A leadworker dressing a new lead sheet lining into a parapet box gutter behind a Bath stone parapet

Lead roofing and leadwork in Bath

We repair, reline and renew leadwork across Bath and the towns within 30 road miles: the parapet gutters behind Georgian fronts, valleys, flashings, bay and porch roofs and flat lead roofs. The lead is detailed the way the roof was first built, so water has somewhere to go.

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What we do

What our leadwork covers

Old lead is repaired where it lies, relined, or replaced with new, and the reason it failed points to the right one. Our survey report names it and backs it with photographs.

Signs to watch

Signs your leadwork needs attention

A brown stain on the ceiling below a parapet wall
Water running down the inside face of a front wall in rain
Lead lying in ridges or buckled at the corners of a gutter
A flashing standing proud of the wall with a dark gap behind it
Plants growing in the gutter behind the parapet

1
Look at the whole run
We walk the gutter or valley end to end, lifting debris, and photograph every joint, drip, upstand and outlet.
2
Find why it failed
Splits and lifting have causes: too much lead in one piece, poor fixings, rotten boards or a blocked outlet. We name the one on your roof.
3
Repair or reline
Sound lead is repaired in place. Where the sheet has gone, we strip back to the boards, correct the falls and lay new lead.
4
Test and clear up
Outlets are checked with water, the work is photographed for you, and offcuts of old lead go away with the rest of the waste.

Leadwork, detail by detail

Inside Georgian leadwork: where the water goes

On a Bath terrace the lead is hidden behind a parapet or tucked into a valley, yet it carries the rain from the whole roof. Six details decide whether it does that job.

Cut-away drawing of Georgian Bath roof leadwork — 1The parapet box gutter

2Drips and rolls

3Valley linings

4Flashings

5Bay and porch roofs

6Outlets and hoppers

Part 1 of 6

The parapet box gutter

The most important gutter on the house is the one you cannot see from the street.

Many Georgian and Victorian terraces in Bath are finished with a low wall at the front, rising above the line of the eaves. That wall is the parapet. Behind it, between the wall and the foot of the roof slope, runs a channel lined in lead. This is the parapet gutter. The name is often used interchangeably with box gutter, which describes the shape: a flat-bottomed, square-sided trough, boxed in timber, with the lead dressed over the boards to carry rain to an outlet.

It is easy to underestimate how much work this single channel does. Rain falling on a whole slope runs down into it, and so does water running off the face of the parapet. The gutter is often narrower than a modern eaves gutter, and it sits above rooms rather than hanging clear of the wall. A blockage that would only overflow a plastic gutter outside can here put water into the masonry and the ceilings. That is why the lead in a box gutter is detailed with care, and why it is the first place we look when a front bedroom ceiling stains.

How the gutter is built

Under the lead is a deck of boards laid to a fall, so the water drains toward an outlet instead of lying in the channel. The sides are the roof slope on one hand and the back of the parapet on the other. The lead lines the base, which is called the sole, and turns up each side as an upstand. On the roof side the upstand is covered by the slates or tiles. On the wall side it is tucked into a raked-out joint in the masonry and wedged, or sits under a cover flashing. Along its length the sole is broken into bays by steps, which are covered in the next chapter.

Casework on 33 St James's Square, listed Grade I, shows the Bath Preservation Trust supporting the re-leading of its central and side valley gutters. That single line of casework shows how ordinary the job is on a historic Bath roof, and how much attention such gutters get.

What goes wrong

Debris is the usual starting point. Leaves, moss and slate fragments collect against the outlet, water backs up, and it finds the weakest edge, which is often the top of an upstand. Splits at joints, lead that has crept down the slope, boards that have rotted underneath and flashings that have pulled out of the wall are the other common faults. A temporary patch holds for a while, but without the cause removed the next failure usually turns up in the same place.

Words you will hear

Parapet gutter: A channel lined with lead, sitting behind a parapet wall at the foot of the slope.
Box gutter: A flat-bottomed, square-sided gutter formed in timber and lined with lead.
Sole: The flat base of the gutter, which carries the main flow of water.
Upstand: The lead turned up the side of the gutter, against the wall or under the slates.
Lead code: A number that names the thickness and weight of a sheet of rolled lead.

Our guides to parapet gutters and box gutters explain the construction in more detail. If water is already coming through, start with what to do about a leaking parapet gutter, which covers the first checks and the safe temporary measures.

Part 2 of 6

Drips and rolls

Lead moves with the weather, and drips and rolls are how it is allowed to.

