Lead Flashing in Poets Corner

Is Lead Flashing the Right Fix?

In Poets Corner, most lead flashing jobs announce themselves before you ever get on the roof. Lead flashing seals the junctions where the roof meets a wall, chimney, valley or rooflight — and near the coast it corrodes and fails faster than inland.

What to look for:

• Damp where the roof abuts a wall, chimney or dormer
• Lead that has cracked, split or lifted at a junction
• White powdery corrosion or a chalky bloom on the lead
• A stepped flashing pulled out of its mortar joint (chase)
• Water tracking around a rooflight or valley

When it is not the answer: If existing lead is sound and simply lifted from its chase, re-dressing and re-pointing it is enough — full renewal is not always needed — see our guide.

Almost every Poets Corner property has a rear kitchen extension with a flat roof. The vast majority of these were built or re-roofed in the 1960s-80s and are now 40-60 years old. GRP is the correct replacement specification for these south-facing Hove positions.

How Long Does It Take?

As a guide to what to expect in Poets Corner, typical job times run:

Around Poets Corner, leadwork is fairly weather-tolerant, but pointing the chase into mortar needs a dry window to cure.

Access, Scaffolding & Permits in Poets Corner

On Poets Corner roofs, flashing at low level can be reached from a tower; chimney, valley and parapet leadwork needs scaffold for safe access. Scaffold is specified for chimney flashing, valley rebuilds and any parapet-gutter leadwork — always itemised in your written quote, never a hidden extra, and we arrange it.

In Poets Corner, the Victorian bye-law terraces of Cowper and Shakespeare Street are tightly packed with limited rear access and permit-controlled pavements. Pavement scaffold and skip permits go through Brighton & Hove City Council; allow a few working days on streets like Cowper Street, Shakespeare Street, Byron Street where space is tight.

What Lead Flashing Costs in Poets Corner

Typical lead flashing costs in Poets Corner (your written quote is fixed after survey):

What moves the price in Poets Corner

• Lead gauge (code) and the length of the junction
• Access — tower for low level, scaffold for stacks and valleys
• How much mortar chasing and re-pointing is needed
• Coastal corrosion — heavier lead lasts longer near the sea

Worked example: A rebuilt lead valley on a Victorian terrace on Shakespeare Street typically runs around £800, including access and waste.

For Poets Corner homeowners: no deposit on flashing under £500; staged terms on valley and parapet leadwork.

Your Guarantee, Explained

Our workmanship is backed by a written 10-year guarantee, with manufacturer warranties on materials on top — the same written cover on every Poets Corner job.

• Covered: our workmanship for 10 years, in writing, and transferable if you sell.
• On top: manufacturer warranties on materials (terms vary by product).
• Not covered: storm or impact damage — that is an insurance matter, which we document for your claim.

A covered fault means we return and fix it at our cost — that is what the guarantee is for.

Living Around the Work in Poets Corner

Focused work at one or two junctions — little mess, with old lead removed and recycled and the area left clean. It is a routine sight on Poets Corner streets. You do not need to stay home for external work — we just need power and access agreed in advance.

Lead can be dressed in most conditions; we time the mortar pointing of the chase for dry spells so it holds. Locally, just back from Hove seafront, Poets Corner still sees salt-laden wind and driving rain off the sea.