When a roofer prices lead, the figure on the quote is often higher than for a membrane or a felt, and the usual reply is that lead lasts. That is true, and it is worth knowing by how much and under what conditions, because a long life is only worth paying for if the lead you are buying will actually reach it.
Lead is a metal that weathers rather than rots. Left alone on a roof it forms a stable grey surface that protects the metal beneath, and it does not need painting or coating. Its life is limited less by corrosion than by movement, by damage and by how it was laid. A sheet that is cut too long, fixed too tight or set too thin will crack long before it wears out.
Below we give the published lifespans for lead and for the coverings people compare it with, explain what decides whether a lead roof reaches the top of its range, and say how to tell from the ground when old lead is ageing normally and when it is failing. Everything here is a typical range from a named source, never a guarantee of how long your own roof will last.
What the published sources say
Two figures matter for lead, and they describe different parts of a roof, so keep them apart.
Lead flat roofs
HomeBuilding & Renovating, in a guide updated on 30 September 2025, puts the typical life of a lead flat roof at 60 to 100 years. That is the figure for sheet lead laid as the main covering of a flat or low-pitched roof, such as the flat over a bay window, a porch or the top of a mansard.
Lead flashings
MyJobQuote's leadwork guide, updated in September 2026, credits lead flashing with more than 80 years. The wording matters, because that is a lower bound for what flashing is capable of, and it does not say that every flashing will reach 80 years or stop at 81.
What the ranges have in common
Both are long. They sit well above the lives published for the membranes and felts that lead flat roofs compete with, and they sit alongside slate and clay at the top of the table. Both also assume the roof has been designed, laid and looked after properly. Neither range is a warranty, and warranty cover is not the same thing as a service life. If you are buying a lead roof, the useful way to read the range is as the ceiling that good work makes possible, not the floor that all work reaches.
The flashing figure belongs to the strips at chimneys, dormers and wall abutments on a pitched roof, while the flat roof figure belongs to lead used as the main covering.
Lead against the other coverings
It helps to see lead next to the coverings it is compared with. The table gathers published lives, each with its source.
| Covering | Typical life |
|---|---|
| Welsh slate | 100+ years |
| Lead flat roof | 60 to 100 years |
| Clay tile | 60 to 80 years |
| Concrete tile | 40 to 50 years |
| EPDM | 25 to 30 years (Less gives 30 to 50) |
| GRP | 25 to 30 years (Less gives 25 to 40) |
| Felt, torch-on | 10 to 15 years (Less gives 10 to 20) |
What the table shows
On a flat or shallow roof, lead's range sits well above the published lives of the common membranes. That is why it is chosen for the flat roofs and bay roofs of period houses where replacing a membrane every few decades would mean disturbing the structure each time.
Where lead is not the longest
Welsh slate is listed at over 100 years, which is higher than lead's range, and zinc's manufacturer, VMZinc, cites a BRE Environmental Product Declaration that "states 100 years". These are roof coverings in their own right, not substitutes for lead flashings, so the comparison that matters is lead against the other options for the same job.
The cost side
HomeBuilding's supply-only figure for lead is £170 per square metre against £105 for EPDM and £110 for GRP, so lead costs more up front. Over a long life, the dearer material can be cheaper per year, but only if it lasts, which brings us to what decides that.
What makes lead reach the top of its range
Four things separate a lead roof that gives 80 years from one that is patched at 20.
The right code
Royston Lead's brochure lists Code 3 (1.32 mm) for soakers only and gives Codes 4 and 5 (1.80 mm and 2.24 mm) for flashings and pitched valleys, with heavier codes for the larger gutters. A sheet that is thin for its position fatigues earlier. Our post on lead codes explained shows which code belongs where.
Sheets cut to length
Lead expands and contracts with temperature, so a long unbroken sheet strains where it is held. Pieces cut to a sensible size and lapped give every sheet space to shift with the weather, and that detail is the one that lasts.
