Lead roofs are one of the oldest and durable roofing options. Perfect lead sheet roofing has been known to last for more than 2 hundred years. The classic way to make cast lead sheet is by casting molten lead on a bed of sand. However, now the lead sheets are produced on rolling mills and called milled lead sheets.
The cast lead sheet is still manufactured by specialist firms and mostly used to replace the old lead sheets of historic buildings like churches where authenticity is crucial.
Defects of Lead Roofs and Eventual Lead Work
Your roofer must be well experienced and skilled in order to repair lead roofs. While selecting the roofers in Halifax, you must ensure that they know how to assess and diagnose a defect or problem in lead roofs before initiating or suggesting any lead work on the roof. If your roofer fails to identify the real problem correctly then it will recur within a short period of time.
When it comes to lead roofing, soaking, flashing or cladding, the common sense dictates to assess if the damage is not too much, maybe a few splits here and there, then it can be handled with appropriate repairs. In case if the situation is too bad then renewal of the lead work seems like an only option.
The checklist to gauge any lead roof includes:
- The condition of lead
- Number of years left in a lead roof
- Lead work required to fix the issues
- Design defects
- Splits and ripples
- Corrosion – top or bottom of the lead roof
Repairing or Lead Work in Halifax
The defected area should be patched up via welding with small cutouts of lead sheets as a permanent repair. The lap joints must be utilized in the process to strengthen the fix and also in order to avoid the direct contact of flame with the lead. The roll ends in lead roofs are mostly the vulnerable part. If it is the roll ends issue then a new pre-fabricated roll end should replace the damaged one.
The roofer must take proper precautionary measures when using a blow-torch in order to avoid the risk of fire. In case if the hot working ban is effective, the lead work can be done by taking out the defected panel of lead sheet and fixing it off site. There is also an option of sealing tape in condition of the hot working ban but it is not recommended as the tapes are not long lasting.
At the end of the day, the lead roofs and lead work is only a task of deserving and experienced roofers in Halifax.