Chimney and leadwork in Scunthorpe

Chimney and leadwork in Scunthorpe

Chimney and leadwork in Scunthorpe, carried out by our own directly employed roofers. Free survey, photographs of the problem, and an itemised quote in writing before the work is booked in.

It covers the DN15, DN16 and DN17 postcode districts. Scunthorpe is in the middle of our Scunthorpe patch, covered by the Scunthorpe team on 01724 706 781, and the survey is free whether or not you go ahead with the work.

The roofs in Scunthorpe

The town sits in open country with the Trent to the west and the Wolds to the east, so there is less shelter than the built up streets suggest. That shows up at the ridge and the verge first, and on the exposed elevation of anything on the edge of an estate.

Scunthorpe's housing is largely twentieth century, so a great many of its roofs are concrete interlocking tile laid on felt, all reaching the end of their fixings around the same time.

Chimney work in Scunthorpe is mostly on the interwar and post war stock, where stacks have been repointed once at best and the lead has often been sealed over with mastic by a previous repair. That is a two year fix that we end up replacing properly.

Chimney and leadwork decisions around Scunthorpe's Old Brumby

Around Old Brumby Street, the older village setting and later surrounding houses produce chimney stacks with different brickwork, roof coverings and patterns of use. A stack beside a clay tiled slope may contain a disused flue alongside one still serving a fireplace, so damp and ventilation questions need more than a decision about replacing the lead. On these Scunthorpe roofs, cracks near the pots can admit water above an otherwise sound apron. Chimney and leadwork assessment in Old Brumby should therefore follow the stack from its top down to the tiled junction, while establishing which flues remain in use.

We begin an Old Brumby chimney inspection by recording the pots and visible masonry, then checking access to every face from a suitable scaffold platform. Garden boundaries and the position of extensions near Old Brumby Street can make reaching the rear of a stack more involved than its modest height suggests. On most such jobs, loose upper masonry is addressed before new flashings are formed, and the lead is supported where it crosses the tiled roof. If capping is proposed for an unused Old Brumby flue, we establish the appropriate ventilated detail without interfering with any working flue beside it.

Small Old Brumby flashing repairs generally take less time than repointing and renewing the top of a stack, which can occupy several working days in suitable weather. Access behind an extension, the condition of the pot bedding and the amount of lead required at the tiled junction affect the price. For aftercare, observe the stack from the garden and keep any active flue's routine maintenance separate from checks on the external flashing. The Old Brumby tiled junction and upper masonry are considered together at the free survey, using photographs of what we find to inform an itemised written quote.

What chimney flashing and leadwork in Scunthorpe involves

• Step flashings and soakersNew stepped lead flashing and soakers to the correct code, dressed into raked joints and wedged, not stuck on.
• RebuildsTaking a stack down to sound brickwork and rebuilding, where the top courses have blown or the stack is unsafe.
• Removals and capping offRedundant stacks taken down and the roof made good, or capped and vented if you want to keep the look.

That is the short version. There is a fuller explanation of the work, the materials and the detailing on our chimney flashing and leadwork page.

Signs your Scunthorpe property needs this

• Cracked flaunching around the pots or a pot sitting loose
• Lead flashing lifted, split or simply sealed over with mastic by someone before us
• Mortar joints open, soft or missing on the stack

Why mastic on a chimney is a warning sign

If you look up at a stack and see black or grey sealant along the top edge of the lead, that is usually somebody's repair rather than the original detail. Lead flashing should be dressed into a raked out mortar joint and wedged, then pointed. Done that way it moves with the building and sheds water for decades.

Chimney and leadwork in Scunthorpe at a glance

What affects the price in Scunthorpe

• Repoint against partial rebuild against full rebuild
• Access, since a stack on a ridge in the middle of a roof needs more scaffold than one on a gable
• Scaffolding and, on a full rebuild, whether the pots and flaunching are being renewed

We will not quote a roof we have not seen. Book the free survey and you will get a written price with the scope set out rather than a number over the phone.