Since my last contribution to this blog back in June, the Technical Department of the Lead Sheet Association saw a sharp rise in the
number of technical enquiries it received, especially in July, which has really
kept us on our toes both in and out of the office. In part I would imagine this
is down to a last minute rush to ensure that projects were in receipt of any
outstanding details or queries before individuals began their summer breaks and
also an indication that the industry as a whole is on the up and contractors
and architects alike are busy. The recent spell of warm weather is allowing
works to progress apace and all of those tricky little details that some are
unsure about are coming to the fore and need addressing on occasion.
Interestingly, we have even received emails from some roofers
in Russia eager to find out how they can use rolled lead sheet out there. As
you can imagine this involves some tremendous variations in temperature (-40C
to + 90C) which presents some interesting problems as far as thermal expansion
and contraction is concerned. In any case, we hope to welcome a few of them here
to the training school sometime in November to give them an introduction to the
world of lead.
Back on home soil David Pounds and I have also been called out
to look at a few sites around the country where concerns over quality and
standards have been raised. I cannot stress enough how important it is to
ensure that whoever is carrying out leadwork out there is fully up to speed
with all of our technical detailing and advice. The Rolled Lead Sheet Manual is
there for all to use as is the website and David and I are always at the end of
the phone to help if we can, but at the end of the day all of our advice is
only of use in the right hands. Lead is the most wonderful and versatile
material and we would all like to see it fitted to ensure maximum longevity. So
whatever the problems, no matter how big or small, please talk to us here in
the technical department and we will do whatever we can to help.
Darren Tutt
Technical Officer
