I need to form some basic lead flashing around a chimney and to finish off a dormer roof. Can anyone provide some basic advice re tools and materials or point me to a good resource, book or website?
Thanks,
R.
Even basic lead flashing is a very skilful,working with lead is not like any other material unforgiving i find of those with no knowledge,and in my opinion best left to a good pro
I'm no expert, but I've done some lead work. For basic flashing, you'll need a dressing tool which you can get from the likes of Travis Perkins or other BMs, and just ordinary tin snips to cut it.
Look at how flashing is done elsewhere and copy it.
For dressing it round more involved stuff - practice.
In message , Reuben writes
Wickes do one of their good Ideas leaflets on this, maybe enough for what you want.
You can download a pdf from their site:
Is the direct link.
see
Robert
Strange. I found working with lead to be very satisfying. A lovely material to work with. You can cut it, and bend it using little force and it goes exactly where it is told.
I had no problems doing the admittedly extremely simple flashing for my conservatory. A stepped flashing would have been quite fun, though. I would definitely give it a try if I ever needed one.
Christian.
The main manfacturer of lead flashings publishes a pamphlet with lots of advice on it. It is often available from builder's merchants.
As for tips,
Christian.
================= I agree, simple leadwork is both satisfying and relatively easy. Simple tools (a few assorted bits of 3" x 2" etc) and a hammer used with a light touch is all that's needed.
Like most things in DIY, give it a try and recognise your own limitations.
Cic.
================== Rain water can leak past Flashband if the mortar between the vertical joints in the brickwork is in bad condition. This can happen even if the proper primer / sealant is used. And it does look awful!
Cic.
Yes, I worked it using only tin snips, a rubber mallet, an angle grinder (for the mortar, not for the lead), a sealant gun and a pot of patination oil.
I didn't use any formers. I assume that it was the 3" x 2" was for? I just banged it into shape with the mallet. The corner was tight enough like that.
Christian.
=============== This morning I've just prepared 5 metres of scalloped flashing to go under my new front bay windows which are going in next week. I used a 4' length of
3"x 2" to clamp the strips of lead to my bench and another 6" length of 3" x 2" (with hammer) to finish off the 90 degree angles after doing most of the bending by hand pressure. A mallet would have done the job just as well but as usual I couldn' find it. The snips made a very good job of all the scalloping which shows that quite a lot of precise work can be done quite quickly if you get stuck in! About an hour to do 5 metres of scalloping isn't bad but I suppose a professional would have done it in half the time and charged for 2 hours.Cic.
Cic.
In article , Christian McArdle writes
What is that and what is it for?..
Lead sealant???, same as above!.
How deep?...
It stops the lead going white and streaky when it first rains.
It's basically exterior silicone coloured dark lead grey.
I can't remember now. I think it was about 50mm. Whatever it suggested in the instructions, anyhow. They also give some indication about how high above the join it should go, and how far outwards, depending on the roof slope.
Christian.
What's flash bands?
Silly stick on flashings for people who like having water pour into their conservatories.
Christian.
Thanks to everyone who responded to this so far - the Wickes leaflet looks pretty useful as it refers to building standards etc. I've already been looking at examples of leadwork - you get obsessed with this kind of thing when you are working on it - and there seem to be as many methods as there are roofers. I already figured that it's probably not too difficult to do what I want - I'm not doing Roslin Chapel roof, but it's always useful to get the inside track regarding tools and materials, e.g. I need to raggle it into the base of my chimney, so Iknow I need a sealant, but what kind? and so on...
R.
regarding
I seem to remember that the 'approved' way to fix the flashing is to rake out the mortar, and wedge a lead 'mouse' made from a rolled up short bit of lead in with a bolster chisel over the flashing before it is bent downwards - conventionally then it would be re-pointed to hold it firmly. When I did my garage / house abutment I used the mouse approach then used exterior silicone from a trigger tube and it's not come adrift yet !
AWEM
Then you've never had a play with any other metalwork. Lead is one of the easiest metals to work with. It is extremely malleable. And basic lead flashing is well within the capabilities of a competent DIYer. The snag is it's an expensive material to experiment with.
Properly designed lead work doesn't require any sealant. That's why it's been used for hundreds of years.
Yup. That's the way I watched pros do it, and did the same.
Might be worth making a template out of card for the first bit if stepped flashing, given the cost of spoiling lead. Rather as you do when making repair patches on a car.
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