The short answer
Sometimes, and it depends on the quote. A re-roof replaces the tiles or slates, but the lead around chimneys, walls and valleys may be renewed, reused or left alone, and roofers differ. The way to be sure is to have the quote say, in writing, which lead is being replaced and which is staying. Then the total price covers what you think it does.
Renewed, reused or left in place
When the old covering comes off, the lead that meets it has to be dealt with. There are three possible outcomes for each piece, and a quote may use any of them.
- Renewed: new lead is fitted. This is the usual answer where the old sheet is split, thin, patched or past repair.
- Reused: the old lead is lifted carefully, kept and put back. Old lead can crack when bent again, so this suits only sound sheet.
- Left in place: the lead stays and the new covering is laid up to it, which suits a flashing in good order set into a wall that has not moved.
None of these is wrong in itself. Each is right for some pieces of lead and wrong for others, which is why a flat statement that leadwork is included tells you very little.
The questions to put to any roofer are practical ones. Is the chimney flashing new? Are the valleys new lead or the old lead refitted? What happens to the lead along a side wall or around a dormer? Answers in writing mean you are not relying on a chat on the doorstep, and a re-roof is a long job to leave open to argument at the end.
Why lead is often at risk in a re-roof
Lead and covering work as one system. The soakers, the flashings and the valley linings are all tucked under or over the tiles, so replacing the tiles disturbs every one of them. Lifting a course exposes the soakers beneath it, and relaying the course does not always allow the old pieces to go back flat.
There is also the question of age. A re-roof often comes when the covering is worn out, and lead of a similar age may be in the same state. MyJobQuote's figure of over 80 years for lead flashing is a lower bound, so older lead is not automatically a problem. Its condition, once exposed, is the test, and a re-roof is the moment it can finally be inspected.
Fitting new tiles beside lead that is about to fail only moves the next leak to the same place, and the repair then costs twice. It is cheaper to renew a doubtful flashing while the roof is already open than to scaffold the same wall again in a few years.
For that reason our survey looks at the lead as closely as the covering. See our page on repairing or replacing old leadwork for the signs we use to decide.
Building Regulations and the scope of work
The Planning Portal's test for needing no building control application is that less than 25 per cent of the building envelope and less than 50 per cent of the roof is affected. A job covering the whole roof is not under that second figure. The Portal adds that a new covering which raises the weight by 15 per cent or more brings in approval, and it advises checking with a surveyor first.
Councils word this differently. Bracknell Forest Council puts the replacement of roof coverings on its list of works that may need approval, and RBWM, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, lists re-tiling a roof under its own heading. Neither says every re-roof needs it, and neither gives a percentage. For a Hampshire address, the Hart and Rushmoor Building Control Partnership on 01252 398715 is the contact. We check which applies to your house before work starts.
Why does this belong in a lead question? Because Building Regulations affect the whole roof, and the scope you agree should say who deals with any notice. A re-roof that replaces the lead flashings as well as the covering is a single piece of work, with one set of drawings or notes behind it.
Consents for a listed house are a separate matter, so tell us early.
Agreeing the scope and the price
A sound quote for a re-roof names every area of lead it covers: chimney flashings, abutments, valleys, hips and dormer cheeks, wherever they exist on your roof, with the wall or detail each one belongs to. Where lead is left out, it says so, and where lead is reused, the quote says that too. A bare note that leadwork is included does not do this job.
Citizens Advice advises collecting written quotes from at least 3 traders. That is best done with each quote written for the same scope. If one firm includes new lead and another quietly keeps the old, the totals tell you nothing about which is cheaper. Check each one for VAT and scaffolding as well.
Our own quote is a single total price in writing, and our survey photographs show you the lead you are paying to replace or keep. Where we find the lead sound we leave it, and where it has failed we say why and show you the photograph. The decision is made on the roof, not on a price list, and you can ask us to explain any part of it.
For the wider job, the lead roofing hub explains our leadwork, and our roof replacement page covers a whole new covering in Farnborough and the surrounding towns.
