01633 759336wegotyoucovered45@gmail.comNewport, Cardiff, Bristol & South Wales 4.7/5 from 57 MyBuilder reviews HomeAboutServices Service Areas Our WorkReviewsContact01633 759336Free Estimate Home/Services/Lead WorkLead Work # Lead Work in NewportThat's Dressed to Last, Not Sealed to Fail Chimneys, valleys and abutments only leak where the lead has been rushed or replaced with mastic. We dress code 4 and code 5 milled lead by hand, lay out every option in writing before we touch a tile, and explain the work clearly so you know exactly what sits under your flashings: at a price set against your actual roof, not a guess from the pavement. Request Your Free Estimate01633 759336 Rated 4.7/5 from 57 verified MyBuilder reviews, free written estimate, no obligation, no pressure selling. 4.7/5 from 57 reviews Verified customer feedback on MyBuilder, not testimonials we've written ourselves. Explained chimney by chimney You're talked through the old lead as it comes off and the new work as it's dressed in, chimney by chimney. Free written estimate No obligation, no pressure selling, the options are laid out and the decision is yours. One in-house team Lead work sits alongside roofing, guttering and roofline under the same crew, so nothing gets subcontracted out. ## What lead work actually covers Lead work is the collar around every junction on a roof where two surfaces meet, chimney to slope, wall to roof, valley to valley. It's not decorative; it's the only genuinely watertight way of closing a gap that tiles and felt alone can't seal. That means chimney aprons and back gutters, soakers woven between courses, step and cover flashings chased into brickwork, valley linings running water off two pitches, and lead capping over parapets and dormers. Two grades do almost all of the work on a domestic roof: code 4 for flashings, soakers and stepped work where the load is light, and code 5 for valleys, gutters and anywhere water pools or the span is wider. Using code 3 to save money, or stretching code 4 across a valley it was never rated for, is exactly how you end up with a split lining five years later: lead work has almost no room for corner-cutting because the failure is invisible until water is already inside the loft. Fixing lead properly also means understanding how it moves. Lead expands and contracts with temperature far more than tile or brick, which is why long runs need expansion joints: typically every 1.5 metres, and why lead that's nailed down rigidly along its whole length will eventually crack or lift. Get the fixing pattern wrong and you've built next winter's leak into this year's repair. ## Who needs it, and when Most calls come in one of two ways: a leak has already appeared, a damp patch beside a chimney breast, staining on a bedroom ceiling under a valley, a drip after heavy rain that wasn't there last winter, or a survey during a re-roof has flagged flashings that are perished, lifting, or were never lead in the first place. Older Newport and Cardiff terraces in particular were often patched decades ago with cement fillets or bitumen strips instead of proper lead, and those repairs are now failing wholesale. New chimneys, dormer windows, loft conversions and roof extensions all need lead work built in from scratch, not added as an afterthought once the roof covering is on. This is where a lot of extension jobs go wrong: the roofer finishes the main covering and treats the abutment against the house wall as someone else's problem, and it's the first place that leaks in the first serious storm. If you're planning a new roof, a chimney rebuild, or you've simply noticed lead going grey, cracked or lifting at the edges, that's the point to get it looked at, before it's a ceiling repair as well as a roof one. ## Why this is not a DIY or sealant job Lead needs to be dressed, bossed and folded around the actual shape of the roof, not just cut to size and screwed down. It's soft enough to shape by hand but heavy enough that a badly formed joint will telegraph a gap straight through to the timber below. Getting the falls right on a valley, or the step pattern right against a stepped brick course, takes the kind of repetition you only get from doing it as a trade, not once every few years. The other reason to avoid the sealant-and-mastic route sold by some roofers is that it's a temporary fix sold as a permanent one. Mastic shrinks, cracks and comes away from both surfaces within a couple of seasons, especially where it's been used to bridge a gap that should have had lead soakers underneath it. Every time we're called to reflash a chimney, the layer we're taking off is very often a thick bead of old sealant hiding a lead joint that was never made properly. We use lead welding where a continuous, invisible joint is needed, such as extending a valley or joining sheets on a long run, and patination oil on newly dressed lead to control the initial run-off staining that fresh lead produces on brickwork and render below. Both are small details, but they're the difference between lead work that disappears into the roofline and lead work that marks the wall beneath it for years. ## What it costs to leave it A lead flashing doesn't fail all at once; it lifts a few millimetres at one corner, or a mastic bead starts to hairline crack, and for a year or two nothing visible happens inside the house. Water is getting in during that time, but it's running down the inside face of a chimney breast or along a rafter before it ever reaches a surface you can see. By the time a stain appears on a bedroom ceiling, the timber behind it has usually been wet through several winters already. Left long enough, that damp timber starts to rot, plasterboard blows, insulation clumps and loses its effectiveness, and in a