Our full size Sandcasting table
Sandcast lead sheet has been used for building since the dawn of civilisation. Even today, in competition with the most modern of products, it is still one of the most cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing materials for a roof covering.
Unlike milled lead, sandcast lead sheet is produced to the exact sheet sizes required by the installer and can be individually identified if sheet references are supplied, therefore reducing the waste element seen when purchasing 3m or 6m rolls.
C.E.L also offers an additional service, whereby sheet lead removed from the building can be melted and recast, making further savings for the client and contractor.
Recycling is key to the sandcasting process. Salvaged lead and new lead are mixed, together with several other trace metals to give the finished lead greater weather resistance and prevent underside corrosion.
Modern technology now enhances a traditional craft as the lead and metals are blended in a digitalised furnace, with the controlled temperature preventing the burning off of chemicals. Craftsmen now fill the casting bed with a mixture of sands, with the excess removed by the 'strike' - a traditional tool dragged over the bed.
The craftsmen then plane the bed totally smooth with hand held copper plates. When it's ready, the molten lead is poured over it and forms a cast sheet. While still molten, the strike is used to run off the excess and produce the 'code' (or thickness) of lead required. A tolerance of only plus/minus 5% is achieved - half the permitted tolerance specification. The sheet is then cut to the required dimensions.
We make lead sheets in standard codes 6, 7 and 8, but other codes can be ordered. See Material Sales for an order form.