Chimneys create one of the most demanding junctions on any roof, where a masonry structure meets a covering of tiles or slates, and it is the flashing wrapped around this join that does the actual work of keeping water out. For properties across Filton with a chimney stack still in place, whether in use or capped, flashing failure after a storm is one of the more common emergency repairs Brunel Roofing Bristol is called out for, since a chimney introduces several separate joins that all need to remain sealed at once.
Lead flashing is durable but relies on being dressed tightly against the brickwork and properly stepped into the mortar joints to stay watertight. High winds can gradually work at the edges of this seal over months or years, and a storm often provides the final push that lifts a section away completely, or opens a gap large enough for water to get behind it during heavy rain. The apron flashing at the front of the stack and the stepped flashing along its sides can fail independently of one another, so a full check usually covers all sides of the chimney rather than just the most obviously affected one.
Because a chimney sits proud of the rest of the roof, water that gets past failed flashing can travel down inside the chimney breast itself, sometimes appearing as a damp patch on a bedroom ceiling or a stain on a wall well away from the chimney, which can make the source of the problem confusing without a proper inspection to trace it back to the flashing rather than something else entirely.
An emergency repair generally starts with making the area weathertight as quickly as possible, either by carefully re-dressing lead that is still in reasonable condition back into place, or by fitting a temporary seal where the existing flashing is too damaged to reuse. This stops further water getting into the chimney breast and surrounding roof timbers while a full permanent repair is arranged.
The permanent repair usually involves replacing the flashing entirely with new lead, correctly stepped and dressed against the chimney on all sides, along with resetting any tiles or slates that were lifted to gain access. It is worth checking the condition of the chimney stack itself at the same time, since flashing problems are sometimes linked to movement or deterioration in the masonry it is fixed against, and addressing both together avoids a repeat call-out further down the line.
If chimney flashing on your Filton property has failed during a recent storm, Brunel Roofing Bristol provides a 24-hour emergency call-out, followed by a properly specified permanent repair backed by our 15-year guarantee on completed work, so the fix is one you can rely on for years to come.
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