cracks in flat lead ledge/ gutter

[gretahouse]

The house dates from the 1840s. The original eaves above the stone parapet is covered in lead which is badly cracked in several places and various attempts at patching have failed. This lead ledge is about 15 m long and 26inches wide and the integral gutter is only slightly curved. It is accessible from upper windows but for any major work we would probably need scaffolding. My question is: would it work if we coated it in epdm rubber (either in liquid or sheet form) or should we try and repair the lead?

[keith_765]

Looking at the spec of this product, seems ok. But lead sheet, being a metal, expands with temperature changes.As with 15mtrs x 650mm of Lead, there's a lot of expansion The epdm rubber is stuck down with self adhesive. It states that epdm rubber can be applied to most bases. Check out if this includes sticking to Lead sheet central gutters. .

[Peter Taylor]

I'd go for lead repairs every time. The lead has cracked due to thermal movement and is unlikely to get any worse. You can solder a lead strip to one side of each cracks and make a welted joint on the other side which will allow any future movement. That will last another 150 years. It's quite easy to weld lead sheet after a bit of practice - take a look at this:

[John Rumm]

Expansion is not an attribute limited to metals ;-)

(with lead, you typically don't use individual sections longer than about 6' to allow for expansion at the joints)

[gretahouse]

Thanks for this. Repairing with a lead strip looks to be the best option. Is this something that a local roofing builder could do or should I look for a lead specialist? I live near Lancaster.

Thanks again for your advice