Fitting new timber ridge poles and new code 6 lead to lead sheet association specification, in a difficult to access location.
This heavy cast iron hopper was found to be badly cracked and badly secured to the wall. It sits directly over a residents front door, and had to be made secure.
First a cardboard template was created, then taken to the blacksmith so that new round bars could be made that would fit perfectly around the hopper and secure it to the wall.
Here you can see the new round bars fitted around the hopper and anchored to the wall using resin anchor bolts. The hopper is now very secure. The crack was also filled with a quality sealant – modern type polysulphide.
Mesh was fitted over the hopper to prevent birds nesting within it, as had been a problem for years previously.
Slate patching, gutter cleaning, and downpipe unblocking. General, and much needed, maintenance work.
This area of roof was stuffed with rotten, cracked and broken Burlington slates.
A view of the area before work started.
Ripping out the old to replace with new.
This is how it looked after the work was completed.
New Case Study added at the following link.
Installation of a traditional stepped lead flashing. No subcontractors used or required for this work.
Raggle joints cut out and ready for the newly formed lead.
Lead inserted and secured with traditional lead batts (not these crappy little lead clips that are faster but less secure).
Wetting the joints in preparation for pointing with hydraulic lime mortar.
Joints now pointed.
The rest of the pictures show the completed job. By this time the top strip of lead flashing was on, all lead was cleaned and treated with patination oil, and all raggles were pointed.
We work on a real variety of structures, and many of these are church spires.
Some are pretty huge, and some are not.
The spire shown in the first two pictures is 190 feet high.
But it only took one 10 foot ladder to get up this one.
It was a lime pointing job. All of the joints were fully raked out and repointed with hydraulic lime mortar.
This page shows the fabrication and installation of a lead roof vent which will, once a plumber has been to site, vent two bathrooms.
The vent was installed on a high castle roof but no scaffold costs were incurred as we do not need scaffold for this kind of work.
Access, leadwork and slating were all handled by BCM Steeplejacks – no subcontractors were required, which helps to keep costs down.
This picture shows the vent on the bench during fabrication. The plastic pipe inside the outer lead pipe is there to give the plumber something to connect onto inside the attic.
Still on the bench but nearly complete.
There was a small sandstone turret to be raked out and pointed with hydraulic lime mortar. The picture below shows it fully raked out.
This one shows it fully pointed.
Click on pictures to enlarge. Click on them again to reduce.
This was a straight forward part of a larger job. There were two defective sections of lead on the roof that were soon going to crack and allow water through. We cut out the defective areas and lead burned new lead patches on.
The defective areas before work commenced.
Defective lead cut out and area swept clean.
