Chimney and leadwork in Hull, Scunthorpe and Lincoln

Chimney and leadwork across Hull, Scunthorpe and Lincoln

Chimney and leadwork in Hull, Scunthorpe and Lincoln, carried out by our own directly employed roofers. Chimneys cause more roof leaks than anything else on the roof, and damp on a chimney breast is almost always the leadwork rather than the brickwork. There are more joints, more movement and more weather at a stack than anywhere else, so it is the first place we look when a leak has no obvious source.

What our chimney flashing and leadwork work covers

• Stack repointingRaking out and repointing failed mortar joints in a suitable mix, rather than smearing new mortar over old.
• RebuildsTaking a stack down to sound brickwork and rebuilding, where the top courses have blown or the stack is unsafe.
• Step flashings and soakersNew stepped lead flashing and soakers to the correct code, dressed into raked joints and wedged, not stuck on.
• Back guttersThe gutter behind the stack rebuilt properly, which is where a lot of stack leaks actually come from.
• Lead trays and cappingsDamp proof trays and cappings where the stack needs them, and flaunching renewed around the pots.
• Removals and capping offRedundant stacks taken down and the roof made good, or capped and vented if you want to keep the look.

Signs you need chimney flashing and leadwork work

• Damp patches on the chimney breast in an upstairs bedroom
• Staining on the ceiling around where the stack passes through
• Mortar joints open, soft or missing on the stack
• Lead flashing lifted, split or simply sealed over with mastic by someone before us
• Cracked flaunching around the pots or a pot sitting loose
• White salt staining coming through plaster on the chimney breast

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.

Mastic along the joint is a two year fix at best. It goes hard, cracks away from either the brick or the lead, and then water runs behind the flashing and into the stack. When we quote a chimney we tell you whether you are looking at repointing and new lead, or whether the stack itself has gone far enough that a rebuild is the honest answer.

What affects the price of chimney flashing and leadwork

We will not put a figure on this page, because a roof price given without seeing the roof is a guess. These are the things that actually move the number:

• Access, since a stack on a ridge in the middle of a roof needs more scaffold than one on a gable
• Repoint against partial rebuild against full rebuild
• How much lead the detail needs and at what code
• Whether the back gutter and soakers are being replaced as well as the front apron
• Scaffolding and, on a full rebuild, whether the pots and flaunching are being renewed

The survey and the written quote are free, and the quote is itemised so you can compare it properly against anyone else's.