Chimney Flashing

[Jeff Gaines]

When I bought my current house 2 or 3 months ago (it's 40 years old) the surveyor said the chimney needed re-pointing.

The fifth builder I spoke to actually turned up and said the pointing is fine (I must admit it looks fine to me) but the flashing needs attention and that I needed a plumber for that.

Before I make a complete idiot of myself what trade am I looking for to repair or replace the flashing, looks like lead but may be zinc. I have a choice of builder, plumber, roofer or lead worker, perhaps others?

Many thanks.

[Robin]

I suggest you need an roofer who knows how to work with lead and is honest.

- roofer so they know how to access the chimney without damaging the roof

- knows how to work with lead as many of them these days seem incapable of things like step flashing and ignorant of lead clips

- honest so they don't use code 3 on the assumption you won't go up to check before they bugger off

[Harry Bloomfield Esq]

Jeff Gaines used his keyboard to write :

Plumber, as in plumbum was the original lead working trade, because all pipes used to be lead. No longer, they are usually copper or plastic. What you need is a lead working specialist, for flashing, or a flashing specialist or the none arrestable type.

[Jim Stewart ...]

Use proper coded lead and don't touch flasband or nuralite....

[soup]

Sorry I can't help with the actual name but a chap I used to babysit (his mum and mine worked together) he did an apprenticeship on leadwork for roofs .

Suspect he will work for a roofing firm

Don't speak to him or anything so do not know who the system works but I would imagine 'they' wouldn't call out the lead specialist for a (relatively) minor job like flashing, saving him for entire roofs you should find that ordinary roofers can cope with a bit of flashing made of lead.

From the 'teaching your grannie to suck eggs' department :-

Incidentally the latin for lead is Plumbum so someone who works with lead is a plumber (pipes used to be lead so the chaps who worked with lead pipes were called plumbers that's where we get the word from today).

[newshound]

+1

[Dave Plowman (News]

You want a decent roofer. Plumbers deal with pipes.

[charles]

Plumber also deal with lead.

[Mark Carver]

Yes, the clue is contained within the name !

[charles]

Ah, but I took (and passed) Latin O Level

[Robin]

AIUI the industry dropped hot lead work from training courses some time back so younger plumbers may know neither Latin nor lead burning. (Can probably still set fire to thatch OK though.)

[alan_m]

I'll bet you will never find one to climb on the roof to fix chimney flashing.

[Dave Plowman (News]

Lead is still commonly used on roofs. Not so with plumbing.

[Vir Campestris]

You have my sympathies. I only had to do 3 years before I could drop it...

But the OP just needs a decent roofer. As with all skills there is of course a shortage. Possibly something to do with teaching people Latin instead of a more useful skill.

(Latin was useful for my wife, who studied Linguistics. She got a grade

1 after 1 year of lunchtimes)

Andy

[charles]

I suspect I started at theage of 8 - so 7 years of it.

[Jeff Gaines]

I am still in touch with my Latin master, Stan the Man!

[williamwright]

All very well discussing the etymology of 'plumber', but actually most plumbers these days wouldn't want to get involved with lead flashing. For one thing they don't usually have working at heights tickets. For another they lack the knowledge and skills. They mostly like to call themselves heating (Old English hætu, hæto "heat, warmth, quality of being hot) engineers (mid-14c., enginour, "constructor of military engines) these days and make a mint fitting boilers.

Bill