When homeowners in Portishead think about storm damage, tiles and slates are usually the first thing that comes to mind, but flashing is just as often the source of a leak that appears in the days and weeks following a bad spell of weather. Flashing is the metal, usually lead, that seals the junctions where a roof meets a chimney, a wall, a dormer or another roof plane, and it does not always show obvious damage even when it has failed.
One of the trickier aspects of flashing problems is the delay between the failure occurring and the leak actually becoming visible inside the property. Water entering behind a disturbed flashing edge may take a slow, indirect path down through the roof structure before it eventually shows as a stain, which means a leak noticed weeks after a storm can very often still be traced back to that original event rather than to anything more recent.
Severe wind can lift the edge of a flashing strip just enough to break its seal without tearing it away completely, which is part of why it is such an easy thing to miss on a visual check from the ground. Rain that would previously have run harmlessly off the roof can instead find its way behind a lifted flashing edge and travel some distance before it shows up as a stain on a ceiling or wall, often well away from the actual point of entry.
Chimneys are a particular focus after severe weather in Portishead, since they are tall, exposed features that catch wind from several directions at once, and the flashing around the base of a chimney stack is under more strain than almost any other detail on the roof. Older harbourside properties with traditional chimneys and mortar-fillets rather than proper lead work are especially prone to problems here, though newer builds are not immune if the original flashing was fitted to a minimum standard.
Roof valleys deserve the same level of attention as chimneys, since they are another point where two roof planes meet and where large volumes of water are channelled together during heavy rain. A valley that has coped fine for years can start to leak after wind has disturbed the lead or the tiles that overlap it, and because valleys are often less visible from ground level than a chimney stack, problems here can go unnoticed for longer. A methodical check should cover every junction on the roof, not just the most obvious ones.
Because flashing failures are so easy to miss from ground level, a proper check usually means getting up onto the roof or using access equipment to look closely at every abutment, valley and chimney junction rather than relying on a general impression of the roof's condition. Brunel Roofing Bristol includes a thorough flashing check as standard whenever we inspect a Portishead roof after a storm, precisely because it is one of the most common causes of leaks that otherwise go unexplained.
If you have had recent severe weather and are unsure whether your flashing has held up, it is worth having it looked at properly rather than waiting for a leak to appear. Get in touch with Brunel Roofing Bristol for an inspection and a clear explanation of what, if anything, needs putting right.
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