Hertfordshire · England
External & façade joints in Batford, Hertfordshire
Sealing brickwork movement joints, render, cladding and façade joints for homes and businesses in Batford and across Hertfordshire. ARBOMaster approved applicators, fully insured, with a one-year guarantee.
- Failed seals between different materials
- Failed sealant between panels on a façade
- Brick movement joints where the sealant has split
External mastic in Batford
Ground-floor and low-level joints are straightforward to reach. For joints higher up, give us some details of the building and we’ll confirm what access is needed. We work on joints between brick and frames, concrete & block and façade panels, and common reasons people get in touch are joints where the bead has come unstuck and joints with sealant missing in places.
Around Batford, garages, outbuildings and extensions all add to the joints on the outside of a home. Leaks generally start at a gutter end, a garage door frame or where an extension meets the house.
There’s a 12-month guarantee on every job.
- Where
- Batford (AL5, AL4)
- Wider area
- Hertfordshire
- Guarantee
- A year, on every job
- Price
- Quoted before any work starts
- Call
- 0345 464 0079
- Updated
- 26 October 2026
Looking after it afterwards
How long the joints last depends on use and care. We suggest:
- Deal with leaking gutters that soak the joints below
- Make sure movement joints are not pointed over
- Ask before painting over external sealant
- Tell anyone working on the walls about the movement joints
Make sure anyone working on the wall later knows where the movement joints are. They must stay as flexible joints, never rendered or pointed over.
An open movement joint lets rain into the wall every time it pours. Over time it can mean damp inside, stained render or frost-damaged brick which cost more to put right than the joint.
Common problems we fix in Batford
Poor preparation causes many early failures: dusty or wet faces, no primer where one was needed, or old sealant left in. The sealant never bonds properly.
Most people get in touch after spotting something like this:
- Sealant pulling away from one side of the joint
- Damp patches traced to an open external joint
- Failed seals between different materials
- Hard, crazed mastic that has stopped moving
For landlords with property near Harpenden station, split movement joints are easy to miss on a rental until damp shows inside.
Questions to ask before you book
- Who turns up on the day
- What insurance they hold
- How the surfaces are prepared before sealing
- Whether VAT is included
Leave it or put it right?
Mortar or ordinary filler might look like a quick way to close an open joint, but it locks the joint solid. The movement then cracks the brickwork or render nearby. The correct repair is a flexible sealant with the right backing. In a smaller place like Batford, wherever a wall is exposed, a failed outside joint is a real source of damp. Inside, a split seal lets water into floors and panels just as it would anywhere.
The cost reflects the work involved, not guesswork. That’s why we ask a few questions first.
Why Batford customers choose us
- Any old sealant cut out fully, not covered over
- Sealant colour chosen to suit
- Colour agreed with you before we start
- Anti-fungal silicone where joints get wet
Take a look at our cost guide and our reviews.
When something else is needed
In fairness, there are a few things sealant won’t fix:
- Subsidence or other structural problems
- Cracking across the wall rather than at a joint
- Damp that isn’t coming from the joint
If in doubt, ring 0345 464 0079 or send us an email and we will say what we think.
Surfaces we seal
- Copings & trims
- Render & cladding joints
- Façade panels
- Concrete & block
- Brickwork movement joints
- Joints between brick and frames
What we do, step by step
We bring everything the job needs with us. Once we’ve agreed what’s being done, the area is protected and the work begins. It normally takes a few hours to a few days, depending on the length of joint and the access. A visit to Batford is planned like any other: the time, the access and where to park are agreed in advance. If the work is outside, the weather plays a part, as sealant needs a dry surface.
- We look at every joint and agree a colour to suit the wall.
- Failed sealant is removed back to clean, sound faces.
- Backing rod goes in so the sealant can stretch between the two faces.
- Primer is applied wherever the sealant needs it.
- A low-modulus exterior sealant is gunned in and tooled to a neat finish.
