How long should a lead roof last?

Lead has a reputation for lasting, and the figures back it up. Less, a UK cost guide dated March 2026, gives a lead flat roof as 50 to 100 years. MyJobQuote, writing about lead flashing in September 2026, says correctly installed lead can last over 80 years, and over 100 for the higher codes. Zinc is the only common metal in the same league, and the maker VM Zinc says the same, over 100 years.

Compare that with the flat roofing most houses wear. Less gives EPDM 30 to 50 years, GRP 25 to 40 years, and torch-on felt 10 to 20. Lead is a thick metal, shaped by hand, that holds its form for a long time.

A range is not a guarantee. Nobody can say that your own roof will reach 100 years, and what a firm promises in writing says nothing about what the metal itself can do. What the figures show is what lead is capable of when everything around it goes right. The rest of this page explains what has to go right.

The gap between the low and high figures comes from the details that vary from roof to roof. Four of them do most of the work.

• The lead code. Sheet is made in codes by thickness, and a heavier code has more metal to wear through.
• The size of each sheet. The metal grows and shrinks with temperature, so sheets cut too long can crack with the strain.
• The deck beneath. A sound, dry base keeps the lead flat and unstressed.
• The laying. Joints, rolls and laps made properly let water run off and the metal move.

MyJobQuote ties a long life to the right code and to sheets of about 1.5 metres, which leaves room for movement in hot and cold spells. Our guide to lead codes sets out the weights and where each is used. Royston Lead's brochure lists code 6 at 2.65 mm and about 30 kg a square metre, with flashings, pitched valleys, parapets and dormers among its uses.

Lead rarely wears out evenly. It tends to fail at particular places, and the cause is usually not age alone.

Cracking is the commonest sign. It follows from lead sheets that were laid too long, fixed too tight, or put on a deck that has moved. Thermal movement opens a hairline split a little further each year until water finds it. Our answer on lead cracking on a roof explains the patterns.

The second cause is a defect around the lead rather than in it. A blocked outlet leaves water standing on a flat roof. A rotted board or a failed fixing lets the sheet sag. Mortar around a flashing that has crumbled lets the edge lift. In each case the lead is fine and what holds it has failed.

Theft and impact damage are the third group. Lead is valuable and easy to strip, and when a section is taken the roof is left open. Our guide to lead theft from a roof covers prevention and what to do afterwards.

A lead roof that has been up for fifty years does not need replacing because of its age. It needs looking at. The signs that matter are splits along folds and seams, sheets that have crept down the slope, thin patches where the metal has worn, and stains inside the building near the roof.

We go over the roof with a camera and photograph each fault, then say plainly whether it wants a patch, a repair or replacement of a section. A small split can be mended. A deck that has failed under a wide area is a different job. Our advice is to spend only what the fault demands. The pictures show where that line sits.

On a listed building, lead is often part of what makes the roof special, and replacing it like for like is usually the aim. The council's conservation officer can confirm whether consent is needed first. Our guide to leadwork on listed buildings covers the routes.

Because lead lasts, the real question is often whether to repair one section or replace the whole roof. Age on its own rarely decides it. A sound deck with a few worn details usually points to repair, while a deck that has moved over a wide area points the other way, and a patch over a wide failure only postpones the bill. The cost of a lead roof depends on its area, the code, the number of details and access, and our lead roofing cost guide gives typical ranges, each with its named guide.

We write the quote after surveying, and it states one sum. Whoever else quotes, ask if VAT and scaffolding sit inside their number, as both move it a long way. The lead roofing and leadwork page describes the lead jobs we take on.