How Much Does Lead Flashing Replacement Cost?

These are national figures from third-party cost guides. They are not Crown Crawley Roofing prices, and they work as a yardstick against which to read your own quote, nothing more. A short run with easy access sits at the bottom of each range, and a long, awkward run on a tall wall sits near the top.

Checkatrade states that its repair costs leave out VAT, so a job charged at the standard 20 per cent rate costs more than the table shows. Whichever firm quotes you, find out if the total already holds VAT and scaffold, or if they come on top. That gap can be bigger than the difference between two roofers.

Length comes first. Flashing is measured by the metre, so a short apron under a chimney is a small job, while a long abutment along an extension wall is a bigger one. Quoting from a photograph alone misses the length, which is why measuring on site matters. The shape of the detail comes next. A straight cover flashing is one chase and one strip; a stepped flashing is cut and fitted brick by brick, which is why its range sits higher.

Thickness is the third factor. Royston Lead's brochure lists Code 4 to Code 6 among the flashing weights, and each step up is a heavier sheet with more metal in every metre. Our guide to what code lead for flashing explains which suits which job.

Then there is the wall itself. A chase cut in sound brick is quick work, while one that crumbles under the chisel has to be made good before any lead goes in. Flashing is often replaced alongside other stack work, such as repointing the chimney or renewing the flaunching, and the survey shows whether one visit can cover them. Measuring the run, looking at the brick and reading the old lead is how a firm price gets built.

The widest gap in these ranges comes from how the roofer reaches the work. The same chimney leadwork is quoted at £350 to £460 without scaffold and £700 to £920 with it, so at the top end scaffold roughly doubles the bill. A flashing on a single-storey extension may need only a ladder. A stack rising from a house with a first floor generally calls for a tower or full scaffold before anyone steps onto the roof.

MyJobQuote's chimney leadwork guide goes from £350 to £460 without scaffold to £700 to £920 with it, which is why access deserves settling before a price is agreed. If gutters, fascias or repointing are also due on that side of the house, sharing one scaffold between the jobs can spread the cost.

A scaffold that oversails the pavement or road has to be licensed by the highway authority, and we arrange that with the scaffolder. Private land is different, since no licence applies there. Neither changes the lead work, but both belong inside a single total, so ask who is arranging what and when the scaffold comes down.

Lead lasts. MyJobQuote reports lead flashing surviving beyond 80 years, so a strip that has failed early has usually been let down by its fixings: loose wedges, a crumbled chase, dried sealant. Re-wedging and repointing cost less than a new strip. Our page on whether lead flashing can be repaired sets out when that is the right call.

Replacement earns its cost when the lead is split, thin, buckled or pitted with old nail holes, or when it has been patched so often that the patches are the problem. It also makes sense while a chimney is being repointed or a roof is already scaffolded, because the access is paid for.

We look before we price, and you are sent photos of your own flashing, the chase and the covering around them. The price that follows is a single total in writing. To get that started, send a few pictures of the leak or stain and tell us roughly how much wall is involved. The main lead work page covers the wider service, and flashing coming away from a wall deals with the commonest fault.