Nobody likes asking for a price and hearing "it depends". So here is what it depends on, with the figures that third-party cost guides publish for the three jobs people ask about most: patching a chimney flashing, replacing one completely, and repairing lead by the metre. A flashing, for anyone new to the word, is the lead dressed over the awkward line where a roof covering butts up to a chimney stack or a wall.
Every number below comes from a named source as a typical UK range, not a price we are offering. Your own figure arrives once we have surveyed the roof, as a written quote for the whole job. The work itself is explained on our page about lead flashing repairs, and the overall service sits at lead roofing.
Where these figures come from
Three guides supply the numbers on this page. MyJobQuote's cost page on replacing leadwork on a chimney was last updated on 22 September 2026, and it covers the patch and the full replacement. Checkatrade's roof repair cost guide, updated in October 2026, gives per-metre rates for lead, and its figures exclude VAT. MyBuilder's guides, updated in August 2026, add the wider chimney and scaffold context.
VAT is normally charged on roofing work at the standard rate, so your quote will show it added at 20%. Each range below shows the scale of a job; your own roof sets the real figure.
A range is a spread across many roofs. A small, low, easy-access chimney tends to sit near the bottom of it, and a tall stack on a steep slope near the top.
A chimney flashing patch: £150 to £250
MyJobQuote puts a patch repair to a chimney flashing at £150 to £250. A patch means a small piece of lead let in or re-dressed where one section has lifted, split or pulled out of the wall, with the pointing made good around it. It suits a defect you can point at: one lifted corner, one cracked fold, one short length that has come away from its joint.
When a patch is the right answer
The lead round the rest of the stack should be sound, and the mortar joint it sits in should hold a wedge. If the metal is thin and crazed all over, or the pointing crumbles when touched, a patch buys little time because the next failure sits a hand's width away. In that case a patch is poor value, and a full replacement is the honest recommendation.
What the price leaves out
A patch range assumes the work can be reached from a ladder or a roof ladder without scaffold. Where it cannot, access is priced on top. Surveys show us the stack from the ridge side as well as the ground, which decides whether a patch can be done safely.
Replacing a whole chimney flashing, with and without scaffold
MyJobQuote gives an average of £570 for replacing the lead flashing round a chimney. Its range splits sharply on access.
| Job | Typical UK range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Patch to a chimney flashing | £150 to £250 | MyJobQuote, 22 September 2026 |
| Full replacement, no scaffold | £350 to £460 | MyJobQuote, 22 September 2026 |
| Full replacement, with scaffold | £700 to £920 | MyJobQuote, 22 September 2026 |
| Chimney flashing repair, wider range | £250 to £1,200 | MyBuilder, 21 August 2026 |
Why scaffold matters so much
The two replacement ranges differ by about £350 at the bottom and £460 at the top. That gap is the access. A chimney stack is high, the work involves several faces of the stack, and a roofer needs both hands free on a platform. MyBuilder puts scaffolding for a full re-roof at around £1,125 and Checkatrade at £700 to £1,300. A flashing job needs less scaffold than a full re-roof, which is why the extra sits well below those re-roof figures.
Access on a hillside
Steep lanes, terraces stepped up a slope and gable ends hard against a neighbour all affect how scaffold goes up. We work that into the quote after the survey so it is allowed for, not a surprise on the day.
Lead repairs by the metre: £50 to £70, and £80 to £120 for stepped
Checkatrade's repair guide prices plain lead flashing repairs at £50 to £70 per metre and stepped flashing at £80 to £120 per metre, based on Code 5 lead, excluding VAT. Stepped flashing is the piece that follows a wall running up the slope, rising one brick course at a time. It costs more per metre because every step is cut, folded and tucked into the brickwork separately.
A worked example
Suppose a side wall needs 3 m of stepped flashing replaced. At £80 to £120 per metre that is £240 to £360 before VAT, and about £288 to £432 with 20% added. A 5 m run of plain lead repair at £50 to £70 per metre would be £250 to £350 before VAT. These are arithmetic on national rates, nothing more: the real figure depends on the wall.