A sound bed
Lead lies on boards, and boards that rot or twist push the sheet out of shape. Underlay between lead and board prevents wear from rough timber. If the deck is bad, the right fix is a new deck before new lead.
Falls and drainage
Even a lead flat roof needs a fall to carry water away. Water that sits on the metal for long periods does not suit it. The lead follows BS 6915, the standard Approved Document C names for lead sheet, and not BS 6229, which covers flexible membranes only.
Being left alone
Lead does better when nobody patches it with sealant or walks over it with the wrong boots. The way it is treated through life counts as much as how it was laid, and a roof used as a terrace is not the same as one that is only ever inspected.
Why some lead fails young
Lead roofs that fail early are, in most cases, roofs where one of the points above went wrong. It helps to know the common routes to an early failure, because they decide whether old lead can be mended or has to be renewed.
Splitting
A crack across a sheet or along a fold is the usual first sign. It comes from thermal movement acting on a sheet that was laid too long or fixed too hard. Our post on the problems with lead roofing goes into splits, theft and sealant patches in more detail.
Wear at the edges
Edges, laps and folds are the most worked parts of a lead roof and the first to thin. Foot traffic on a flat accelerates this, and so does a gutter that overflows onto the sheet.
Damage from outside
A fallen branch, a ladder foot, a dropped tool and theft all leave a roof needing patching long before its natural life ends. None of this reduces the lifespan of the metal itself, but it shortens the life of the roof as a working roof.
The reuse question
When an old lead roof is lifted for a repair elsewhere, the sheet is sometimes sound enough to reuse and sometimes thinned and work-hardened. We examine it close up and report which, so the decision rests on what is in your hand. Whether it goes back down or is replaced depends on its condition, on the code and on how the roof is detailed.
Where you are choosing between repair and renewal, the surveyor's photographs from the roof show the lead as it is, not as it looks from the ground.
Telling healthy old lead from failing lead
Old lead does not look new. The question is whether it is ageing in the ordinary way or showing a defect.
Signs of normal ageing
A matt grey surface, sometimes with a pale powdery bloom, is the natural weathered patina that protects the metal beneath it. Slight rippling across a wide flat roof where the sheet has moved over decades is normal too, so long as it is not cracked.
Signs of a problem
Cracks along folds or across the sheet, holes, flashings that have lifted off the wall, sections that have slipped, and dents where the metal has been struck are all signs the lead needs attention. A ceiling stain below a lead roof or a chimney is a sign that water is getting through somewhere.
Where to look
A first look needs only the garden and the loft. Roof ladders and edge protection belong to the roofer, and nobody should walk across a lead flat to inspect it, because that is how dents and creases begin.
What an old flashing tells you
If an old flashing is sound but its mortar fixing has gone, it can often be re-fixed. If it has thinned or cracked in several places, it is time for replacement. For the cost side of both, our post on lead flashing cost sets out a published range and what moves it.
Planning for the next decades
A long-lived roof covering rewards a long view. If you own an older house in Farnborough, Aldershot or the villages around, the question is less "how long will this last" than "what will it need on the way".
Inspect rather than wait
A glance at lead flashings and flats every few years costs little. A small repair made early keeps water out and protects the timbers behind. A survey photographs each joint and explains what is sound.
Fit the repair to the roof
When a section has to be replaced, match the code and the detail to the original unless the original was wrong. On a listed or conservation house, check what consent is needed before changing the material. Rushmoor Borough Council's planning team can advise for addresses in Rushmoor, and your own council for others.
Choose lead where it earns its place
Lead suits flashings, valleys, bays and the flat roofs of period homes where its long life and its ability to take awkward shapes count. It is dearer to supply than membranes, so it is worth choosing where its advantages are real.
Next steps
The lead roofing and leadwork page sets out which lead jobs we take on. When a quote offers lead, ask which code is going where, how long each sheet runs and which standard governs it, and collect at least 3 written quotes, as Citizens Advice recommends.
