Allan Anderson of Westminster Plumbing once again represented the Lead Contractors Association at the Listed Property Show held at Olympia over the weekend of 20th & 21st February.

This year the show attracted 5,743 visitors, travelling from as far afield as Devon and Cornwall, North Wales and Scotland. More than 200 exhibitors included English Heritage, CADW, the National Trust, RIBA and IHBC (and of course the LCA), providing information, literature, presentations and demonstrations.

One of the biggest attractions was the free advice provided by three impartial Conservation Officers, for whom there was a constant queue of people, many with plans and details of their properties. Once they had discussed their problems with the Conservation Officers, they were then able to source the materials and services they needed from the exhibitors at the show.

On the LCA stand, Westminster Plumbing displayed a wide range of ornamental castings and fabrications together with a range of support literature including the LSA Lead Sheet Manual and the LCA 2010 Directory.

Allan Anderson provided a series of live demonstrations of the leadwork craft at its very best, showing how ordinary sheet lead from a roll can be fabricated by hand to form the most ornate hopper head.

“We were only too happy to represent the LCA at this prestigious show” said Allan. “It gives us the chance to educate people about the advantages of leadwork being done properly”

Lead is such an easy, malleable material to use, that even an inexperienced contractor can appear competent and it’s not until the leaks start (which may be several months or even years after the job has been finished) that the inadequacies of the contractor’s knowledge and skill become evident. Of course by this time the contractor has been paid and is long gone, leaving the client wishing they had used a member of the LCA whose quality of workmanship is vetted on a regular basis.

Allan Anderson has been member of the LCA Council for ten years and has always been keen to actively demonstrate the casting and fabrication abilities of the skilled leadworker.

Westminster Plumbing are based in Dagenham, Essex and can be contacted on 0208 597 7500.