Why per-metre rates are only a guide
Short lengths cost more per metre than long ones, because setting up the job takes the same time whatever its length. A run that crosses a valley or turns a corner is slower to lay than a straight one. And the rate assumes the lead is going into a sound mortar joint. If the wall needs raking out and repointing first, that is separate work.
What moves the price inside a range
Four things matter most. The first is the lead code, which is its thickness. Leadworx names Code 4 as the everyday code for flashings, and Code 5 is thicker and heavier at 25.40 kg/m² against 20.41 kg/m² for Code 4. Metal is a large part of the material bill, so a heavier code costs more per square metre. Our lead sheet codes guide sets out each one.
The second is length and shape: the number of faces on the stack, the steps on a wall, any change of direction. The third is the condition of what the lead sits in. Loose pointing, a crumbling joint or a cracked stack adds masonry work that the flashing price does not cover. MyBuilder puts chimney repointing at about £750 on average, with a spread of £500 to £2,000.
The fourth is what lies underneath. Hidden soakers, an old back gutter or a rotten batten are found only when the old flashing comes off. We say in the quote which items are firm and which depend on what we find.
Lead lasts, so the code is worth getting right
MyJobQuote says lead flashing correctly installed can last over 80 years, and over 100 years in the higher codes. Lifespans like these are typical, not guaranteed, and the figure applies to a properly fitted job, not a thin sheet stretched too far. Paying a little more for the right code on a flashing that should outlast the tiles is rarely a false economy.
Bays, flat roofs and chimney rebuilds: when the bill is larger
A flashing is a small part of a roof, and the price changes the moment lead becomes the whole covering. MyBuilder's 2026 flat roof guide puts lead at £150 to £200 or more per m². Our guide to lead flat roofs covers the system, so it is enough here to say that a lead covering is priced by the square metre, where a flashing is priced by the metre run.
At the top end of the chimney scale, MyBuilder gives £2,000 to £10,000 or more for rebuilding a stack. If the masonry has gone, flashing is part of a much bigger job and the lead is renewed as the last stage, once the stack is back to full height.
Pointing, wedges and sealant
Sealant smeared along a lifted edge is the cheapest-looking repair and the shortest-lived. It hides a failing joint without fixing it, and it makes the real repair harder, because the old mastic has to be cut out before new lead can be dressed in properly. When we price a flashing, any sealant is for a neat bead at a specific detail, never a cover-up.
That is why a quote for the same stack can look dearer than a cheap patch. The patch fixes today's drip. The quote fixes the joint.
What waiting does to a small lead repair
A failed flashing rarely announces itself with a flood. Water gets in a little at a time, runs along a timber or down the back of the chimney breast, and shows up weeks later as a brown mark on a ceiling. By then it has wetted battens, rafter ends and plaster, and the job is no longer just lead.
MyBuilder's roof repair guide gives the spread across all roof repairs: £150 to £1,500 on average, with minor jobs at £100 to £300, moderate ones at £500 to £1,000 and major ones at £2,500 and above. A lead patch sits at the cheap end of that scale. Rotted timber, a replastered ceiling and a stack that has to be taken down and rebuilt sit towards the other end.
What we look at first
A damp stain by a chimney does not prove the flashing has failed. The cause can equally be loose pointing, a cracked pot, a blocked back gutter or a slipped tile nearby. At survey we trace the water from the stain back up the roof, and the quote only includes lead where lead is the cause. A flashing renewed without finding the real leak is money spent on the wrong part.
Where water is coming in at the time of the call, a make-safe takes priority over any repair.
How we turn a range into a quote
After a visit, our written quote breaks the job down by part: scaffold or access, stripping the old flashing, lead by code and quantity, labour, pointing, waste removal and making good. Where a cost depends on what lies under the old lead, we mark it as such. Typical prices are on the page before you ever speak to us; the quote is the number that applies to your house.
The survey gives you pictures of the faults on your roof as we saw them. At handover the site is clear, and the job carries a 10-year workmanship guarantee in writing. Where lead forms part of a larger re-roof, we explain whether Building Regulations apply and handle any notification that is needed.
To get an accurate figure quickly, send a few phone pictures of the stack taken from different sides, plus any wall edge that leaks, with a rough note of how far the stack rises above the gutter.