Given that most people usually only see lead roofing on
historic buildings getting across the message that lead sheet is a product to
use in modern construction isn’t always that easy. So the opportunity to
co-host a seminar with the respected RIBA journal on the use of BSEN12588
Rolled Lead Sheet wasn’t one to pass by.
The event was held on Monday at The Building Centre in
London, and around 60 construction
professionals, mainly architects, turned up for a fascinating morning
showcasing lead sheet on a range of modern commercial and domestic buildings.
The case studies highlighted, all of which will be written
up shortly for an article in RIBA Journal and be featured on the LSA web-site,
showed the imaginative use of lead sheet on the roof, as vertical cladding and
even as soffits. As one of the speakers put it succinctly ‘Lead gets you out of
tricky corners’. The same speaker admitted that in one project he had rejected
lead as he felt that copper cladding would provide a better contrast with the
brickwork but had learnt how much easier it was to work with lead than copper
in the process.
It was also gratifying to hear the frequent references from
speakers to the support and advice they had received from the LSA’s technical
department.
The lively Q&A session covered subjects’ technical and
aesthetic as well as the lack of knowledge about the measures taken in recent
years that have drastically reduced the amount of metal theft. There was also
an interesting discussion about identifying craftsmen who really can deliver on
leadwork as opposed to those who simply say they can.
I had the task of summing up at the end of the morning. I
was able to pull from the presentations all the merits of rolled lead sheet –
its versatility, cost effectiveness, green credentials but above all how good
it looks.
Richard Diment
Executive Manager
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