Lead expands in warm weather and contracts in cold, more than most roofing materials do. A long sheet fixed hard at both ends has nowhere to go, so it eventually tears or buckles. The traditional answer is to cut the lead into manageable pieces and join them with details that let each piece slide a little. In a gutter, that detail is the drip. On a flat or low-pitched roof, it is the roll.

Drips in the gutter

A drip is a step in the deck, a small drop in level at the join between two lengths of lead. The lower sheet runs under the step, the upper sheet is dressed over it and the water simply falls from one level to the next. Because the joint is not flat, rain cannot be driven sideways under it and the lead on either side is free to move. On a long parapet gutter you will find a run of these steps, each one forming the start of the next length, and the gutter descending toward the outlet in stages. The height of the step and the spacing of the drips depend on the pitch of the gutter, the weight of the lead and the quantity of water expected, so on our surveys we measure what is there before deciding anything.

The common failure is a drip that has been rebuilt too shallow. A shallow step lets wind-driven rain or standing water creep back over it, and a gutter with too little fall holds a pool above the joint. Pooled water finds any pinhole in the lead. Each time a gutter is relined, the falls are set out again so the water clears.

Rolls on flat roofs and bays

On a flat lead roof, the equivalent of the drip is the roll. A timber batten, rounded on top, is fixed up and down the slope of the roof. The lead from one side is dressed up and over it, and the lead from the other side is wrapped around the first. The result is a raised, rounded seam that stands above any water running down the surface. Where the joint runs across the fall, a welt or drip is used instead, because a roll running across the direction of flow would dam it.

A roll needs space to sit properly. If the batten is poorly fixed, or the lead is too tight over it, you get a hairline crack along the crest. Another weak point is the end of the roll where it meets a wall or an edge, which has to be closed neatly so rain cannot track inside.

These details are small, and they are the reason a well-made lead roof lasts. Where we find them done well, we keep them. Where we find them done badly, we rebuild them to suit the roof in front of us.

Myth

A split in lead means the sheet has simply worn out.

Fact

Splits are more often caused by a sheet laid too long or fixed too tightly to move with the weather, so replacing it the same way fails again.

For the construction of each detail, see our short guides to the lead gutter drip and the lead roll. If your lead is already cracked, why lead cracks sets out the causes and what each one calls for.

Part 3 of 6

Valley linings

A valley collects water from two slopes and gives it one narrow path.

Where two roof slopes meet at an internal angle and run down into each other, the junction is called a valley. All the rain from both slopes funnels into it, so it carries a heavier load than any other part of the slope. On many Bath roofs the valley is lined in lead. The lead sits under the edges of the slates or tiles on either side, leaving a channel of exposed metal in the middle for the water to run down.

The lining has to cope with a lot. It takes the flow from both slopes, and it must also accept the slates cut to meet it without letting water creep sideways under their edges. For that reason, the lead is laid wider than the channel that shows, with generous side laps beneath the slates, and any joins in the length of the valley are formed as laps or drips, never left as a flat seam.

Types of valley

Not every valley looks the same, and the right repair depends on which kind you have. The table below sets out the four we meet most, and what tends to fail on each.

Why valleys fail

Debris is one cause again: a valley full of leaves and moss pushes water sideways over the lead and under the slates. Another is a lining that was cut too narrow at the start, so the water spills over the edge in heavy rain. Lead in the bottom of a valley can also lift with age if it is not clipped, and nailed-through lead splits at the nail. Finally, valleys often leak where they meet something else: a chimney, a dormer cheek or the end of a parapet gutter. These junctions have more joints than the rest of the run, and the water behaves differently where flows meet.

A valley leak sometimes appears at a ceiling a good distance from the valley itself, because water runs down rafters and along timbers before it drips. We trace it by looking at the underside of the roof in the loft, as well as the lead from outside.

Common valley types and their usual faults

Valley type	Where we meet it	What usually fails
Open lead valley	Where two pitched slopes meet	Narrow lining, blocked channel, splits at laps
Central valley gutter	Between two roof slopes that fall inward to a middle gutter	Blocked outlet, rotten boards, upstands pulled from the slope
Secret gutter	Hidden beneath a row of slates or tiles	Lead laid too short, slates fixed through it
Valley at a dormer or chimney	Where a side wall meets a slope	Soakers slipped, flashings stood off the wall

Our guide to lead valleys explains each lining in turn, and finding a roof valley leak shows how to trace the source. The secret gutter page covers the version hidden under the slates.

Part 4 of 6

Flashings

A flashing is lead doing the quiet work of closing a joint between two surfaces.

