And they're *still* using lead !?!?!?!

ITF used lead in recent roof repairs. I was told it has better flexibility and longevity than its substitutes.

Demand side:

London - Global demand for refined lead exceeded supply by 39,000 mt in the first half of 2018, according to provisional data compiled by the International Lead & Zinc Study Group.

There was a whole church roof stripped here.

The explorer who was dug up in the News was in a lead coffin and a lot of the coffins in the communal vaults in Victorian cemeteries as have appeared on TV are also lead lined.

Just a thought.

michael adams

...

The insurance company that insures Churches will not allow lead-substitute.

didn't the surgery have any stairs ?. Unless you are totally wheelchair-bound, what's the problem.

How would you get out in a fire, when the lift should be automatically disabled ?.

This is presumably lead flashing, rather than the whole church-roof style?

Theo

SWMBO *is* wheelchair bound. One of the reasons why she was keen to do some curated exercise.

Apparently a lady with asthma couldn't face the stairs either.

There's *usually* a stretcher for manual carrying down stairs ...

No idea ...

Better longevity *if* it isn't stolen. Otherwise it's a longevity of a few months. Even a s***ty substitute that "only" lasted 10 years would be an improvement.

A bit of our Church roof went a few weeks back. It is still one of the best roofing materials around.,don?t owners of some listed buildings have to use original materials if they are doing any repairs. Another market is marine where many firms still manufacture ballast weights and yacht keels from lead. One picked at random show they sometimes make keels using 60 tonnes a time.

GH

So what are you asking here? Lead flashing is still in use widely, what else can one use with similar properties and life? Brian

I think zinc can be used but doesn't last as long. There's probbaly other things to consider too. Copper was used on the school substation and that got nicked, by kids.

The only material that remotely rivals lead in longevity and effectiveness is copper. And that must be far harder to use, and even more sought after by thieves.

You would have thought there would be a market in depleted uranium!

There may be, but the military use a lot of it for their tank shells and other munitions, as Saddam's tank crews had the misfortune to find out. Besides, depleted uranium isn't _totally_ depleted*, and given the general public's fear of anything remotely radioactive, I doubt if there's much of a market for it in general civilian applications.

• Still contains a little under half the U-235 content of natural uranium.

True, but the question was WTF would install lead and I responded ITF did so in our particular circumstances.

Not so much use as weighing in, around USD 2000.00 tonne on the metal markets. So convert to GBP and knock a bit off somewhere about £1.20 per kg? 1 kg of lead is about a 4.5 cm cube.

Even though there is supposed to be no cash involved, all money is by direct bank transfer, number plates recorded and address's taken etc. I bet there are enough small scrappies about that'll take the risk, deal in cash and not record anything for their "mates".

Nope, lead is very long lasting material, 100 years plus (assuming it doesn't get knicked). Copper is another good material but with a current market price of USD 5800.00 per tonne is even more nickable, assuming you can afford it in the first place. Zinc isn't bad but does rot after ten to twenty years. Slate, properly done, should approach lead at 100 years or so.

Of course lead is still used for the best work.

Flashband can be used for some purposes, good for 20 years at least.

When I was at primary school someone said, 'Bostik, why would you want to stick your baws?'

Hmmmm

So why did the flashing on our roof need replacing after 40 ?

It can last the life of most roofs. Perhaps hundreds of years. Don't hold out much hope for a 'modern' material doing as well.

You might as well say why use copper for wiring - that gets stolen too.