Edinburgh · Scotland
Holyrood External Mastic
Sealing brickwork movement joints, render, cladding and façade joints for householders, landlords and businesses in Holyrood. Fully insured, ARBOMaster approved and guaranteed for a year.
- Joints where the bead has come unstuck
- Hard, crazed mastic that has stopped moving
- Moss and dirt in joints with no sealant left
External mastic in Holyrood, done properly
Where two different materials meet, such as brick and render or blockwork and metal, they move at different rates. A flexible sealant bridges the two where a rigid filler would soon crack. We work on concrete & block, façade panels and copings & trims, and common reasons people get in touch are joints with sealant missing in places and plants rooting in failed movement joints.
Alongside their tenements, Scotland’s cities have modern blocks with render, cladding and movement joints. Around Holyrood, as anywhere, those joints dry out and crack over time, letting water behind the face of the building.
Big or small, you get the same 12-month guarantee in Holyrood and across Edinburgh.
- Where
- Holyrood (EH8, EH1, EH7)
- Region
- Edinburgh
- Cover
- One year on every job
- Quotes
- Quoted before any work starts
- info@mrmastic.co.uk
- Last updated
- 26 October 2026
When it is not the sealant
Some problems need a builder, plumber or other trade rather than us:
- Failed render or damaged cladding panels
- Adding movement joints to masonry that has none
- Cracking across the wall rather than at a joint
Not sure which it is? You can send an email to info@mrmastic.co.uk and we’ll tell you honestly before booking.
Where we work in Holyrood
- Copings & trims
- Render & cladding joints
- Brickwork movement joints
- Joints between brick and frames
- Concrete & block
- Façade panels
More services for Holyrood
Landlord and commercial work in Holyrood
In hotels, rooms out of use cost money, so the work can be planned room by room around your bookings where we can. Hotel work is part of what we do, alongside homes and businesses.
A neglected joint can let water reach the structure, which is a bigger problem in a rented property. Keeping joints in good order is simple maintenance that we can handle for you.
What affects the cost of external mastic
The price is agreed before any work begins. It takes into account:
- The number of rooms or windows
- Working hours on commercial sites
- Whether there’s mould to deal with
- How easy the joints are to reach
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 the work is at height. Your quote takes all of that into account.
Asking for a quote
There’s no need for technical detail. It helps if you can tell us:
- Whether it’s a home or a business
- If someone has resealed it before
- The address or postcode of the job
- What the problem is, such as mould, gaps, leaks or cracking
For external mastic in Holyrood, drop us a line at info@mrmastic.co.uk. Tell us what the problem is and where, and we will agree the price before any work begins.
What we do, step by step
There is not much for you to do on the day. Show us the job and we will take it from there. The work itself takes a few hours to a few days, depending on the length of joint and the access. Parking in city streets around Holyrood 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.
- We inspect the joints and agree which need resealing and how they’ll be reached.
- The old mastic and anything lodged in the joint is removed.
- Both sides are cleaned back to sound material and primed if needed.
- Backing rod goes in next, setting the depth and keeping the sealant off the back of the joint.
- A flexible exterior sealant is applied and tooled in a colour to suit the wall.
Preparing for the visit
- Tell us if parking is tricky
- Mention any tricky access
- Mention any leaks or damp you’ve noticed
Ask for a quote
We quote each job on its own. Just drop us a line at info@mrmastic.co.uk with the details and send pictures if you have them.
Advice
Outside joints around Holyrood
Holyrood 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’s hard on movement joints and outside wall joints, especially on the side facing the sea. 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.
Homes close to St Cuthbert's Church include some older properties, and an extension built onto an older house moves differently, and the joint between them takes the strain. For landlords with property near Edinburgh Waverley station, failed wall and movement joints let damp in, so they’re worth checking between tenancies.
Holyrood is about 1 mile north-east of Edinburgh, in Edinburgh. Wherever you are in the EH8 postcode area, we can carry out external mastic at your property. Holyrood is one of 175 places in Edinburgh where we work for external mastic.
Here we cover the EH8, EH1 and EH7 postcode area for external mastic. Streets in the area include High Street, Calton Road and Hutton Road. If you’re just outside Holyrood, we cover Canongate (1 mile north-east), Dumbiedykes (1 mile south-east), Buccleuch (1 mile south), Greenside (1 mile north) and Old Town (1 mile south-west). Further out, 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).
Landmarks near Holyrood
Typical jobs here are in homes near The World's End pub, Scottish Poetry Library and Holyrood Park, among other places. Holyrood has its own railway station: Edinburgh Waverley station. Other landmarks nearby include Royal Public Dispensary of Edinburgh (under half a mile west) and People's Story Museum (less than half a mile north-east). Green spaces nearby include Dunsapie Loch and Salisbury Crags.
DIY versus a professional finish
The difference is mostly in the preparation and the product. Joints are cleaned back to sound surfaces and dried, and the sealant is matched to the joint and its conditions.
Not every job suits DIY: high-level joints, fire-rated gaps, external movement joints and big jobs need the right product, the right access and the right method.
Aftercare tips
Good habits help new joints last longer. Our tips:
- Make sure movement joints are not pointed over
- Check external joints each spring
- Clear growth from the base of walls and joints
- Fix overflowing gutters above sealed joints
Give the sealant the cure time we tell you before anything rubs against it. The surface skins over quickly, but full cure takes longer.
Leaks behind façade panels and render often go unseen. By the time there’s a damp patch, the damage can be well established so early resealing is worth it.
When to call us in Holyrood
A lot of failed joints come down to preparation: dusty or wet faces, no primer where one was needed, or old sealant left in. The sealant never bonds properly.
Look out for these signs:
- Rain getting behind render or cladding at a joint
- Panel joints letting water in
- Moss and dirt in joints with no sealant left
- Joints pointed up with cement by mistake
Managing a site like Old Royal High School? Then movement joints, cladding joints and gutters on larger buildings need the same care as a house’s.
What your quote should include
- Whether VAT is included
- The length of the guarantee
- When the joint can take water or movement
- How the colour is chosen
Holyrood questions
Do you work for landlords with property near Edinburgh Waverley station?
Yes, rental work is part of what we do. You can send an email to info@mrmastic.co.uk with the address and a few details, and we’ll give you a fixed price before any work starts.
How is work on the outside of a tenement in Holyrood generally arranged?
It usually goes through the owners together, or through the factor if the building has one. The Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 sets the rules for common parts if the deeds do not, and we can quote for the factor or the owners directly.
Is it worth trying it myself?
You can, for simple jobs. The key is preparation: remove all the old material and work on a clean, dry joint. We can always put it right if it fails.
Do you take out the old sealant first?
Yes. All of the old material is cut out and the joint cleaned before applying anything new.
When will the joints need doing again?
It varies with how exposed the wall is and how much the joint moves. Look for splits, hardening or edges coming away and have them redone then.
Is it OK to fill a movement joint with cement?
No. A mortar-filled joint cannot move, so the movement cracks the wall elsewhere. It needs a flexible sealant over backing rod.
Which products do you use?
Products from Arbo and Everbuild, among others, picked for each joint. We will tell you what we’re using and why.
What is backing rod for?
That’s backing rod, a closed-cell foam. It stops the sealant going in too deep and bonding to three sides so it can flex with the joint.