chimney breast the moisture can start pulling salts out of the brickwork, which shows up as flaking plaster and tide marks that redecorating never quite hides. What would have been a half-day lead job becomes a job that also needs new timber, new plasterboard, and redecoration: sometimes multiplying the total cost several times over for the sake of a repair that was originally only ever about the flashing. The other cost is the one people don't think about until it's too late: insurers are increasingly unsympathetic to gradual water ingress claims, treating them as a maintenance failure rather than an insurable event. A single storm-damage flashing failure might be covered; slow seepage through a mastic-filled gap that's been visibly failing for two years generally isn't. Ignoring a lifting flashing doesn't just cost more later; it can mean you're covering the whole repair yourself. ### Mistakes we see most - Sealing a lifting flashing with mastic or silicone instead of re-dressing the lead - Using code 3 or reclaimed lead of the wrong grade for the span or location - Nailing long lead runs rigidly with no expansion joints, causing splitting - Fitting flashings on top of render or pointing instead of chasing them into the brick joint - Treating a new dormer or extension abutment as finished before the lead work is done, not after How the job runs ## Our five-step process - 1 ### Survey and access We get up on the roof, not just look from the ground, to check every abutment, valley and chimney junction, the condition of the lead itself, and what's happening to the timber and brickwork behind it. - 2 ### Diagnosis and written options You get a plain-English explanation of what's failed and why, with the available approaches laid out, re-dress in place, full replacement, or a different flashing detail entirely, priced against your actual roof and budget, no pressure to pick the most expensive route. - 3 ### Strip out and dress in Old lead, cement fillets or perished sealant come out; new code 4 or code 5 lead is cut, bossed and dressed by hand to the exact profile of the chimney, valley or abutment, with soakers woven in course by course where needed. - 4 ### Fixing, joints and finishing Expansion joints are set at the correct spacing on longer runs, cover flashings are chased into the brick joint and pointed up, welded joints are used where a continuous seal matters, and patination oil is applied to control run-off staining. - 5 ### Verification and handover We check the finished flashing under a hose test where practical, and talk you through every stage, old lead removed, timber condition underneath, and the finished dressed lead, so you have a clear account of exactly what was done. What you get ## The result you are paying for ### Faster than you'd think Most single-chimney reflashing jobs are a one-day visit; even a full valley replacement rarely needs more than two, because the work is localised rather than a full roof strip. ### Safer roof edges Correctly dressed lead at abutments and valleys stops water tracking sideways into the loft space where it can sit unseen against timber and wiring. ### Built to move with the roof Expansion joints spaced correctly and joints welded where needed mean the lead can expand and contract with temperature without cracking, the single biggest cause of repeat failures. ### Priced against the actual fault You're not paying for a full flashing replacement when a localised re-dress will do, or vice versa, the written options set out what's actually needed and what it costs to fix properly. ### One team, no handoffs Lead work is done by the same in-house crew who handle your roofing and guttering, so there's no gap between trades for water to find its way through. ### Clear answers if you ever need them A clear explanation of the old lead, the timber behind it and the finished work gives you a record of what was replaced and why, useful if the property is sold or a warranty query ever comes up. In detail ## Materials, methods and the variations that matter ### Materials: getting the grade right Milled lead is graded by weight per square metre, referred to as code 3 through code 8. Code 4 is the standard for flashings, soakers and lightly loaded step work; code 5 is used for valleys, gutters and gutter linings where water collects and the sheet needs more resistance to fatigue; code 6 and above are reserved for heavier duty gutters and large flat roof areas. Using an undersized code where water pools, a common shortcut, leads to fatigue cracking well before the lead would otherwise be due for attention. Soakers are the small individual pieces woven between each course of tiles or slates against an abutment, working with a continuous cover flashing above to shed water outward at every course rather than relying on one long strip to do the whole job. Step flashing performs the same role against a stepped brick course, such as the side of a chimney, with each piece let into the mortar joint above the tile line beneath it. ### Methods: dressing, welding and finishing Dressing lead means bossing it by hand, working the sheet with a bossing mallet and dresser over a wooden former or directly onto the roof shape, so it follows the actual profile of the chimney or valley rather than sitting as a flat sheet bridged with sealant at the corners. A well-dressed lead apron has no visible creases or stress points where cracking would start. Lead welding, using a gas torch to fuse a filler rod into the joint, is used where a continuous, movement-tolerant seam is needed, such as joining two sheets in a long valley run or forming a corner on a large apron. It's a different discipline to plumbing solder work and takes practice to get a sound weld without burning through the