Roofs and flat roofs
Lead flashing is dressed into a chase and the pointing over the chase has fallen out. What is left holding the water out, and what was not water-tested?
What is left holding the water out is the lead dressed into the chase. The pointing that should seal the top of that chase has fallen out, so the groove above the lead is open. Wind-driven rain can get in over the flashing and behind it. Nothing was water-tested. The survey saw the lead still turned into the chase and the missing pointing. It has not shown how much rain gets past, has not timed a leak, and has not said the lead itself has failed. The weakness recorded is the open chase, not a missing flashing.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
A chase is the cut groove in the mortar joint that gives the top edge of the lead somewhere to sit. Pointing closes that groove so water cannot run in behind the metal. When the pointing falls out, the lead may still be wedged in place and still cover the abutment, but the top edge is no longer sealed. That is a smaller defect than lead that has torn out of the wall. The visit did not run a hose on it, so the note stays visual.
A roofer who works in lead can repoint the chase or redress the edge if it has started to lift. Tell the solicitor the report is missing pointing over a flashing that is still dressed in, not a failed flashing run. The survey has not specified new lead and has not opened the joint. Leave the chase as found. Poking the pointing residue out, or lifting the lead to look, only widens the path the missing mortar has already started.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is the lead still dressed into the chase where the pointing has fallen out?
- How much of the chase pointing is missing, and on which abutment?
- Was any water test done, or is the note visual only?
What are the typical next steps?
- Name the lead in the chase as what is still holding water out.
- Have the open chase repointed rather than assuming new lead is required.
- Do not describe the flashing as failed or as water-tested.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the lead looks wrinkled, has it come out of the chase?
Wrinkles are not the same as lead leaving the chase. The survey saw the flashing still dressed in, with pointing gone. It has not said the lead has pulled out because the surface looks uneven. Asking about it again later still leaves this wrinkle point outside what the survey decided.
Does missing pointing mean the chimney must be rebuilt?
No. Missing pointing over a chase is a joint repair. The survey has not said the chimney must be rebuilt, and it has not tied this note to a structural failure of the stack. The home survey itself did not pursue this rebuild question any further than the visit.