Most roofs across Liverpool will have flashings of one form or another. Put simply a flashing is a way of finishing the roof to its perimeter or protrusion using usually a thin piece of metal. The most common place for these in Liverpool is around chimney stacks and dormers.
Flashings to this area are a vital part of preventing water ingress and are mostly made up of two distinct parts. Cover flashings which are dressed into a brick joint and soakers which sit between the roof covering and abut the brickwork or timber frame.
Cover flashing or step flashings should be formed of individual pieces of metal, commonly lead, to match the roof pitch and dressed into a brick join by a minimum of 25mm each overlapping the next by a minimum of 50mm or 2 inches. They can then be securely fixed using a metal wedge. Once a cover flashing has been installed pointing should be applied to completely fill the joint thus preventing surface water running down the brickwork and into the property.
Soakers are designed to direct water running down from the roof covering above around any protrusions. When fitted correctly each tile or slate with have its own individual soaker formed from lead and dressed to match the contours of your roof covering.
However, what we often find is that flashing and soakers have been install continuously. This means that one large piece of lead have been sat upon the tiles and cut to match the joints in the brickwork. This way of installing flashings is much quicker but will caused multiple issues. To start with, this style of flashing will not prevent driving rain form getting in because it is not possible to lap the flashing at each brick joint, an angled or worse a vertical cut is made to bridge the gap between brick levels. Any wind driven rain is free to penetrate at that point.
Long term the continued expansion and contraction the lead will cause the large flashing to tear. Splits to this vital roof junction often cause sudden significant leak significant leaks. The weigh of such a large piece of lead combined with its continued expansion and contraction can lead to the flashing simply falling off as it breaks away from the brickwork which its dressed to. Our experienced teams of estimators can carry out a roof inspection across Liverpool and provide a free quotation for any roof repairs that you may need. Call us on 01516912978 or use the book an appointment feature 24/7 on or website to arrange a convenient time for one of the team to come out.
We offer our roofing service all areas over the North West including Liverpool, Allerton, Anfield, Belle Vale, Childwall, Clubmoor, Croxteth, Everton, Fazakerley, Kirkdale, Knotty Ash, Norris Green, Old Swan, Wavertree, West Derby
Woolton, Huyton and Yew Tree.