chimney, dormer or roof junction, call Brandon Roofers for a proper survey. We'll identify the source, tell you what it will take to fix it, and carry out the work to a standard that deals with the problem rather than deferring it.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
