Essex · England
Great Horkesley External Mastic
Movement joints in Great Horkesley need attention? We cut out the old, prepare the joints and apply the right sealant, and the work is guaranteed for a year.
- Hard, crazed mastic that has stopped moving
- Joints with sealant missing in places
- Weeds or debris growing in open joints
Can I do it myself?
The biggest DIY mistake is sealing over old sealant. New silicone won’t bond to old, so it lifts and traps water and mould underneath. All the old material has to come out first.
Too much sealant is as bad as too little. A thick, smeared bead looks untidy and doesn’t move well, and getting the depth right matters as much as the look.
External mastic for homes and businesses in Great Horkesley
As ARBOMaster approved applicators, we choose exterior sealants to suit the joint and the surfaces. Some surfaces need a primer before sealing. Common call-outs are for damp patches traced to an open external joint and hard, crazed mastic that has stopped moving, on concrete & block, façade panels and joints between brick and frames.
In a smaller place like Great Horkesley, some homes face open ground, so exposed walls and rooflines take more wind-driven rain. That is where gutter joints and wall joints tend to fail first.
All our work comes with a 12-month guarantee.
- Where
- Great Horkesley (CO6)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Cover
- 12 months on all our work
- Quotes
- Quoted before any work starts
- Telephone
- 0345 464 0079
- Last updated
- 26 October 2026
Also near Great Horkesley
More services for Great Horkesley
When something else is needed
It helps to know what we cannot do:
- Walls that need new movement joints cut into them
- Cracked brickwork or render that needs a builder or plasterer
- Rising or penetrating damp from elsewhere in the wall
If you are not sure, just phone 0345 464 0079 or email us and we will give you a straight answer.
Where we work in Great Horkesley
- Façade panels
- Copings & trims
- Joints between brick and frames
- Brickwork movement joints
- Render & cladding joints
- Concrete & block
The process
There is not much for you to do on the day. Point us to the joints and we’ll get on with it. The work itself takes a few hours to a few days, depending on the length of joint and the access, including the tidy-up. In a smaller place like Great Horkesley, parking is seldom the issue; lanes, gates and long drives are worth mentioning. For outside work, side access and the height of the joints help us plan.
- First, the joints are inspected and the access agreed.
- Every bit of old sealant and any mortar or debris is cut out.
- Joint faces are cleaned back and primed if the sealant needs it.
- Backing rod sized to the joint goes in to set the depth.
- The exterior sealant is applied, tooled and checked along its length.
Before we arrive
- Clear items away from the joints we are working on
- Mention if the joints have been sealed before
- For business premises, tell us about site rules or sign-in
Getting a quote
It all starts with a short chat. Describe the problem, the location and the size of the job, and we’ll explain how we’d tackle it. Whenever you are ready, call 0345 464 0079 or drop us an email.
Related advice
Signs you need external mastic in Great Horkesley
A lot of failed joints come down to preparation: joint faces that were dusty or damp, unprimed where they needed it, or still carrying old sealant. The new sealant then lets go long before it should.
Most people get in touch after spotting one of these:
- Leaking joints around cladding and façade panels
- Sealant pulling away from one side of the joint
- Rigid filler in a joint that should flex
- Movement joints with cracked, split or missing sealant
For an older house near a landmark such as Church of St John, the joints between older walls, newer extensions and the roofline need a sealant that can move.
Before booking anyone
- Is the old sealant removed completely?
- What happens if they find a problem under the old sealant
- Whether you can choose the colour
- Who turns up on the day
What external mastic looks like in Great Horkesley
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 Colchester station, outside joints that have cracked can let damp into a rental, so check them between lets. Schools such as The Bishop William Ward Church of England Primary School are buildings too, and larger buildings have long runs of movement joint that eventually need resealing.
Great Horkesley is about 3 miles north of Colchester, in Essex. If you need external mastic in Great Horkesley, it’s easy to get a quote: please call 0345 464 0079 or send us an email. We cover Essex from our Crawley base. Great Horkesley is one of 644 towns and villages in Essex where we work for external mastic. Our Chelmsford page covers work nearby, about 21 miles away.
Every address in CO6 is covered for external mastic. If you need external mastic at a property on Exeter Close, Malvern Way and Keelers Way or a nearby road, our applicators can take on the job. We also cover Mile End (1 mile south-east), West Bergholt (1 mile south-west), Little Horkesley (2 miles north-west), Wissington (3 miles north-west) and Fordham Heath (3 miles south-west). Within a short drive, we also cover Colchester (3 miles south), Braintree (14 miles west), Clacton-on-Sea (15 miles south-east), Witham (13 miles south-west), Camulodunum (3 miles south) and Halstead (10 miles west).
Landmarks near Great Horkesley
We work in homes and buildings around The Half Butt Inn and Gilberd School and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is Colchester station, roughly 1.9 miles south of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Lion Walk (2.8 miles south) and Colchester Castle (2.8 miles south-east). Not far away are Westhouse Wood.
Why act early in Great Horkesley
Low-modulus sealants stretch easily, so they put less strain on the joint edges. That protects surfaces like brick, render and concrete. A stiffer product can damage the joint edge as it fails. In a smaller place like Great Horkesley, wherever a wall is exposed, a failed outside joint is a real source of damp. Indoors, a failed seal lets water into floors and panels as it would anywhere.
No two jobs are quite the same, so each one gets its own quote. The number of joints, how easy they are to reach and the sealant needed all make a difference.
What you get with us
- Arbo and Everbuild products
- Homes, businesses and hotels
- Fully insured
- Sanitary silicone with an anti-fungal additive in wet areas
Read what affects the cost or our reviews.
Work for landlords, hotels and businesses
Failed sealant is one of the commonest items on a check-out report, and it’s easy to sort out between tenants. Several properties can go on one quote.
Businesses can book us for washrooms, kitchens, offices and more. On commercial sites, working times can be discussed when we quote.
Great Horkesley: your questions answered
Do you cover Great Horkesley for external mastic?
Yes, Great Horkesley is within the area we cover. We work across London and the South East. You can phone 0345 464 0079 or send us an email and let us know what needs doing.
Do you cover smaller places like Great Horkesley?
Yes, Great Horkesley is covered. We work across London and the South East, and smaller places are part of that. Longer journeys are simply planned in advance.
Does someone need to be in?
Access is agreed with you when the job is booked. Indoors, that usually means someone at home.
How do you reach high-level joints?
Each building is different. Send us pictures and a rough idea of the height, and we’ll confirm what access is needed.
What should I tell you?
The location, the problem and the rough size of the job. Photos by email help too.
How often do external joints need resealing?
It varies with how exposed the wall is and how much the joint moves. Look for splits, hardening or edges coming away.
Is it worth trying it myself?
For a simple, easy-to-reach joint, a careful DIYer can do a reasonable job. The usual mistakes are sealing over old sealant, sealing a damp joint and using too much.
Can you seal joints between two different materials?
Yes. Joints between dissimilar materials are a big part of external work. The sealant is chosen to bond to both sides.
Surface by surface
Render joints
Rendered walls have joints at beads, openings and changes of material. We reseal them with a flexible exterior sealant that suits the render colour.
Brickwork movement joints
Brick moves with heat and moisture, and grows a little over time. That movement goes into the joint, so the sealant in it must stay soft and stretchy.