Kent · England
Dartford External Mastic
Sealing brickwork movement joints, render, cladding and façade joints in Dartford, with a one-year guarantee on every job. Call for a quick quote.
- Leaking joints around cladding and façade panels
- Movement joints filled with mortar instead of sealant
- Failed seals between different materials
Do you need external mastic in Dartford?
UV, rain and frost all age exterior sealant. Over the years it hardens, cracks on the surface and loses its give, so the joint eventually tears or comes away from one side.
Keep an eye out for any of the following:
- Old sealant gone brittle and cracked
- Moss and dirt in joints with no sealant left
- Joints pointed up with cement by mistake
- Failed seals between different materials
For landlords with property near Dartford station, outside joints that have cracked can let damp into a rental, so check them between lets.
What to look for in a quote
- Whether they’re fully insured
- What the cure time is
- The length of the guarantee
- What happens if they find a problem under the old sealant
External mastic in Dartford
Ground-floor and low-level joints are straightforward to reach. For joints higher up, give us some details of the building and we will confirm what access is needed. Typical jobs include plants rooting in failed movement joints and joints with sealant missing in places, on joints between brick and frames, brickwork movement joints and copings & trims.
In a town like Dartford, older houses with traditional gutters sit alongside newer estates with uPVC rooflines and rendered walls. Gutter joints, fascia trims and the movement joints in newer brickwork all need sealant that can flex.
Our work is backed for twelve months, and the guarantee is the same wherever you are.
Surface by surface
Brickwork movement joints
Brick moves with heat and moisture, and grows a little over time. That movement goes into the joint, so its sealant has to stay flexible.
Render joints
Render is weaker at the surface than brick, so a low-modulus sealant is kinder to the joint edges. Priming is done where the sealant calls for it.
What happens on the day
On the day, there’s very little for you to do. Point us to the joints and we will get on with it. The work itself takes a few hours for a handful of joints, longer for a whole elevation. A visit in Dartford needs access to the work and a place to park close by. For outside work, let us know about side access, gates and any upper-floor joints.
- We start by walking round the building and agreeing the joints and the access.
- 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.
- We fit closed-cell backing rod to control the depth.
- The exterior sealant is applied, tooled and checked along its length.
How to prepare
- Let us know about stairs, lifts or work at height
- Let us know about earlier repairs to the joints
- Let us know about parking restrictions
Get a quote
For external mastic in Dartford, call 0345 464 0079 or email us. A short description of the job and where it is helps us quote, and you will get a clear quote before we start.
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Common questions in Dartford
Is Dartford in your area for external mastic?
Yes, Dartford is within the area we cover. Our work covers London and the South East. Just ring 0345 464 0079 or email us with a few details of the job.
What guarantee comes with external mastic in Dartford?
All our work, in Dartford and everywhere else, comes with a 12-month guarantee. We’re also fully insured and ARBOMaster approved.
Can a movement joint be filled with mortar?
No. Mortar locks the joint solid, so the movement cracks the wall elsewhere. Use a flexible sealant with backing rod.
Do you use backing rod?
That’s backing rod, a closed-cell foam. It keeps the sealant at the right depth and bonded to the sides only so it can flex with the joint.
How long does the job take?
As a guide, most jobs take anything from a few hours to several days, depending on the building. Larger jobs naturally take longer, and we will tell you how long to expect.
Are you insured?
Yes, we’re fully insured for every job we do.
I’m a tenant. Can you help?
Yes. Ask your landlord first, and we can send them the quote if that helps.
How long before the joint can be used?
Most sealants are touch-dry well before they’re fully cured. We will tell you how long to leave the joint before we leave.
Aftercare tips
So the new joints stay in good condition:
- Clear growth from the base of walls and joints
- Walk round the building once a year and look at the joints
- Have failed joints looked at early
- Never let anyone fill a movement joint with mortar
Give the sealant the cure time we tell you before anything rubs against it. Most exterior sealants skin fast but take longer to cure right through.
Leaks behind façade panels and render often go unseen. When it finally shows inside, the joint may have been open for years so early resealing is worth it.
When something else is needed
Before booking, it’s worth knowing the limits too:
- Loose or hollow render, which needs re-rendering
- Cracks in the bricks or render themselves, away from the joints
- Movement that’s more than a sealant joint can take
Not sure which it is? You can ring 0345 464 0079 or email us and we’ll tell you honestly before booking.
What we seal
- Brickwork movement joints
- Concrete & block
- Copings & trims
- Render & cladding joints
- Joints between brick and frames
- Façade panels
Towns and villages near Dartford
What else we do in Dartford
DIY versus a professional finish
Too much sealant is as bad as too little. A heavy bead looks messy and copes badly with movement, and the joint depth matters as much as the finish.
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 doesn’t work out, we can still put it right.
Outside joints around Dartford
Rainfall in the South East is lower than in much of the UK, but outside sealant still needs a dry, clean surface, so outdoor work is planned around the forecast. Historic houses like Hall Place and Gardens (about 2.8 miles west) are a reminder that the area around Dartford has older buildings as well as new. Where a home is older, older walls and rooflines need a sealant that moves with them and suits the material.
If you look after a building such as Dartford Primary Academy, movement joints, cladding joints and gutters on larger buildings need the same care as a house’s. In the older streets around Church of the Holy Trinity, older walls, gutters and the joints where extensions meet them need a flexible sealant.
Dartford is about 14 miles east of London, in Kent. Whether you are in the middle of Dartford or further out, we cover external mastic for every kind of property, from flats and houses to offices and hotels. Our area takes in 922 places across Kent. You can also see our page for London, roughly 14 miles from Dartford.
Postcode districts we cover here for external mastic: DA1, DA2, DA5 and DA13. If you need external mastic at a property on High Street, Market Street and Temple Hill Square or anywhere close by, we can help. With the A2 and A206 close by, Dartford is simple for us to get to. We also cover Temple Hill (1 mile north), Hawley (1 mile south), Stone (2 miles east), Clement Street (2 miles south) and Darenth (2 miles south-east). Within a short drive, we also cover Sevenoaks (11 miles south), Gravesend (7 miles east), Northfleet (5 miles east), Swanley (4 miles south-west), Kings Hill (14 miles south-east) and Swanscombe (3 miles east). As one of the bigger places in Kent, Dartford has every kind of property, from flats to offices.
Near you in Dartford
In Dartford, that means homes and buildings near The Rose pub, Stone Lodge School and Leigh Academy and the streets around them. Dartford has its own railway station: Dartford station. Other landmarks nearby include Dartford Library (less than half a mile west) and Bluewater (2.1 miles east). Green spaces nearby include Wansunt Pit and Sawyers Lake.
Leave it or put it right?
Done well, a resealed joint is a neat, straight line that suits the wall. A hurried job with smeared edges and no backing looks worse and fails sooner so it’s worth doing right. Around Dartford, failed sealant lets water into hidden places, such as under the floor, behind a panel or into a wall. Left alone, that means rot, damp and a bigger repair.
Some things make a job bigger or smaller: how much old sealant there is and how stubborn it is, any mould to treat, and whether we need extra access for height. Your quote takes all of that into account.
Why choose Mr Mastic in Dartford
- Full insurance on every job
- Anti-fungal silicone where joints get wet
- Sealant colour chosen to suit
- An ARBOMaster approved applicator
Take a look at our cost guide and customer reviews.