PROJECT

Roof Repair at Dame Janet School, Ramsgate, After Lead Theft

How we put Dame Janet School's roof back together after lead thieves stripped the chimney flashings — and made sure it couldn't happen again.

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At-a-glance

Location: Ramsgate, Kent

Property Type: Primary school

Service: Leadwork and fibreglass repair

Year: 2025

Duration:

Materials: Code 4 lead flashings, site-laminated fibreglass chimney back tray

The brief

Lead theft is a miserable, entirely avoidable problem, and schools get hit more than most. At Dame Janet Primary School in Ramsgate, the lead cover flashings had been taken from the chimney back tray — the drainage detail that catches water running down the roof above a stack and carries it away to either side.

Strip that out and you've removed the one thing standing between rainwater and the inside of the building. It doesn't take long for that to become a problem, and in a school it isn't just a maintenance issue. It's classrooms, ceilings and equipment.

What was needed was a repair that made the roof watertight again — and, sensibly, one that wouldn't simply be stolen a second time.

The challenge

Access was the first problem. The affected area couldn't be reached by ladder, and it wasn't in a position where standard scaffolding was practical either. On a live school site that matters twice over: scaffolding takes time to erect, costs money, and stands there for the duration surrounded by children.

Replacing like for like would just invite it back. We could have put new lead in and made the roof watertight that afternoon. But a chimney back tray in fresh lead on an accessible school roof is, realistically, a target. Doing the same thing again and hoping for a different result isn't a repair strategy.

It had to be right, not just quick. Back trays are a genuinely tricky detail. Water comes off the roof slope above and has to be positively directed around the stack and away. Get the shaping wrong and you've built a reservoir behind a chimney.

What we did

Brought in a high-reach cherry picker — supplied by Dam High Access — rather than scaffolding the building. It got us straight to the work, cut the time spent at roof level, and kept the site clear.
Replaced the stolen flashings in Code 4 lead, shaped and dressed to follow the original layout so the detail works the way it was designed to and sits properly against the existing roof.
Formed a bespoke fibreglass chimney back tray, laminated on site to fit the stack exactly. Fibreglass does the same job as lead in that position — and it has no scrap value whatsoever.
Tied the new tray into the surrounding covering so water is carried off the roof and away from the stack rather than finding its way behind it.
Left the area clean and ready for inspection.

The result

The roof is fully sealed and waterproofed. The new flashings blend into the existing roof rather than announcing themselves, and the fibreglass back tray gives the school long-term protection at the exact spot that was targeted — without leaving anything up there worth a thief's time.

That last part is the bit we'd point to. Anyone can replace stolen lead. Replacing it with something that solves the underlying problem takes a conversation about what actually happened and why, rather than just quoting for what was taken.