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Southport Lead Welding
We are experts in all aspects of lead welding, our skilled team can deal with all lead welding projects from lead valleys, chimney flashing and bay windows.
100% customer satisfaction is our goal, just contact us and we will arrange an appointment to simply offer some advice or arrange a FREE Quotation and appraisal of the work we need to undertake. We are here to help!
The purpose of Lead Welding.
As with all roofing projects it is essential to get the right company they must be able to carry out all work to a professional standard and be adaptable to all solutions available. Lead welding is fundamental to the use of rolled lead sheet for roofing applications.
If your roofer cannot weld lead, they will struggle to provide certain details as part of a project.
Below is a quick guide to how Lead elding may be used.
The purpose of lead welding
When carrying out leadwork, the purpose of welding rolled lead sheet is to form details that may otherwise adversely affect the integrity of the material by using traditional bossing methods.
Lead welding allows pieces to be connected without thinning the material.
The practice of welding lead is particularly useful when forming functions and interfaces such as aprons, back gutters, apex interfaces on lead hips and ridges.
Further, welding lead allows custom sections such as hopper heads and chutes for outlets to be formed.
A good Leadworker will always carry welding equipment to undertake their craft.
Moreover, as lead can only be installed in certain lengths, relevant to the code or thickness, lead welding is fundamental when installing expansion joints in gutter linings where a mechanical joint or step is not practical. We will advise on all the options.
Usually, heigh constraints of adjoining roof areas or up stands prevent the formation of steps in gutters and rubber expansion joints are a useful addition to leadwork practices.
Importantly however, expansion joints should always be covered with s separate lead section to mitigate degradation of the rubber in the joint by UV.
Noteworthy, the rubber in an expansion joint, which allows thermal movement to occur, will not last as long as the material around it. Expect therefore for failure of rubber expansion joints to occur sooner than a correctly installed and properly detailed lead gutter lining.
Where is expansion joint used?
Expansion joints are used where it is not practical to form a mechanical joint either using a step or timber roll detail. Commonly, lead expansion joints are used on lead gutter linings. Such jointing would be used where the base of a gutter exceeds the maximum recommended length of a given code of lead. For example, code 5 lead could be set in 2000mm lengths before expansion would be required.
Further, expansion joints may be used to split a bay roof where height constraints prevent the use of a wood roll joint or mechanical step.
The ability to weld lead, when using expansion joints is the only method of forming a watertight joint.
The use of welding methods is useful when forming outlets and spitters to ensure effective discharge of rainwater from lead gutters on certain types of buildings.