Is your question - and the answer you're looking for - not on this page already? Please send us your question using the form below or email us at faqs@midlandlead.co.uk
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| Q: What are the sizes of lead sheet I can order? |
| A: We supply lead sheet in all standard industry sizes (see our weight chart). We also produce lead sheet rolls to our customers’ specific orders. Our widest lead rolls measure 1.4m and our longest rolls can measure up to 30m - depending on the thickness of lead. However, if you require lead sheet with measurements other than standard industry sizes, it’s best to discuss your needs with our people within the office. |
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| Q: Can I buy small quantities of lead? |
| A: Midland Lead mostly supplies building merchants, roofing merchants and other professional organisations from the building industry, through the medical and entertainment to the marine industry. Small quantities of lead sheet for private properties are best bought at your local builders merchant. |
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| Q: What is your normal delivery time for lead sheet? |
| A: Our normal delivery time within the UK is two to three days; from order, through production, to delivery. A service upgrade - quicker delivery - is sometimes possible with a carriage charge for next day delivery, depending on various factors. For deliveries worldwide, details are available upon request. |
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| Q: Do you keep stock of lead sheet? |
| A: Generally speaking we do not keep stock of lead sheet - all lead is produced to order. |
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| Q: Can I collect my order? |
| A: Collections on our site are possible, provided you come in a vehicle capable of taking a pallet of lead (we will not load cars), and the appropriate health & safety regulations are considered. |
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| Q: Is it possible to only buy your ancillary products? |
| A: Our ancillaries are mostly purchased together with a lead sheet order. However, it is possible to order only ancillaries, but this would incur a carriage charge. |
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| Q: What is your minimum carriage paid order? |
| A: For lead sheet our minimum order weight for free carriage is 500kgs of lead. |
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| Q: When I call for an Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) on a delivery, the truck sometimes arrives one or two hours later. Why is that? |
| A: We subcontract lead sheet deliveries to a network of transport partners who provide excellent service. An ETA is just that - an estimate. Delays could be due to unforeseen circumstances such as traffic congestions or road accidents. |
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| Q: What does BBA no 86/1764 mean? |
| A: This is the quality standard for the British building industry and to which our lead sheet is produced. The British Board of Agrément carries out bi-annual checks on both product and process to ensure that quality and standards are maintained. |
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| Q: Why does lead sometimes go ‘white’? |
| A: When exposed to a damp atmosphere lead can form a coating of white lead oxide. This can cause a problem on a building as the oxide may wash off of the lead and stain the brickwork or tiling below. Fortunately, 'white stains' can simply be prevented by storing lead sheet rolls in a clean and dry area - preferably off the floor - and by treating the lead with patination oil immediately after the lead work is completed - preferably as soon as possible. What's more, patination oil gives an attractive clear shine to the lead work, can be applied quickly and only costs a few pence per square meter. |
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| Q: Is lead dangerous to work with? |
A: Lead is not dangerous to work with, and the UK government’s risk to health classification ‘not significant’ supports that. Lead is not absorbed through the skin, so if you handle cold metallic lead you will not be affected. However we recommend the following precautionary guidelines to be taken into consideration when working with lead:
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Always wear protective clothing, such as work-gloves and safety boots, when handling lead products |
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Wash your hands thoroughly - even if gloves have been worn - after you have finished work or prior to eating or drinking |
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Do not eat or drink in the immediate working area |
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When welding or burning lead products, wear safety goggles and respiratory protective equipment |
In addition to the guidelines above, you can download a free leaflet from the Health & Safety Executive website at www.hse.gov.uk |
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| Q: Is lead an environment-friendly building material? |
A: For a building material to be considered ecologically sound, it needs to be durable, recyclable and manufactured using a relative energy-efficient process. Lead sheet performs extremely well against all these requirements. Lead has a life expectancy of well over hundred years and any building material that lasts that long is intrinsically ‘green’. It’s also 100 per cent recyclable and reclamation really does take place as lead is simply too valuable to waste. And its low melting point helps make the manufacturing process energy-efficient.
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The independent Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific research (TNO) recently performed a study to compare the environmental impact of lead sheet as a weatherproofing material with that of its modern substitutes (including PiB, SEBS, modified bitumen, polyester, EPDM and PVC). Click here to download a summary of the TNO study. |
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| Q: Do specifiers need the security of British Standard lead? |
| A: No, they don’t, a BBA certificated product will give equal or indeed enhanced levels of performance when compared to BS EN products. Architects, specifiers, local authorities can all specify Midland Lead material with complete confidence in the knowledge that the product has the backing of a BBA certificate and has been produced to the highest standard. They can also expect to achieve a minimum 60 year life expectancy when our lead sheet is fitted correctly. |
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| Q: Do you mine your own lead? |
| A: The production process at Midland Lead Manufacturers uses 100 per cent recycled lead only. |
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| Q: What’s the difference between milled lead and cast lead? |
| A: In general, there are two different ways to produce lead sheet. Milled lead is manufactured by squeezing a solid block of lead through two rollers, while (machine) cast lead is produced by dipping a water-cooled rotating drum into a bath of molten lead. At Midland Lead, we produce our lead using the latter, casting process. There’s a myth about milled lead being better than cast lead. But this is far from the truth; for milled lead to be ‘better’ than cast lead, it has to demonstrate some form of superiority - which it doesn’t. Both milled and cast lead are made to the same analysis, codes, tolerance, strength and permitted sizes. |
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