Chimney flashings
Front apron, side soakers and stepped cover flashings chased into the mortar joint and wedged, not smeared over the brick. The single most common leadwork job we do.
Leadwork & lead flashing in Braintree
Lead is where most roofs actually leak. Get the flashings right and the rest of the roof looks after itself; get them wrong — or fill the joint with mortar and hope — and you'll be chasing the same damp patch for years.
Leadwork we carry out
Lead detailing on Braintree roofs
Abutment and step flashings
Where an extension roof meets the house wall. Done properly in short bays so the lead can move without splitting.
Lead valleys
Traditional lead-lined valleys on period Braintree and Bocking properties, replaced like-for-like at the correct code and bay length.
Dormer and bay roof leadwork
Cheeks, tops and aprons — often the fiddliest lead on a house and the first place a bodged repair shows.
Parapet and gutter linings
Lead-lined box and parapet gutters on older buildings, with proper drips and expansion joints.
Replacing mortar fillets
Cement fillets always crack. We cut them out and replace with code-graded lead — the fix that stops the call-backs.
Guide prices
Leadwork guide prices
Code 4 and code 5 lead, correctly wedged and pointed, including removal of the old flashing or fillet.
| Job | Typical guide price |
|---|---|
| New chimney flashing set | £380 – £750 |
| Abutment flashing, per metre | from £70 |
| Lead valley replacement | £650 – £1,400 |
| Dormer leadwork | £450 – £1,200 |
| Replace cracked mortar fillet with lead | from £320 |
| Parapet gutter lining | priced after survey |
Guide prices exclude scaffolding where a job needs it. Every job is confirmed with a fixed written price after a free survey.
Doing it right
What proper leadwork looks like
- Correct lead code for the location and bay size
- Bays kept short enough for the lead to expand without splitting
- Chased a minimum of 25mm into the mortar joint and wedged
- Pointed with a suitable mortar, not silicone
- Patination oil applied so the lead doesn't stain the brickwork
- No mortar fillets used in place of lead, anywhere
Local knowledge
Leadwork across the Braintree area
Older housing means more chimneys, more valleys and more lead.
Bocking and CM7 period property
Multiple chimney stacks and lead-lined valleys, frequently with decades of mortar-fillet repairs to cut out first.
Post-war semis
Single stack, simple flashings — a quick job that stops a persistent chimney-breast damp patch.
Extensions and conservatory abutments
Where new work meets old wall. Done in bays, with the correct upstand height rather than the minimum that fits.
Village and listed buildings
Traditional detailing and materials, matched to what's already there and to any conservation requirements.
Keep reading
Closely related pages
Where we work
Leadwork across Essex
Based in Braintree and working roughly 30 miles out. Pick your town for local jobs, photos and reviews.
- Leadwork Braintree
- Leadwork Witham
- Leadwork Halstead
- Leadwork Great Dunmow
- Leadwork Chelmsford
- Leadwork Colchester
- Leadwork Maldon
- Leadwork Coggeshall
- Leadwork Kelvedon
- Leadwork Tiptree
- Leadwork Sudbury
- Leadwork Saffron Walden
- Leadwork Bishop's Stortford
- Leadwork Harlow
- Leadwork Brentwood
- Leadwork Billericay
- Leadwork Basildon
- Leadwork Clacton-on-Sea
- Leadwork Chipping Ongar
- Leadwork Hatfield Peverel
- Leadwork Bocking
- Leadwork Great Notley
- Leadwork Rayne
- Leadwork Cressing
- Leadwork Silver End
- Leadwork Earls Colne
- Leadwork Sible Hedingham
- Leadwork Feering
- Leadwork Boreham
- Leadwork Great Baddow
- Leadwork Wickford
- Leadwork Felsted
- Leadwork Stansted Mountfitchet
More from Iron Peak
Related roofing services
Not quite what you need? These pages cover the rest of the roof — every job is priced in writing after a free survey.
- Roof leak repair EssexLeak tracing on tiles, valleys and flashings, made watertight the same week.
- Emergency roof repair EssexStorm damage and active leaks made safe same day, seven days a week.
- New roof cost EssexHonest 2026 re-roof guide prices for terraced, semi and detached houses.
- Flat roof repair EssexFelt, GRP and EPDM repairs on extensions, garages and dormers.
- EPDM flat roof EssexSeamless rubber membrane roofs with a 20-year written guarantee.
- Chimney repair EssexRepointing, flaunching, code-graded leadwork and full stack rebuilds.
- Guttering, fascias & soffits EssexLeaking gutters repaired and full UPVC ogee systems fitted to a proper fall.
- Drone roof survey Essex4K aerial inspection and a written condition report — no scaffold needed.
Common questions
Leadwork FAQs
- Why does my chimney flashing keep leaking?
- Nine times out of ten it's a cement fillet rather than lead, and cement always cracks as the stack and roof move at different rates. Replacing it with properly chased lead ends the problem.
- How long does lead flashing last?
- Correctly installed lead flashing regularly lasts 50 years or more — longer than the roof covering around it. Failures are almost always installation faults, not the material.
- Can you repair lead rather than replace it?
- Sometimes. Lead-welded patch repairs are legitimate on sound lead. Where it's split along a bay because it was laid too long, replacement is the only lasting answer.
- Do you use lead on listed buildings?
- Yes, and we match traditional detailing. Tell us at survey stage if the property is listed or in a conservation area.
Free survey
Get your leadwork looked at
Tell us the address and what you're seeing. We'll come out from the Braintree yard, look properly, and put a fixed price in writing before anything starts.