If the lead roof over your bay window in Brighton has started to crack, lift or let water in, you're probably wondering what it will cost to put right. Prices vary more than you'd expect depending on the size of the bay, how easily it can be accessed, and whether your property sits in one of Brighton's many conservation areas. Here's a realistic breakdown based on the kind of jobs roofers actually quote for on the city's Victorian and Edwardian bay windows.
No two bay roofs cost the same because the job isn't really about the lead itself, it's about everything around it. A small single-storey bay in Hanover might take half the time of a three-sided bay in Clifton Hill with rotten timber decking underneath.
The main variables are the size of the roof, its pitch, whether access needs a scaffold tower or just a ladder, the condition of the timber boarding beneath the lead, and the grade of lead used. Most domestic bay roofs are laid in Code 5 or Code 6 lead rather than the thinner Code 4, which adds a little to material cost but lasts considerably longer.
For a straightforward ground-floor bay window on a terrace in areas like Fiveways or Preston Park, where access is easy and the timber beneath is sound, you're generally looking at somewhere between £700 and £1,200 including labour and materials.
A first-floor bay needing a scaffold tower, which is common on three-storey Victorian terraces around Montpelier or Seven Dials, typically runs £1,500 to £2,500. Add rotten decking, extra flashings into brickwork, or a larger three-sided bay, and costs can reach £3,000 or more. These figures are before VAT at 20%, and lead itself tracks the scrap metal market, so prices can shift month to month.
A lot of homeowners call out a roofer expecting a quick repair and find the whole covering needs renewing. Lead doesn't fail gradually in one spot, it tends to fail across the whole sheet once it reaches a certain age, usually 40 to 60 years depending on how it was laid originally.
A large share of central Brighton and Hove sits inside a conservation area, including North Laine, Montpelier, Clifton Hill and much of Kemptown, and many seafront terraces are listed. In these areas, replacing a lead bay roof with a cheaper alternative like GRP fibreglass usually isn't permitted, so like-for-like lead is the expected standard.
Properties within a mile or so of the seafront also suffer faster corrosion on fixings and flashings because of salt in the air, which is worth factoring in if your bay roof is on a Regency or Victorian terrace in Kemptown or along the Hove seafront. If your terrace shares a party wall, you may also need a scaffolding licence from Brighton & Hove City Council if the tower has to go on the pavement.
A straightforward like-for-like lead repair usually doesn't need permission, but if your property is listed or in a conservation area and you want to switch materials, it's worth checking with Brighton & Hove City Council's planning team first.
Most single bay roofs are completed in a day. Where scaffolding, timber repairs, or awkward three-sided bays are involved, it's more realistic to allow one to two days.
On some non-listed properties outside a conservation area, GRP can be a cheaper option, but a large part of Brighton falls under conservation rules that expect lead to be retained, so check before assuming you can switch materials.
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