The short answer
Yes, often. Lead that has lifted, slipped or come loose from its chase can usually be re-dressed, re-wedged and repointed without replacing it. Lead that is split, thinned, torn or worn through cannot be mended in a lasting way and needs new sheet. The deciding test is whether the metal itself is sound; the fault is often only in its fixing.
When lead flashing can be put right by re-dressing, re-wedging or repointing, and the point at which only new lead will do.
Repairs that work on sound lead
Lead flashing seals the joint between the roof slope and a chimney, a side wall or a dormer cheek, and rain gets in the moment that joint opens. It is tucked into a slot cut in the brickwork, called a chase, and laid over the roof covering. Lead is soft and long-lived, so many faults are in how it is held, not in the metal itself, and a loose edge is far easier to cure than a worn sheet.
If the flashing has simply lifted at the edge, the roofer can re-dress it. That means pressing it back flat against the wall and the tiles with a dressing tool and a hide mallet, so it follows the shape of the surface again. If the lead has dropped out of the chase, it can be refitted and held with fresh lead wedges, small folded strips of lead tapped in to hold the top edge. Last, the chase is closed with fresh mortar or a suitable flexible sealant.
These are quick jobs when the lead is in good condition. Our answer on repointing lead flashing explains the mortar side.
Signs the lead needs replacing
Some damage cannot be repaired by working the metal back into place. Look for splits and cracks, especially along folds and at corners. Check for thin patches where the surface has worn through, and for holes. Lead that has been stretched or pulled out of shape may look flat from the ground but be too thin to last another winter.
Lead can also fail through movement. It expands in heat and contracts in cold, and if it is fixed too rigidly it fatigues and cracks. A long piece laid without joints or rolls will often split at the same spot again and again. That is a design fault, and a patch will not cure it. Our answer on why lead flashing cracks goes through it.
Beware of a blob of sealant or a strip of self-adhesive tape over a split. It can hold for a season, but it hides the problem, and water gets behind it. Such a patch often leaves the lead in a worse state when it is finally lifted. Missing sections, where metal has been taken, are a replacement job from the start.
What a roofer checks before deciding
The deciding step is a close look. Before we say repair or replace, we look at the metal, the fixings and the wall it sits against.
Is the lead thick enough?
Lead comes in numbered codes, and flashings are commonly made from code 4 or 5. A thin code that has lasted is worth keeping if it is sound, but one that is too light for the job will keep failing.
Is the chase sound?
If the mortar in the chase has crumbled or the brick is loose, the wedges have nothing to grip. The wall has to be made good first.
What is underneath?
A flashing can look sound while the felt or soaker beneath it has failed. Water then runs behind the lead, and a ceiling stain can appear long before anything shows outside.
Photos of the lead, the chase and the fixings come back to you after the survey. If the answer is repair, the written price covers a repair; if it is new lead, the pictures show why.
What repair and replacement typically cost
Checkatrade's June 2026 roof repair table shows lead flashing repair at £50 to £70 per metre and stepped flashing in code 5 lead at £80 to £120 a metre, as typical UK ranges. Treat these as a yardstick, because access, length and the survey set the real figure. Find out if VAT is in any quote you receive, and if a high chimney needs scaffold.
For a whole chimney's leadwork, MyJobQuote's guide, last updated 22 September 2026, gives £350 to £460 without scaffold and £700 to £920 with it. Scaffold can cost more than the lead, which is a good reason to bundle work on one side of the house into a single visit.
When the repair is small, re-dressing and re-wedging is far cheaper than new lead and gives the same protection. When most of the metal is worn, replacing it costs more upfront but stops a string of callouts. After the survey you get one written total, which names the route we recommend and why.
To begin, please send us a picture of the flashing and of any damp patch inside, and say which part of the house it sits on. See also lead flashing replacement cost and our lead work page.
More on this in Lead Work & Lead Flashing in Crawley
Two more lead repair questions
Can I seal lead flashing with a tube of sealant?
Sealant might ease a drip briefly, but it does not cure a split or a loose edge, and it makes a proper repair harder later because the lead must be cleaned before it can be worked again. Treat sealant as a stopgap only, and book a look while the weather is dry. Photograph the damage and have the lead looked at while the weather is dry.
How do I know if the leak is the flashing or something else?
Check where the damp appears. A stain beside a chimney, wall or roof window points at the flashing, but a slipped tile or a failed valley nearby can look the same. Water also travels along timbers before it shows. A survey from the roof traces the entry point, so the repair goes where the water gets in.