Help! Is this lead flashing up to scratch?

[MrGlassHalfFull]

Hi there,

I've just had a new pitched roof with a Velux window installed. The quote just said something along the lines of lead flashing to be installed.

I'm not happy with how this looks. for a brand new roof I expected something a lot better. There's different gaps the whole way along. Whilst researching I've noticed that step flashing seems to be the standard. Is it unreasonable to get the roofer back to tidy this up and or do it with stepped flashing? If so at whose cost?

I'm worried now that either way a diagonal line has been chased through the brick face.

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• MrGlassHalfFull
• 31 May 2013
• 1

 

[palaceray]

The flashing is not right. It should have been step flashing into every course of bricks.

As for cost what did he list on his estimate.

 

[MrGlassHalfFull]

Labour and materials not including the Velux which I supplied came to £1000.
The quote just says "all lead work as required".

The roofer claims he doesn't like to do the step flashing as it creates weak points in the lead. In any case he says he didn't quote me for step flashing and if he did it would have been £250 more. Surely he should make it clear beforehand that he's not doing it the 'standard' way.

My question is what do I do now to sort it. I've taken care to spec everything highly on the house renovation and now this brand new roof looks bodged IMO. And even if I do go for stepped via him or another roofer, won't it look just as terrible to have all the chase lines which will be left behind.

Haven't paid the balance for the work only a £300 deposit.

 

[Xenon]

Dire work.

 

[MrGlassHalfFull]

What to do now though?

 

[Nige F]

What`s been done is the new "standard way " unfortunately . It all started when roofers took the leadwork away from us Old Skool plumbers . And you`ll be left with a gashed wall whatever . Were the walls existing ? it would be a devil of a job cutting out the pointing for a step flashing - but I would have explained and given you the options

 

[^woody^]

What is wrong with it?

The fact that it was not done the way it would have been done on a Tudor cottage from 1480, is not really an argument in 2013

If the soakers have been cut per tile row, and they are under the cover flashing which is chased into the wall, then it will perform.

It does not look that that bad, so what is the issue?

 

[Jackrae]

Technically, cutting scarf slots in the brickwork has weakened them so they could fail in the future. Stepped flashing does not jeopardise the brick strength since it is fitted into the brick joints.

Apart from that the start of the flashing on the tight of the window is lying on top of the slate

 

[s60tsy]

Straight lead on an angle like that probably means that the builder can't do stepped lead, I don't think they would have saved a whole lot of money apart from time wise, you usually see that type of lead work on render. As long as its done right it's not guna be the end of the world it should still do the job

 

[Nige F]

. As long as its done right it's not guna be the end of the world it should still do the job

Looks like it was done by Guna Reah

 

[MrGlassHalfFull]

Hi Nige,

Yes the walls were existing. 1890's victorian property.

One is also a party wall, I can't believe he's gone and chopped the brick face to pieces without asking first. What he's saying now is that he didn't quote for stepped flashing, if he did he'd have quoted £250 more.

I'm not sure what to do now. I'm minded to get him to rip it all out, get the whole cut repointed and have step flashing put in, but it'll probably look just as ****e now the line is there.

Not sure how much of the remaining balance I can reasonably withhold for this lazy, sloppy bodge job.

 

[MrGlassHalfFull]

A few more pics...

Sorry about the orientation, for some reason they upload upside down, haven't worked out a way to rotate them.

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• MrGlassHalfFull
• 2 Jun 2013
• 1

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• MrGlassHalfFull
• 2 Jun 2013
• 1

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• MrGlassHalfFull
• 2 Jun 2013
• 1

 

[palaceray]

This lead flashing is very poorly done and you should not accept it.
To do a step flashing on your roof would not have cost any more for materials.
Chasing out the joints would have taken hardly any longer than cutting that straight chase, to form the step flashing would take half a day maximum.
It should not cost an extra £250.

If you have the flasing removed the chase can be pointed in with sand and cement coloured to match the bricks as close as possible.

 

[^woody^]

You have a flashing.

Whether it should have been done stepped, or not is irrelevant in contract terms, if you did not actually specify it to be stepped. Yes it would commonly be done as stepped, and the roofer is talking nonsense that he says he "did not price" for stepped flashing, but that is all by-the-by now unless you want to get into some protracted legal dispute.

It comes down to .... does it work, and quality.

If it works then that is that. If not then it should be addressed under normal warranty

In terms of quality, then it comes down to what you paid and where you live. If it was premium prices on a premium building in an exclusive area, then you have more leverage to demand top-notch work than if its some average contractor doing a relatively cheap job on the back of a normal house in an average residential area.

Altering it will potentially make it look a whole lot worse. You could try and argue for a reduction in price, but how to quantify it would be difficult. The roofer may well be within his rights to reject any reduction in the quoted price.

Again in contract terms, it is up to you to prove that the work is substandard (based on the above) and not in accordance with your contract, or else pay the agreed sum and sue afterwards for any losses.

 

[shane12345]

That is poor.
Hard to know what to advise here, if you rip it all out you are left with the straight chase gashed into the brick faces. That's gonna look awful pointed in.

Might just have to stick with the straight chase, but neater.