Orkney Islands · Scotland
External & façade joints in Blackhill, Orkney Islands
Sealing brickwork movement joints, render, cladding and façade joints for homeowners, landlords and businesses in Blackhill. Fully insured, ARBOMaster approved and guaranteed for a year.
- Joints pointed up with cement by mistake
- Hard, crazed mastic that has stopped moving
- Joints with sealant missing in places
External mastic for homes and businesses in Blackhill
Many failed façade joints only get noticed once there’s a stain or a damp patch inside. We inspect them, agree which need doing and reseal with a weatherproof, flexible sealant. We’re often asked to deal with plants rooting in failed movement joints and joints with sealant missing in places, across façade panels, joints between brick and frames and brickwork movement joints.
Older stone buildings need a sealant that suits the stone, not an acetoxy product that can mark or attack it. Newer houses need their movement joints and roofline trims kept sound.
We guarantee the work for a year. If there’s a problem with our work within the year, let us know and we’ll sort it.
- Where
- Blackhill (KW15)
- Region
- Orkney Islands
- Cover
- 12 months on all our work
- Quote
- A clear quote up front
- info@mrmastic.co.uk
- Updated
- 26 October 2026
What happens if it’s left?
Water gets in through a failed movement joint, behind render and cladding. Resealing early keeps the job to the joint itself, instead of the wall and finishes around it. In an older home around Blackhill, damp from a failed joint can get into timber and plaster.
Every job is a little different, so we quote each one individually. Size, access and the product the joint needs all make a difference, and we’ll explain the quote if you ask.
Why Blackhill customers choose us
- Full insurance on every job
- A choice of colours where the product allows
- We leave the area clean and tidy
- More than 20 years in sealant work
See our cost guide and our reviews.
Blackhill: your questions answered
Is external mastic in a coastal place like Blackhill any different?
Near the coast, wind-driven rain and, nearer the shore, salt air make outside sealant work harder. The right product, a clean joint and the right depth all help it cope.
Do you cover smaller places like Blackhill?
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. Just mention lanes, gates or anything else about the route when you book.
Will there be a smell?
Possibly a little. Any smell clears as the sealant cures.
Which products do you use?
The product depends on the job: sanitary silicone where it gets wet, and sealants suited to movement or weather elsewhere. We use products from Arbo and Everbuild.
Do you take out the old sealant first?
Yes. We cut out all the old sealant and clean the joint.
I’m a tenant. Can you help?
We’re happy to deal with the tenant, landlord or agent. Get your landlord’s agreement first.
How long before the joint can be used?
It depends on the product and the conditions. Before we leave, we’ll tell you the cure time.
Do you hold any approvals?
Yes. ARBOMaster is the approved applicator scheme for Arbo sealants, and we’re part of it.
External mastic in Blackhill: local notes
Blackhill is close to the coast, where wind-driven rain is a fact of life and, nearer the shore, so is salt air. Both are hard on movement joints and outside wall joints, which can dry out and crack sooner where a building faces the weather. Harled (roughcast) walls are common in Scotland, and where harling meets frames, pipes and other materials, the joint needs a flexible sealant that grips a rough surface.
Around Blackhill, as everywhere, external mastic is only as good as the preparation behind it. Whether the job is in Blackhill itself or nearby, the right material for each joint matters as much as a neat finish.
Blackhill is about 1 mile west of Kirkwall, in the Orkney Islands. Every kind of property in Blackhill is covered for external mastic. Every job comes with our 12-month guarantee. Our the Orkney Islands coverage runs to 51 places, and Blackhill is one of them.
Here we cover the KW15 postcode area for external mastic. Close by, we work in Kirkwall (1 mile east), Greenigoe (2 miles south), Grimbister (4 miles west), Finstown (5 miles west) and Heddle (5 miles west). Island and remote addresses take a little more planning, so tell us where you are when you ask for a quote.
What’s near Blackhill
In Blackhill, that means homes and buildings near Orkney Library and Archive, among other places. A little further out are Balfour Hospital (1.2 miles south-east) and Orkney Museum (1.2 miles east). Open spaces near Blackhill include Lochs of Griffyelt and Wideford Hill.
Different surfaces, different methods
Joints between dissimilar materials
Each side of the joint may need its own preparation. We prepare both faces so the sealant bonds properly.
Copings and trims
Joints in copings, parapets and trims are exposed to the worst of the weather. Each is resealed with a weatherproof, flexible sealant.
How we quote for external mastic
For a quick quote, just ask. What matters most is:
- Mould in or behind the old joints
- The number of rooms or windows
- The product the joint needs
- The size of the job
A failed joint rarely gets cheaper to fix by waiting, as water and mould keep getting in. If you’re unsure, send an email to info@mrmastic.co.uk for an honest opinion and a quote.
Asking for a quote
Photos help, but a description is a good start. Try to tell us:
- Roughly how big the job is
- What’s wrong with the joints now
- The address or postcode of the job
- Whether it has been sealed before
Need a quote? Please drop us a line at info@mrmastic.co.uk with a few details. We’ll explain what we’d do and send you a clear quote before we start.
What sealant work cannot fix
It helps to know what we cannot do too:
- Structural movement, which needs a surveyor or engineer
- Cutting new joints into brickwork, which is building work rather than sealant work
- Cracking across the wall rather than at a joint
If in doubt, email us at info@mrmastic.co.uk and we’ll say what we think.
Joints and surfaces we work on
- Render & cladding joints
- Brickwork movement joints
- Façade panels
- Copings & trims
- Concrete & block
- Joints between brick and frames
How the visit works
There isn’t much for you to do on the day. Show us the job and we’ll take it from there. The work itself takes anything from a few hours to several days, depending on the building from start to finish. In smaller Scottish places, parking is usually less of an issue than access and distance. Let us know how to find you and how to reach the joints, and the visit is planned around that.
- Each joint is checked and the colour of the new sealant agreed.
- We take out the old sealant until the faces are sound.
- Closed-cell backing rod is pushed in so the sealant bonds to two sides only.
- We prime the faces where required.
- We gun in low-modulus sealant and tool it neatly.
Before we arrive
- Keep pets and children clear of the area while we work
- Tell us about any water getting in
- Try not to wet indoor joints just before the visit
Getting a quote
We do not publish a price list. Instead, we give you a clear price for your job. To arrange one, send an email to info@mrmastic.co.uk.
Related advice
DIY sealant or a professional job?
If you’ve already had a go yourself, that’s fine. We remove it and do the joint properly, so just mention it when you contact us.
Some jobs are best left to a professional: work at height, external movement joints, fire-rated sealant and large areas need the right product, the right access and the right method.
Keeping the joints in good condition
Aftercare is simple, and it makes a real difference:
- Get split or bare joints resealed while the damage is small
- Point out the joints to other trades
- Make sure movement joints are not pointed over
- Keep high-pressure jets off the joints
If you have more work done on the wall, such as new render, cladding or an opening, show the contractor the movement joints. They must stay as flexible joints, never rendered or pointed over.
A joint that has stopped moving pushes the movement elsewhere, normally as cracking in the brickwork or render nearby. Resealing it early helps prevent that.