Edinburgh · Scotland
External Mastic in Canongate
Specialist external mastic for Canongate: careful preparation, the right product and tidy work. Ask us for a quick quote.
- Gaps where render, brick and frames meet
- Movement joints filled with mortar instead of sealant
- Joints where the bead has come unstuck
External mastic in Canongate, done properly
Joints between dissimilar materials, like brick against render or concrete against a steel frame, see movement from both sides. A flexible exterior sealant takes up that movement where a rigid filler would soon crack. We work on façade panels, brickwork movement joints and joints between brick and frames, and common reasons people get in touch are movement joints filled with mortar instead of sealant and sealant that has lost its bond to the brick or render.
Stone-built tenements in Scotland’s cities share their roof, gutters and outside walls between every flat in the building. In Canongate, work on shared parts of a tenement is generally agreed between owners, often with a factor arranging it.
There’s a 12-month guarantee on every job, whatever its size.
- Location
- Canongate (EH1, EH8, EH7)
- Region
- Edinburgh
- Guarantee
- 12 months on all our work
- Quotes
- Quoted before any work starts
- info@mrmastic.co.uk
- Page updated
- 26 October 2026
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 call for the right materials, safe access and experience.
Some sealant jobs are within reach of a careful DIYer, like a short, easy-to-reach joint indoors. Where it goes wrong is sealing over the old bead, working on a wet joint or overloading the gap.
Also in Canongate
How to look after the new joints
So the new joints stay in good condition:
- Clear growth from the base of walls and joints
- Tell anyone working on the walls about the movement joints
- Never let anyone fill a movement joint with mortar
- Keep high-pressure jets off the joints
Avoid pressure-washing straight into the joints. High-pressure water can lift the edges.
Gaps, plants or missing sealant in a joint are worth getting looked at. Early work is quicker and leaves a better finish.
When to call us in Canongate
Weeds, moss and debris in a joint are a sign the sealant has gone. Roots and dirt hold water against the wall.
Keep an eye out for any of the following:
- Hard, crazed mastic that has stopped moving
- Weeds or debris growing in open joints
- Sealant pulling away from one side of the joint
- Failed sealant between panels on a façade
For landlords with property near Edinburgh Waverley station, split movement joints are easy to miss on a rental until damp shows inside.
What your quote should include
- What the cure time is
- Which sealant they’ll use, and why
- Who turns up on the day
- Whether they seal over old material or remove it
What we do, step by step
When we arrive, we start by going over the job with you, so there are no surprises. We protect the surfaces around the joints before any work begins. The work usually takes anything from a few hours to several days, depending on the building. Parking in city streets around Canongate can be tight or controlled, so it helps to know about permits or nearby bays. For flats, mention the door entry system and any shared-stair arrangements.
- Each joint is checked and the colour of the new sealant agreed.
- Failed sealant is removed back to clean, sound faces.
- Backing rod goes in so the sealant can stretch between the two faces.
- We prime the faces where required.
- A low-modulus exterior sealant is gunned in and tooled to a neat finish.
How to prepare
- Mention any leaks or damp you’ve noticed
- For indoor joints, keep the area dry beforehand if you can
- Tell us if parking is tricky
Get a quote
For external mastic in Canongate, send an email to info@mrmastic.co.uk. Tell us what the problem is and where, and you’ll get a clear quote before any work starts.
Advice
What affects the cost of external mastic
For a quick quote, just ask. The main things that affect it are:
- How many areas need sealing
- How much there is to do
- Any working-time requirements on site
- Whether there’s mould to deal with
Instead of a standard rate, we price the job in front of us: how many joints, what’s in them now and how we reach them. You’ll know the price before we begin.
Asking for a quote
You don’t need to know the technical terms. It helps if you can tell us:
- What’s wrong with the joints now
- The address or postcode of the job
- Roughly how big the job is
- A few photos by email, if you can
Asking for a quote is easy: tell us what needs doing and where and its rough size. Photos by email help us understand the job, and we’ll come back to you with a quote.
Questions from Canongate
Is external mastic in a coastal place like Canongate any different?
Coastal weather is harder on outside sealant: there’s more wind-driven rain and, closer to the shore, salt in the air. Choosing the right sealant for the frame and wall, laid at the right depth, helps it last.
How is work on the outside of a tenement in Canongate normally arranged?
The owners of the flats usually agree repairs to shared parts like the roof and outside walls, and many buildings have a factor to arrange it. Where the title deeds are silent, the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 fills the gaps. Windows often belong to the individual flat, but it’s worth checking your deeds.
Is it OK to fill a movement joint with cement?
No, not where the gap is a movement joint. Filling it with mortar defeats its purpose. A flexible sealant is the right fill.
Do you come to Canongate?
Yes. We cover Canongate and the rest of Edinburgh, as part of our work across South East England, London and Scotland. To book, email us at info@mrmastic.co.uk.
Will the new joint stand out?
We aim for a joint that suits the wall rather than one that jumps out. We will talk through colour options before we start.
Do I need to be at home?
We need access to the joints, so we’ll agree that with you when we book. For inside work, that normally means someone being in.
I rent my home. Can I book you?
We can work for tenants, landlords or agents. Get your landlord’s agreement first.
Can you work on commercial sites?
Yes. Commercial and hotel work is a large part of what we do. We can talk about working times when we quote.
Outside joints around Canongate
Canongate is close to 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. Historic houses like Whitefoord House (about 0.1 miles north-east) are a reminder that the area around Canongate has older buildings as well as new. Where a home is older, older brick and stone need a sealant that suits them, at the right joint depth.
If you live in an older home near Kirk of the Canongate, old and new materials meet at the roofline and walls, which is where sealant earns its keep. For site and facilities teams at buildings such as Old Royal High School, movement joints, cladding joints and gutters on larger buildings need the same care as a house’s.
Canongate is about 1 mile north-east of Edinburgh, in Edinburgh. Across the EH1 area, our applicators can take on external mastic. Canongate is one of 175 towns and villages in Edinburgh where we work.
Postcode districts we cover here for external mastic: EH1, EH8 and EH7. Whether your property is on High Street, Calton Road and Hutton Road or a nearby road, our applicators can take on the job. We also cover Holyrood (1 mile south-west), Dumbiedykes (1 mile south), Greenside (1 mile north-west), Buccleuch (1 mile south) and Abbeyhill (1 mile north-east). Within a short drive, we also cover Queensferry (9 miles west), Southhouse (4 miles south), Gilmerton (4 miles south-east), Muirhouse (3 miles north-west), Slateford (3 miles south-west) and Gracemount (3 miles south).
What’s near Canongate
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Scottish Poetry Library, The World's End pub and St Cuthbert's Church. You will also find London Street Primary School (0.6 miles north-west) and Holyrood Park (within half a mile east). There’s a railway station in Canongate itself: Edinburgh Waverley station. Nearby you’ll also find Edinburgh Castle (0.9 miles west) and St. James Centre (under half a mile north-west). Open spaces near Canongate include Salisbury Crags and The New Leaf Co-op.
Work for landlords, hotels and businesses
We also work for property managers and facilities teams in Canongate and across Edinburgh. We can quote a run of properties together.
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.
Different surfaces, different methods
Concrete and blockwork
Concrete faces can be dusty and porous, so cleaning and priming matter. A primer goes on where the product requires one.
Brickwork movement joints
Clay brickwork grows slightly over its life and moves with the weather. That movement goes into the joint, so the sealant in it must stay soft and stretchy.