Orkney Islands · Scotland
External & façade joints in Balfour, Orkney Islands
Sealing brickwork movement joints, render, cladding and façade joints in Balfour, with a 12-month guarantee on every job. Ask us for a quote.
- Weeds or debris growing in open joints
- Rigid filler in a joint that should flex
- Old sealant gone brittle and cracked
External mastic in Balfour
External mastic is a job where short cuts show quickly. Overfilled joints, missing backing rod and sealant laid over old sealant rarely last long. We take the old material out and do it properly. We work on joints between brick and frames, copings & trims and façade panels, and the jobs we see most are failed sealant between panels on a façade and movement joints with cracked, split or missing sealant.
Across smaller places in Scotland, stone and harled cottages, farm buildings and newer houses often stand exposed to wind and rain. Gutter joints and wall joints take a battering, so they need a sealant that moves with the building.
You get a one-year guarantee, the same in Balfour as everywhere else we work.
- Where
- Balfour (KW17)
- Wider area
- Orkney Islands
- Cover
- One year on every job
- Price
- A clear price before we start
- info@mrmastic.co.uk
- Updated
- 26 October 2026
How we quote for external mastic
Your quote is based on your job. We look at:
- The size of the job
- The product the joint needs
- Mould in or behind the old joints
- Working hours on commercial sites
We do not show prices on the website, because the cost depends so much on the job itself. For a quick quote, please drop us a line at info@mrmastic.co.uk.
What to tell us for a quote
A few details help us give you an accurate quote. When you get in contact, it helps to mention:
- Roughly how big the job is
- What the problem is, such as mould, gaps, leaks or cracking
- How we’d reach the joints
- Where the job is, and your postcode
For a quick quote, get us on the phone, or send an email if you’d rather. Tell us about the joints that need doing and we’ll talk you through the work.
Outside joints around Balfour
Balfour is within about 3 miles of the coast, where wind-driven rain is a fact of life and, nearer the shore, so is salt air. That is hard on movement joints and outside wall joints, especially on the side facing the sea. Under the Repairing Standard, private landlords in Scotland have to keep homes wind and watertight, and failed outside joints work against that.
In and around Balfour, as anywhere, good external mastic starts with a clean, dry, properly prepared joint.
Balfour is about 4 miles north-east of Kirkwall, in the Orkney Islands. Every kind of property in Balfour can book us for external mastic. Every job comes with our one-year guarantee. Our area takes in 51 places across the Orkney Islands.
We work across KW17 for external mastic. Nearby, we also carry out external mastic in Kirkwall (4 miles south-west), Gorseness (5 miles north-west), Blackhill (5 miles south-west), Tankerness (6 miles south-east) and Isbister (6 miles west). Remote and island addresses need a little more planning, so tell us where you are when you ask for a quote.
Around Balfour
Other landmarks nearby include Langskaill House (4.2 miles north-west) and Balfour Hospital (4.8 miles south-west). Green spaces nearby include Loch of Westhill and Ward of Gairsay.
Looking after it afterwards
Once the sealant has cured, a few habits help it last:
- Check external joints each spring
- Keep movement joints as flexible joints, not mortar
- Wash walls gently around the sealant
- Get split or bare joints resealed while the damage is small
Keep pressure washers away from the sealant. High-pressure water can lift the edges.
Leaks behind façade panels and render often go unseen. By the time there’s a damp patch, the damage can be well established so early resealing is worth it.
DIY sealant or a professional job?
Some jobs are best left to a professional: high-level joints, fire-rated gaps, external movement joints and big jobs need the right product, the right access and the right method.
What a professional job adds is preparation and the right product. Joints are cleaned back to sound surfaces and dried, and the sealant is chosen for how the joint moves and where it is, and the work is guaranteed for a year.
What we’re called out for in Balfour
Buildings move more than people expect. Clay bricks expand slightly over their life, concrete and block shrink, and everything moves with temperature and wet. All of that ends up in the joint sealant.
It’s worth asking for a quote if you see:
- Sealant that has lost its bond to the brick or render
- Leaking joints around cladding and façade panels
- Cracked joints where brick meets render or frames
- Movement joints filled with mortar instead of sealant
Whether the job is in Balfour itself or nearby, the right material for each joint matters as much as a neat finish.
Before you book anyone
- Is the old sealant removed completely?
- What the quote includes, VAT included or not
- How the joint is cleaned and prepared
- How the colour is chosen
What happens if it’s left?
Low-modulus sealants stretch easily, so they put less strain on the joint edges. That matters on brick, render and concrete, which can be weaker at the face. Too stiff a sealant can pull at the edges and break them. In an older home around Balfour, damp from a failed joint can get into timber and plaster, which is a far bigger job than the sealant.
A failed joint rarely gets cheaper to fix by waiting. If you are not sure whether it needs doing, send an email to info@mrmastic.co.uk and we will give you an honest view and a quote.
Why Balfour customers choose us
- Arbo and Everbuild products
- A sealant colour to suit the surroundings
- You choose the colour before work begins
- Old sealant always removed completely
See what affects the cost or our reviews.
Honest limits
In fairness, some problems need a different trade:
- Movement that is more than a sealant joint can take
- Render that’s blown, hollow or coming away
- Cracked brickwork or render that needs a builder or plasterer
If in doubt, email us at info@mrmastic.co.uk and we will say what we think before booking.
Where we work in Balfour
- Render & cladding joints
- Façade panels
- Concrete & block
- Copings & trims
- Brickwork movement joints
- Joints between brick and frames
FAQs for Balfour
Do you cover smaller places like Balfour?
Yes, smaller places are covered as well as towns. We work across all of Scotland, including the islands, where work is planned around ferry crossings. Let us know about access, parking and anything unusual about getting there when you book.
Does living near the coast affect external mastic in Balfour?
Coastal weather is harder on outside sealant: there’s more wind-driven rain and, closer to the shore, salt in the air. The right product, a clean joint and the right depth all help it cope.
Can landlords and businesses book you?
Yes. As well as homeowners, we work for landlords, agents, businesses and hotels.
Which products do you use?
Products from Arbo and Everbuild, among others, picked for each joint. We’ll tell you what we are using and why.
Do you work for hotels and businesses?
Yes. Commercial and hotel work is a large part of what we do, as well as homes. Working times can be discussed when we quote.
Can you match the colour of my brickwork?
The sealant colour is picked to suit the wall. Exterior sealants come in a good range of colours.
Should I try DIY first?
Some simple jobs can be done by a careful DIYer. Most DIY failures come from sealing over old material, wet joints or too much sealant.
Do you seal joints where cladding meets other materials?
Yes. Where different materials meet is one of the most common joints we seal. We use a flexible sealant suited to both surfaces with primer where required.
More services for Balfour
The process
Before we leave, we go over the finished joints with you. The visit itself usually takes anything from a few hours to several days, depending on the building, depending on how much there is to do. Outside jobs in Balfour need a dry day, because sealant won’t bond to a wet joint, so an outdoor job can move if the forecast changes. Indoor work goes ahead whatever the weather.
- First, the joints are inspected and the access agreed.
- Every bit of old sealant and any mortar or debris is cut out.
- The faces are brushed clean and primed where the product requires it.
- Backing rod sized to the joint goes in to set the depth.
- The exterior sealant is applied, tooled and checked along its length.
How to prepare
- Tell us if parking is tricky
- Where the joints are inside, avoid wetting them before we arrive
- Clear the area around the work
How to get a quote
For external mastic in Balfour, email us at info@mrmastic.co.uk. Tell us what the problem is and where, and you’ll get a clear quote before work begins.