Wherever a roof meets something that rises above it, a flashing, normally of lead, closes the gap. The wall might be a chimney stack, a gable, a dormer cheek or the back of a parapet. One edge of the lead sits beneath the roof covering. The other climbs the wall and is tucked into the masonry, so water running down the wall is steered onto the roof and not behind it.

Several pieces make up a typical chimney detail. A soaker is a small, stepped piece of lead, folded into each course of slates or tiles beside a wall, so water cannot get under the edge of the covering. Over the soakers sit the step flashings, cut to follow the raking line of the wall and slotted into the joints. At the bottom, a front apron covers the slope below the stack, and at the back a gutter or saddle carries water around it. Each piece overlaps the next, like tiles in a miniature roof of their own.

Fixing into the wall

A flashing is only as good as the way it holds to the wall. The usual method is to cut a groove, or chase, along a mortar joint, or rake out the joint itself, tuck the lead into it and wedge it with small lead wedges. The joint is then pointed up. On historic stonework this pointing should be lime mortar. In its comments on repairs at 7 Walcot Buildings in Bath, the Bath Preservation Trust urged lime mortar to let the historic stonework breathe, and noted that cement on a listed building may have worsened stone damage on the chimney stack. A hard cement fill can crack as the stone moves, and then the flashing is exposed.

Flaunching, the mortar sloped around the base of a chimney pot, does a similar job. Its job is to shed water off the top of the stack and away from the pots. When the flaunching crumbles, water runs into the flue lining and the stack head, and it often gets blamed on the flashing below.

Why flashings let go

Lead on its own is rarely the problem. More often the mortar has perished and the wedges have worked loose, so the top edge of the flashing hangs away from the wall. Sealant squeezed into the gap is a common quick fix and does not last, because the movement that opened the gap carries on. We reset flashings into sound joints and re-point them properly.

For individual details, the pages on lead flashings and why sealant is not a lasting repair go into more depth. On a roof that is not listed, alternatives to lead flashing compares the other materials. Chimney stacks themselves are covered under chimney repairs.

Part 5 of 6

Bay and porch roofs

Small, low and easy to reach: these roofs are where lead goes missing first.

The roof over a bay window or a front porch is a small flat or shallow-pitched surface, and lead is the traditional covering. The roof is usually too small to need much structure, but the edges and the junction with the main wall do a lot of work. Water runs from the house wall onto the roof, so the top edge needs a flashing, and the sides and the front need neat edges that shed water to the ground or to a gutter.

A typical lead bay roof is built in a few pieces. The boards or timber deck are laid to a gentle fall. The lead is laid in strips with rolls or welts between them, running down the slope. At the front edge, the lead is turned over a drip or a timber fillet so water clears the fascia. At the back, it turns up the wall and is covered by a flashing set into the masonry. Corners are the tricky part, since the lead has to be folded to fit without being stretched, and it is here that a poor repair will show first.

Low roofs and lead theft

Because a bay or porch roof can often be reached from a garden wall or a bin store, thieves target them. Lead theft can leave a roof open to the weather, and the damage to timber below is often worse than the cost of the metal. If it has happened to you, make the roof watertight first, with a temporary covering, then tell your insurer and the police. Our page on dealing with lead theft sets out what to do in what order, and stolen lead and insurance covers what to ask your insurer.

Alternatives on roofs that are not listed

On a house that is not listed, there are replacements for lead which have less value to a thief. Fibre-reinforced bituminous sheet, GRP, which is glass-reinforced plastic, and EPDM, a synthetic rubber membrane, are used on small flat roofs, and there are lead-look flashing strips for wall junctions. Each has its limits: they behave differently at edges and do not patinate or look the same. Where a building is listed, or the council expects traditional materials, lead usually remains the right answer. Check with B&NES before changing the covering, because consent for a listed building follows a different route from planning permission.

Lead or alternative

Keep lead on listed buildings and visible historic roofs, and consider an alternative only on a plain, non-listed bay or porch where theft is the main worry.

See lead bay roofs for the construction and alternatives on listed buildings for what the council is likely to expect. Larger flat roofs are dealt with on our flat roofing page, and the lead flat roofs guide covers the lead option.

Part 6 of 6

Outlets and hoppers

However well the lead is laid, the water still needs a way out.

Every box gutter or valley ends at an outlet. This is where the water leaves the lead and goes into a downpipe or runs away through a spout. Without a good outlet, the gutter is a bath with the plug in. On a Georgian terrace the outlet is often built into the parapet or passes through it, discharging into a rainwater head, also called a hopper, which funnels the water into a pipe running down the front of the building.

