Kent · England
Folkestone External Mastic
Movement joints in Folkestone need attention? We remove the old material, prepare the joints and seal them properly.
- Plants rooting in failed movement joints
- Rigid filler in a joint that should flex
- Leaking joints around cladding and façade panels
What the job involves on each surface
Render joints
The face of render can be soft, so a low-modulus sealant is kinder to the joint edges. Priming is done where the sealant calls for it.
Brickwork movement joints
Brick walls have vertical movement joints to absorb expansion. They’re resealed over backing rod with a low-modulus sealant in a colour to suit the brick.
About our external mastic in Folkestone
A movement joint is only as good as its depth. Closed-cell backing rod sets the depth and stops the sealant sticking to the back, leaving it bonded to two faces so it can move with the wall. We work on render & cladding joints, brickwork movement joints and façade panels, and common reasons people get in touch are joints with sealant missing in places and damp patches traced to an open external joint.
Garage door frames, porches and roofline trims are all part of external work in a town like Folkestone. Each joint between different materials moves in its own way, so the sealant has to cope with that.
All our work is covered by our one-year guarantee.
- Location
- Folkestone (CT20, CT19, CT21)
- Region
- Kent
- Guarantee
- One year on every job
- Price
- A clear price before we start
- Phone
- 0345 464 0079
- Last updated
- 26 October 2026
Do you need external mastic in Folkestone?
Joints sealed without backing rod, or far too deep, rarely last. Sealant bonded to three sides has nowhere to go and tears as soon as the joint widens.
Any of these means the joints need attention:
- Rigid filler in a joint that should flex
- Panel joints letting water in
- Sealant that has lost its bond to the brick or render
- Rain getting behind render or cladding at a joint
For site and facilities teams at buildings such as Stella Maris Catholic Primary School, larger buildings have long runs of movement joint that eventually need resealing.
What to look for in a quote
- What preparation is included
- How long the guarantee is
- What insurance they hold
- Whether you can choose the colour
Common questions in Folkestone
Does living near the coast affect external mastic in Folkestone?
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.
Do you work for landlords with property near Folkestone Central station?
Yes. We work for letting agents and landlords as well as householders. You can call 0345 464 0079 or drop us an email with the details for a clear quote.
Will it make a mess?
Very little: the area around the joints is protected first, and we tidy up before we go.
Should I try DIY first?
That depends on the joint. Work at height, movement joints, fire-rated gaps and large areas are best left to a professional, while a short indoor joint may be within reach.
Are you fully insured?
Yes. We’re fully insured.
How long should I leave it?
That depends on the sealant used, so follow the cure time we give you when we finish.
Do you remove the old sealant?
Yes, always, and completely. New silicone doesn’t stick to old silicone, so the joint is cleaned back first.
Why is there a gap in my brick wall?
Most straight vertical gaps in brickwork are movement joints. It gives the wall room to move.
When it is not the sealant
It helps to know what we can’t do:
- Cracked brickwork or render that needs a builder or plasterer
- Subsidence or other structural problems
- Loose or hollow render, which needs re-rendering
Not sure which it is? You can ring 0345 464 0079 or email us and we will tell you honestly before booking.
Joints and surfaces we work on
- Concrete & block
- Joints between brick and frames
- Brickwork movement joints
- Render & cladding joints
- Façade panels
- Copings & trims
The process
You don’t need to clear the whole room or building, only the area right around the joints. We protect the rest, and the work takes a few hours to a few days, depending on the length of joint and the access for a typical job. In Folkestone, parking is rarely complicated, though it helps to know about driveways or restrictions, and mention if the work is upstairs, in a flat or high on the outside.
- 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.
- We gun in low-modulus sealant and tool it neatly.
How to prepare
- Let us know about earlier repairs to the joints
- Tell us if parking is tricky
- Mention any tricky access
Ask for a quote
The more we know about the job, the more useful the quote. Tell us where the job is, what’s wrong and how much there is.
Read more
What affects the cost of external mastic
We quote each job individually. These are the things that affect it:
- The size of the job
- The product the joint needs
- How much old sealant there is and how hard it is to remove
- When we can work, for business premises
Leaving a failed joint usually makes the job bigger, not smaller, because water and mould keep working on it. If you’re not sure whether it needs doing, ring 0345 464 0079 or send us an email for an honest opinion and a quote.
What we need to know
Photos help, but a description is a good start. Try to tell us:
- Where the property is
- Whether it has been sealed before
- The problem you’ve noticed
- If it’s domestic, commercial or a hotel
Quotes start with a quick conversation. Describe the problem, the location and the size of the job. Whenever you are ready, ring 0345 464 0079 or drop us an email.
Also in Folkestone
What external mastic looks like in Folkestone
Folkestone is close to the coast, and homes near the sea take more wind-driven rain, with salt in the air closer to the shore. That is hard on movement joints and outside wall joints, especially on the side facing the sea. London and the South East are among the drier parts of the UK, yet outdoor joints still have to be sealed dry, so jobs are booked with the weather in mind.
For landlords with property near Folkestone Central station, outside joints that have cracked can let damp into a rental, so check them between lets. For an older house near a landmark such as United Reformed Church, the joints between older walls, newer extensions and the roofline need a sealant that can move.
Folkestone is in Kent. Every kind of property in Folkestone can book us for external mastic. The work is guaranteed for a year. Across Kent, we cover 922 places, Folkestone among them. Chelmsford is on our list too, about 54 miles from Folkestone.
Jobs for external mastic in CT20, CT19 and CT21 works the same way as everywhere else we cover. If you need external mastic at a property on Christ Church Road, Middelburg Square and Station Road or anywhere close by, we can help. Main roads around Folkestone include the A259 and A260, so getting to you is simple. If you’re just outside Folkestone, we cover Cheriton (1 mile west), Sandgate (1 mile south-west), Hawkinge (2 miles north), Arpinge (2 miles north-west) and Seabrook (2 miles west). Within a short drive, we also cover Ashford (14 miles west), Canterbury (14 miles north), Dover (7 miles north-east), Deal (13 miles north-east), Hythe (4 miles west) and Tower Hamlets (7 miles north-east). Folkestone is one of the larger places we cover in Kent.
Local landmarks in Folkestone
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to The Park Inn Hotel, Lower Leas Coastal Park and The Harvey Grammar School. Folkestone has its own railway station: Folkestone Central station. Other landmarks nearby include Folkestone Museum (0.7 miles south-east) and Folkestone Castle (1 mile north). The countryside around Folkestone includes Sugar Loaf Hill.
Aftercare tips
Once the sealant has cured, a few habits help it last:
- Leave the joints unpainted unless we have said otherwise
- Look over the joints every year, ideally after winter
- Clear growth from the base of walls and joints
- Keep movement joints as flexible joints, not mortar
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.
Water getting behind cladding or render can go unnoticed for a long time. When it finally shows inside, the joint may have been open for years.
Can I do it myself?
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.
Too much sealant is as bad as too little. A thick, smeared bead looks untidy and doesn’t move well, and the joint depth matters as much as the finish.