Why chimneys leak first
A chimney punches a hole through your roof and then stands in the weather on all four sides. The seal between stack and tiles depends on lead flashings stepped into the brickwork and dressed over the roof covering — plus mortar joints, flaunching and pots that take the full force of wind and frost. When lead splits, slips or was never properly chased in, or when pointing crumbles, water tracks down inside and shows up as damp on chimney breasts, often rooms away from the actual entry point.
- Damp patches or staining on chimney breasts and ceilings below
- Cracked, lifted or missing mortar fillets and flashings
- Loose pots, cracked flaunching and spalling brickwork
- Vegetation growing out of the stack — roots mean open joints
Lead work done the traditional way
Lead has waterproofed British roofs for centuries because, fitted correctly, it outlasts almost everything around it. We cut, dress and fix lead flashings, aprons, back gutters and soakers to suit tile and slate roofs, stepped properly into sound mortar joints and pointed to finish. Where stacks need it we repoint, renew flaunching, reset or replace pots and fit cowls or caps to redundant flues — keeping weather and birds out while flues still vent as they should.
Good chimney maintenance protects far more than the stack: it keeps timbers dry, preserves the roof covering around it and prevents the slow, expensive damp damage that starts unseen. If your stack is beyond economical repair we'll tell you straight and quote for rebuilding or safe reduction — no dressing up bad news.
Recent lead & chimney works work
Photographed on our own jobs across Cheshire — see the full gallery on Our Work.