Parapet gutters on a terrace frequently drain at the party wall, with one hopper serving the gutters of two neighbouring houses. This is neat, but it means a blockage on one side can flood the roof of the other, and a repair needs a conversation between owners. Our surveys include the outlets, and we say when a shared one needs attention beyond your own roof.

What a good outlet looks like

The lead is dressed down into the outlet with a sound, welted joint, so that no edge can lift. A cesspit, a small deeper box at the outlet, gives water a place to collect before it enters the pipe and keeps leaves from sticking at the throat. An overflow, a second lower route for water to escape when the main outlet is blocked, protects the house if a leaf jam does form. The pipe from the outlet needs to be at least as large as the opening it serves, or the bottleneck simply moves downwards.

Why outlets block

The outlet is where everything the gutter collects ends up: leaves, moss, slate dust and the odd tennis ball. In a gutter that nobody can see, the first anyone knows of a blockage is a brown stain on the ceiling. Hoppers and downpipes are often cast iron, and they rust from the inside out. A flaking hopper can collapse suddenly, so we look at the ironwork when we survey the lead.

Regular clearing is the cheapest repair. A parapet gutter should be looked at in autumn, after the leaf fall, and again after any heavy storm. Because access is awkward, many owners never look, and the problem builds up quietly. We can clear, test and report on the gutters without disturbing the lead, and we photograph the results for your own records.

£150 to £250

typical UK range for patching chimney leadwork

£350 to £460

typical full chimney leadwork replacement without scaffold

£150 to £200+

typical UK range per m² for a flat lead roof

Figures: MyJobQuote chimney flashing guide, 22 Sep 2026; MyBuilder flat roof cost guide, 2026

If an outlet has already jammed, our guides to a blocked hopper head and to clearing parapet gutters explain what can be done safely from the ground and what needs access. Downpipes and eaves gutters are the subject of our guttering, soffits and fascias page.

Typical costs

What leadwork typically costs

The figures below are typical UK ranges taken from the MyJobQuote chimney flashing guide (22 September 2026) and the MyBuilder flat roof cost guide (2026). Lead code, the detailing involved, scaffold and access to a parapet gutter all move a job within or beyond them.

Job	Typical UK range
Chimney leadwork, patch repair	£150 to £250
Chimney leadwork, full replacement, average	about £570
Full replacement without scaffold	£350 to £460
Full replacement with scaffold	£700 to £920
Flat lead roof (per m²)	£150 to £200+

The guide figures above are national ones and are not a price list of ours. Once we have seen the lead, the boards under it and the access, we put a fixed price in writing, and that figure is the one you decide on.

Guides and answers

Leadwork guides

Quick answers

Questions

Leadwork on Bath roofs: the questions owners raise first

Why does my front bedroom ceiling stain after heavy rain when the roof tiles look fine?

On a house with a parapet, the likely source is the gutter behind the wall rather than the slope you can see. Rain collects there, and any blockage, split or low drip lets it into the masonry and down to the ceiling. We check the gutter and its outlet before looking anywhere else.

Can a parapet gutter be repaired, or does the whole length need relining?

Both happen. If the lead is sound and the fault is a single split or a worn joint, a repair is reasonable. When the sheets are cracked in several places or the boards under them have rotted, patching just moves the leak along, and relining the run is the better outcome.

What does a lead code mean on a quote?

It is the number that names the thickness and weight of the rolled sheet. Different details are usually specified in different codes, with the more demanding ones in heavier lead. Ask for the code to be named so that you can compare one quote with another like for like.

Do I need consent to replace stolen lead with something else?

For a listed building you need to speak to B&NES first, because a change of material is likely to need listed building consent. On a building that is not listed, you may have more freedom, but it is still sensible to check with the council if you are in the Bath conservation area, which takes in around half the city.

Will new lead match the old on a historic roof?

New lead is a pale, bright grey at first and darkens as it weathers. In time it will blend with the old sheet nearby. It is rolled lead sheet either way, laid with traditional detailing, so the character of the roof is kept.

Who looks after a parapet gutter shared with next door?

That depends on your title and your neighbour, and we cannot give legal advice on it. What we can do is show you from photographs where the shared outlet is, what condition it is in and which stretch of lead drains toward which house, so that you can agree the work.

Arrange a leadwork survey

Photograph the stain or the gutter and send it by WhatsApp or the form, or ring 01225 285181, and a visit will be arranged to inspect the lead itself. You receive the photographs and a fixed price to repair or reline, with the reason for that choice written beside it.

Get a free survey

Get your free survey

Get your free roof survey

Tell us what's happening and we'll call you back to arrange a visit. Prefer to talk? Call 01225 285181.

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