Getting ready for the visit
- Mention any parking rules near the property
- Mention any tricky access
- Tell us about any previous sealing or DIY attempts
Get a quote
Asking for a quote is easy: let us know the job and the location, and roughly how big it is. Photos by email help us understand the job, and we’ll come back to you with a quote.
Read more
Also near Batford
Other services in Batford
Should I try it myself first?
A DIY attempt doesn’t rule out a professional job. We remove it and do the joint properly, so tell us about it when you ask for a quote.
If you do try it yourself, take your time over the preparation: remove every trace of old sealant, clean and dry the joint, and follow the product’s cure time. If it fails, we can still redo it.
Walls and rooflines in Batford
Rainfall in the South East is lower than in much of the UK, yet outdoor joints still have to be sealed dry, so jobs are booked with the weather in mind. With historic houses such as Childwickbury Manor (about 2.9 miles south) nearby, there’s older building stock in the area around Batford as well as newer homes. Where a home is older, older brick and stone need a sealant that suits them, at the right joint depth.
For an older house near a landmark such as All Saints, older walls, gutters and the joints where extensions meet them need a flexible sealant. Schools such as Crabtree Infants' School are buildings too, and larger buildings have long runs of movement joint that eventually need resealing.
Batford is about 1 mile north-east of Harpenden, in Hertfordshire. Jobs in Batford get the same care as everywhere else we work: the old material taken out, joints prepared properly and a 12-month guarantee. Our area takes in 381 places across Hertfordshire. London is on our list too, about 25 miles from Batford.
We work across AL5 and AL4 for external mastic and the streets around it. External mastic is available to properties on Common Lane, Station Road and Marquis Lane. Neighbouring places we cover for external mastic include Harpenden (1 mile south-west), Lea Valley (1 mile east), Mackerye End (1 mile north-east), Bower Heath (1 mile north) and The Folly (1 mile east). We also work in nearby towns such as Watford (11 miles south), Hemel Hempstead (7 miles south-west), Stevenage (9 miles north-east), St Albans (5 miles south), Welwyn Garden City (6 miles east) and Hitchin (9 miles north).
Landmarks near Batford
Around Batford, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Bistro Gautier at the Amble Inn, Sir John Lawes School and Lydekker Park and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is Harpenden station, roughly 0.6 miles south-west of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find St Albans City Hospital (4.1 miles south) and Harpenden Museum (0.9 miles south-west). The countryside around Batford includes Verulamium Lake and Wheathampstead Local Nature Reserve.
Questions from Batford
Can you do external mastic in Batford?
Yes. Our work covers London and the South East, and Batford is part of that. You can call 0345 464 0079 or email us and tell us what needs doing.
Do you cover smaller places like Batford?
Yes, we do. Our work covers London and the South East, and smaller places are part of that. Longer journeys are simply planned in advance.
Where are you based?
Mr Mastic is based in Crawley. We cover Batford and the rest of Hertfordshire, along with the rest of our area.
What’s an expansion joint in brickwork?
Walls move with heat, cold and moisture, so long walls have planned gaps to take that movement. The gap is sealed with a flexible sealant over backing rod.
Do you work for landlords and businesses?
Yes, we do. Domestic, commercial and hotel work are all part of what we do, and we’re fully insured.
What information do you need?
Only a few details: where it is, what you’ve noticed and how we reach it. After that, simply phone 0345 464 0079 or drop us an email.
Do you have insurance?
Yes, we are fully insured for domestic and commercial work.
Is it OK to seal over old sealant?
No. We remove every bit of old sealant first, so the new sealant bonds properly.
Landlord and commercial work in Batford
From a single let to a portfolio, you get the same standard of work: old sealant fully removed, joints prepared properly and a 12-month guarantee.
Hotels need rooms back in use, so the work can be planned room by room around your bookings where we can. Hotel work is part of what we do, alongside homes and businesses.