Lead roll ridge v. conventional ridge capping slates.

[epsilonGreedy]

I have developed a fatal attraction to the idea of dispensing with regular with normal tiled ridges & hips and using roll top lead capping instead. It looks great and is a classic finishing detail on a heritage low pitch (30 degrees) hipped roof.

 

I can only think of positives at the moment, there must be some negatives?

 

Positives:

1. No messing with mortar on the ridges or hips and I would probably end up with an ugly finish splatting mortar everywhere particularly as getting the optimal consistency for ridge roofing mortar is a fine art.
2. As a general concept using mortar on a roof just seems to have failure designed in i.e. brittle filler used on a flexible wooden structural base and exposed to freezing.
3. Subsequent repairs do not require destruction of the ridge because the lead can just be peeled back and slates removed down to the repair.
4. I do not cost my time on the self build so days of monotonous lead roll shaping is preferable to high drama ridge tile alignment and bedding on time critical setting mortar.

 

 

[tonyshouse]

They can blow off/up easily if not treated properly and fully with patination oil including up/under laps you will get ugly streaking down the slates. Any dripping or runs into flash will etch the glass too. 

[PeterW]

Are you using breather membrane then if so you will need to use a vented ridge which is nigh impossible with lead. Mechanically fixed ridge is the way to go, and forget about it. 
 

To do a lead roll properly you will need to know how to lead weld and dress, and also fit stainless holds every 450mm to stop uplift. You also need hardwood rolls and copes, so will be probably in the region of £50-60m for the lead and materials, or 3 -4 times that for standard tile. 

[epsilonGreedy]

10 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Are you using breather membrane then if so you will need to use a vented ridge which is nigh impossible with lead. Mechanically fixed ridge is the way to go, and forget about it. 
 

 

Yes to a breather membrane.

 

I thought that a breather membrane, plus over the fascia top ventilated plastic support tray plus corrugated ventilation roll over the rafters but under the membrane and a 30 degree pitch would put me comfortably over the cold roof ventilation requirement? Some online sources suggest breather membrane alone will be sufficient but one experienced roofer persuaded me to add additional eave ventilation to exceed the minimum standard.

 

I do not see much adoption of ventilated mechanical fixed ridges on private self builds near me. A different roofer wanted to use slate ridge riles with a peculiar cap which allow for one nail under the cap, he went on to say this would be backed up with a dab of mortar well up under the ridge tile and he finished off saying "think of it was a semi dry ridge".

[epsilonGreedy]

25 minutes ago, PeterW said:

To do a lead roll properly you will need to know how to lead weld and dress

 

 

I would get someone in for the welding but thought for the hips the lead sections would be nailed at the top then overlapped. Do the ridge roll top sections need welding?

 

Lead dressing was something I though I could learn at ground level if I knocked together a practice roof from spare timber with a three meter ridge. I am also investigating getting some tuition.

 

30 minutes ago, PeterW said:

You also need hardwood rolls and copes

 

 

"Copes"? That is a new word to me.

 

As to rolls the treated softwood version seems dirt cheap.

 

https://www.roofingsuperstore.co.uk/product/lead-roofing-wood-roll-50mm-x-24m-treated.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhZ-bzr_u7gIVC-rtCh35vQCFEAQYASABEgI2jPD_BwE

 

32 minutes ago, PeterW said:

You also need hardwood rolls and copes, so will be probably in the region of £50-60m for the lead and materials, or 3 -4 times that for standard tile. 

 

 

I need to check my sums. On the main roof I have 8m of ridge and about 22m of hip.

 

Code 4 or 5 lead at say 540mm wide is about £26 and £33 per meter ex. vat. 

[makie]

8 hours ago, epsilonGreedy said:

 

I would get someone in for the welding but thought for the hips the lead sections would be nailed at the top then overlapped. Do the ridge roll top sections need welding?

 

Lead dressing was something I though I could learn at ground level if I knocked together a practice roof from spare timber with a three meter ridge. I am also investigating getting some tuition.

 

Code 4 or 5 lead at say 540mm wide is about £26 and £33 per meter ex. vat. 

 

No one is going to come in to spend maybe an hour on welding unless you are going to massively overpay them.

 

I've been working with lead for 13 years and dressing/bossing is not something you will learn in a couple days/weeks.

You need code 6 upwards for lead ridges. I highly suggest not using lead or getting a professional in for it.

[tonyshouse]

I can’t see any welding being needed 

[makie]

6 minutes ago, tonyshouse said:

I can’t see any welding being needed 

 

The mitres will need welding if they use the proper code of lead.

[tonyshouse]

Good leadworker will boss and dress , welding makes it quicker 

 

softwood rolls should be ok, I have never seen hardwood ones 

[epsilonGreedy]

14 hours ago, makie said:

 

No one is going to come in to spend maybe an hour on welding unless you are going to massively overpay them.

 

I've been working with lead for 13 years and dressing/bossing is not something you will learn in a couple days/weeks.

You need code 6 upwards for lead ridges. I highly suggest not using lead or getting a professional in for it.

 

Thank you for this feedback, pro roof leadworkers are few and far between so your post is valuable.

 

Code-6 ok noted. I suppose with a 30 degree pitch plus hips there is more opportunity for the wind to get under the ridge/hip flashing so a bit more weight makes sense.

 

I have been watching the few YouTube videos on dressing/bossing roll ridges, it seems like an approachable task though I accept a trained lead worker can do more complicated jobs including boxed gutters and lead parapets. While waiting for the weather to improve I might as well build a practice roof ridge and experiment with code 4 or 6. I understand the resulting lead scraps can be sold for scrap.

[epsilonGreedy]

14 hours ago, makie said:

The mitres will need welding if they use the proper code of lead.

 

 

Are these mitres the overlaps on the ridge or the intersection junction of the ridge and hip ends?

 

The following video shows a pro leadworker shaping and fitting roll top ridge flashing onto a bay window canopy. I like the way he shapes the sections on a portable moulding at ground level. The fixing straps are odd, the straps appear to be a copper/lead sandwich.

 

 

[willbish]

Nicholson do a product for ventilated lead ridges.

I think they look really smart and would have gone for it, had I not found a suitable tile.

 

AIRTRAK-VR200 Ventilated Ridge Detail - Slated Roof 25-34degs-Layout1_0.pdf

[makie]

11 hours ago, tonyshouse said:

Good leadworker will boss and dress , welding makes it quicker 

 

softwood rolls should be ok, I have never seen hardwood ones 

 

An old-fashioned lead worker will boss it, no one really does it now unless it is a listed building or heritage site. Can make money quicker doing the welding which is the way most leadworkers have went.

 

[makie]

6 hours ago, epsilonGreedy said:

 

Are these mitres the overlaps on the ridge or the intersection junction of the ridge and hip ends?

 

The following video shows a pro leadworker shaping and fitting roll top ridge flashing onto a bay window canopy. I like the way he shapes the sections on a portable moulding at ground level. The fixing straps are odd, the straps appear to be a copper/lead sandwich.

 

 

 

Yeah the mitres are the point in which the hip meets the ridge. Most lead workers do most of the shaping out of place as it's much easier and less likely to break any slates/tiles.

The copper holds the lead down and the lead is more for show so that it looks the same, sometimes people use stainless steel instead of copper.