sheet. Once new lead is fitted, patination oil is wiped over the surface to slow the natural weathering process, which otherwise produces a milky white carbonate run-off that streaks brickwork and render for the first few rainfalls. ### Where lead work goes wrong, and where it's needed most Chimneys are the most common failure point because they combine four separate lead details in a small area: apron at the front, soakers up the sides, and a back gutter behind, which is the part most likely to be under-sized and to overflow in heavy rain if it wasn't built wide enough for the roof pitch feeding into it. Valleys are the second most common, particularly on older properties where a valley was originally lined in a cheaper material or repaired with fibreglass at some point in its life. Cover flashings chased into brickwork rather than sat on top of the pointing are what stop wind-driven rain getting behind the lead altogether; a detail that's often skipped on quick repairs because raking out and re-pointing a mortar joint takes longer than surface-fixing a flashing with clips or mastic. It's a small extra step at the time and the main reason cheap reflashing jobs fail within a couple of winters. Questions we get asked ## Lead Work: straight answers ### How is lead work priced? We survey the roof, work out the grade of lead and the amount of dressing and chasing involved, and give you a written price against that specific job. It depends on access, the number of junctions involved and whether brickwork needs raking out, so we won't quote a figure without seeing the roof. ### How long does a typical lead job take in Newport or Cardiff? A single chimney reflash is usually done in a day; a full valley or multiple abutments can run to two days. We'll confirm timings once we've surveyed the roof and agreed the scope. ### Will you show me what's actually wrong before quoting? Yes; we get up on the roof, inspect the existing lead and the timber behind it where it's exposed, and talk you through what we've found before any figure is put in writing. ### Do you replace lead with lead, or use lead-alternative materials? We generally use code 4 and code 5 milled lead because it dresses and lasts better than most alternatives, but where a specific detail suits a different approach we'll explain the options rather than assuming. ### How long should properly fitted lead work last? Correctly graded and dressed lead is one of the longest-lasting roofing materials there is, but we don't quote a guarantee figure, how long it lasts depends on the roof's exposure, the detail involved, and ongoing maintenance around it. ### Can you do an emergency lead repair if I've got an active leak? Get in touch and we'll look to get someone out as quickly as we can arrange access; the priority is to stop water getting further into the property while we plan the proper repair. ### Does weather affect when lead work can be done? Lead can be dressed in most conditions, but we won't work a roof in high wind, heavy rain or icy conditions for safety reasons, so timings can shift around the weather, we'll keep you updated if that happens. ### Do older properties in Newport, Cardiff and Bristol need different lead work? Terraced Victorian and Edwardian housing across Newport and Cardiff often has chimneys and valleys that were patched with cement or bitumen decades ago rather than proper lead, so those jobs typically involve more strip-out than a modern semi. Bristol's older stone-built terraces can have similar historic patch repairs that need the same approach. ## Related services - Roof RepairsSlipped tiles, leaks, ridge and valley faults traced and repaired properly, not patched over. - New Roof InstallationsFull strip and re-roof with new membrane, battens and dry-fix ridge. Most houses completed in days, not weeks. - Gutter RepairsBlockages cleared, joints sealed and sagging runs re-hung so water leaves the building, not the brickwork.All servicesOur workReviewsContact ## Where we do this work Lead Work carried out across Newport, Cardiff, Bristol and the South Wales valleys, same team, same standard, whichever town you are in. - Newport - Cardiff - Bristol - Ebbw Vale - Pontypool - Bridgend - Swansea - Port Talbot - Neath - Magor and Undy - Caldicot - Chepstow ## Get your lead flashings checked before the next storm finds the gap Free written estimate, no pressure, no obligation: call Ashley King on 01633 759336. Request Your Free Estimate01633 759336 Roofing, guttering, roofline, driveway and landscaping specialists working across Newport, Cardiff, Bristol and South Wales. A family trade with 85 years of combined experience across three generations. Insurance-backed guarantees on all work over £3,000. Registered at Companies House, company number 16345662. Read our 4.7/5 MyBuilder reviews ## Services - Roof Repairs - New Roof Installations - Gutter Repairs - New Gutter Systems - Fascia & Soffit Repairs - New Fascia, Soffit & Guttering - Lead Work - Driveways & Patios - Roof Moss & Driveway Cleaning ## Service Areas - Roofing & driveways in Newport - Roofing & driveways in Cardiff - Roofing & driveways in Bristol - Roofing & driveways in Ebbw Vale - Roofing & driveways in Pontypool - Roofing & driveways in Bridgend - Roofing & driveways in Swansea - Roofing & driveways in Port Talbot - Roofing & driveways in Neath - Roofing & driveways in Magor and Undy - Roofing & driveways in Caldicot - Roofing & driveways in Chepstow ## Contact We’ve Got You Covered Roofing & Driveways 01633 759336wegotyoucovered45@gmail.com16 Caerleon Road, Newport, United Kingdom, NP19 7BWMonday to Saturday, 9am to 5pmRequest Your Estimate © 2026 We’ve Got You Covered Roofing & Driveways. All rights reserved. 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