Specialist Leadwork & Flashing in South London

The Importance of Quality Leadwork

Lead is one of the oldest and most reliable building materials in the world. When installed correctly, high-quality milled lead can last for over 100 years. It is highly malleable, meaning it can be shaped and "dressed" to form an impenetrable, flexible seal over the most vulnerable joints of your roof.

However, lead expands and contracts with changes in temperature. If it is fitted poorly, restricted from moving, or reaches the end of its natural lifespan, it will split and crack. These cracks act as a funnel, directing rainwater straight into your property. At HLS Roofing, we provide specialist leadwork services to ensure these critical junctions are completely sealed.

Our Leadwork Services

We work with various codes of milled and cast lead to provide bespoke weatherproofing solutions for residential properties, period homes, and modern extensions.

1. Chimney Flashing (Step & Cover)

The junction where your brick chimney stack meets the slanting roof tiles is notorious for leaking. We install traditional step flashing, cutting the lead directly into the mortar lines of the brickwork to ensure water flows smoothly over the tiles rather than down your interior walls.

2. Roof Valleys

The "valley" is the internal angle formed where two pitched roofs meet. Because it channels high volumes of rainwater down to your gutters, a compromised valley lining will cause severe internal dampness. We expertly strip out old, perished lead and install fresh, correctly coded lead valley linings.

3. Flat Roofs & Dormer Windows

Lead is frequently used to weatherproof the complex angles around dormer window cheeks, parapet walls, and bay window roofs. We use expert lead welding and bossing techniques to create seamless, long-lasting coverings for these intricate areas.

4. Box Gutters

Often found on period Victorian and Edwardian properties in South London, concealed box gutters are traditionally lined with lead. We repair splits using lead welding or can completely reline failing box gutters to handle modern, heavy downpours.

Why Choose Our Lead Specialists?

• Traditional Craftsmanship: We use proven techniques like lead bossing and precise welding to ensure every detail is tailored to your specific roof.
• The Right Code: Lead comes in different thicknesses (Codes). We always select the correct Code of lead for the specific application to ensure maximum durability and prevent thermal splitting.
• Aesthetic Finish: Good leadwork isn't just watertight; it looks sharp and clean, preserving the visual appeal of your property.

Leadwork Repairs in Croydon & South London

We carry out lead flashing and leadwork repairs right across the Croydon borough — from the Victorian and Edwardian terraces around West Croydon, Thornton Heath and South Norwood, to the 1930s semis of Selsdon, Sanderstead and Purley, and the larger detached homes towards Shirley and Addington. Our base is in Selsdon (CR2), so most Croydon addresses are a short drive away and we can usually inspect failing lead within a day or two.

Older Croydon housing stock throws up the same leadwork problems again and again. Period terraces commonly have concealed lead-lined box gutters behind the front parapet — when these split, water tracks along the joists and shows up as damp in an upstairs bedroom, often metres from the actual fault. Inter-war semis typically fail at the chimney: the original step flashing was mortar-filled rather than properly dressed and wedged, so it lifts away from the brickwork over time. And any home with a bay window, dormer or single-storey extension has a lead apron or soaker somewhere that will eventually fatigue and crack.

We repair the fault rather than paper over it. Where lead has split from thermal movement, the answer is usually to re-form the detail in the correct code of lead with proper expansion joints and fixings — not to smear mastic or flashband over the crack, which is what we most often find when we’re called to a “repair” that has failed again a winter later.

Leadwork FAQs