Lead or zinc for a small roof?

Lead is heavy, soft and easily dressed. A leadworker can bend it over a bay window roof or around a dormer cheek with a few simple tools, and once shaped it holds its form. Zinc is lighter and stiffer. It is cut and folded into seams in a more regular way, which suits straight runs and clean lines but gives less room for improvising around a crooked old corner.

On a small roof with several awkward junctions, such as a porch against a bay and a chimney, that difference matters. Lead copes with the oddities. Zinc is happier when the roof is simple, with a plain pitch and square edges. Neither is better in general. Each is better for a particular shape, which is why we look at the roof itself before recommending either, and why a one-line answer to this question is rarely a good one. A porch roof and a chimney apron might both be lead for different reasons.

Published figures are ranges, and none of them is a guarantee. MyJobQuote, in a cost guide dated 22 September 2026, says lead flashing may give more than 80 years of service. Less, in a flat roof guide dated March 2026, gives 50 to 100 years for a lead flat roof. For zinc, the maker VM Zinc states that a roof in the metal can reach beyond a century and cites a Building Research Establishment declaration, and a contractor quoted by HomeBuilding gives 60 to 100 years.

So the ranges overlap, and the makers of a product have an interest in its reputation. Treat the figures as a sign that either metal, laid well, outlasts the roof covering around it, and that detailing and upkeep matter more than the choice of metal. A badly fixed sheet of either will fail long before the number printed in a brochure, and a well-fixed one that is left to clog with debris will not do much better. Ask what the roofer expects to see in the metal after a decade, and what they would check.

VM Zinc sets out exposure zones for its own metal by distance from the sea. The strip within 1 km of the coast is its most severe zone, with a lower influence from 3 km out to 20 km. It also notes that salt deposits build up on surfaces rain does not reach, such as sheltered soffits, and advises rinsing them with plain water twice a year or more.

That guidance is about zinc, and we treat it as a prompt to ask where the roof stands and how much of it the rain reaches. There is no comparable published guidance for lead that we can point to, so we say nothing about lead and salt either way. If the roof is shielded from rain or sits close to the water, tell us when we visit and we will look at how the metal should be detailed for that position, including whether a sheltered underside needs a rinse in future.

If the roof already carries lead, replacing like with like is the simplest course and the least likely to upset the look of the building. On a listed building, any works that would alter its special architectural or historic character need listed building consent, so a change of metal is a question for the council before it is a question of taste.

Our listed buildings leadwork guide goes through who to ask. If your home is within one of Bognor's conservation areas, check with the planning officers at your council before altering a roof that can be seen from the street. Zinc can be the right choice for a modern extension where lead would look out of place, and that is a perfectly good reason to choose it. The decision, in the end, should follow the building and the neighbouring roofs, not a preference for one metal over another.

Price follows roof area, how awkward the junctions are, the ease of access and which metal and thickness the job calls for. No figure appears here, because a small roof can be anything from a simple strip to a fiddly bay with a chimney beside it. After we have surveyed, the written quote arrives with one sum for the work.

When you ask for a comparison, ask for the same scope in both metals, and ask each roofer to say which they would pick and why. If lead is chosen, ask which lead code is proposed. Our guide to lead flashing alternatives covers the other options, and the lead roofing and leadwork page describes the lead jobs we carry out. Bring photographs of the roof if you have them, and note any past leaks.