Why lead, still, in 2026
Plenty of modern substitutes exist, and on the right job we'll use them. But nothing yet matches lead's combination of lifespan, malleability and self-healing patina. It moves with the building through heat and frost, dresses into any shape by hand, and when it's finally done — decades from now — it's fully recyclable. On period properties across our patch, from Brighton terraces to Wealden farmhouses, lead is also simply the correct material, and conservation officers agree.
What we make and fit
- Step and cover flashings around chimneys and abutments, cut into the mortar joints and wedged the traditional way.
- Lead valleys — the channels where two roof slopes meet — replaced in the correct code (thickness) with proper laps and welted edges.
- Bay window tops and porch roofs, dressed as one clean piece with bossed corners rather than a patchwork of sealant.
- Box and parapet gutters on Victorian and Edwardian houses, rebuilt with correct falls and expansion joints.
- Lead slate pipe flashings for flues and vents.
The details that make it last
Good leadwork follows rules written in decades of failure: the right code for the job (heavier for gutters, lighter for flashings), panel lengths short enough that thermal movement can't split them, fixings that grip without pinning, patination oil so the new lead weathers evenly instead of streaking white over your tiles. None of this is visible from the pavement. All of it is the difference between lead that lasts fifteen years and lead that lasts ninety.