Essex · England
External & façade joints in Little Common, Essex
External mastic for Little Common, by sealant specialists with 20+ years’ experience. Rated 4.9 on Google from 180+ five-star reviews.
- Rain getting behind render or cladding at a joint
- Old sealant gone brittle and cracked
- Joints pointed up with cement by mistake
What we do, step by step
On the day, there’s very little for you to do. Show us the job and we will take it from there. The job generally takes a few hours for a handful of joints, longer for a whole elevation, including the tidy-up. Somewhere as small as Little Common, access is often the only tricky part. If the job is outside, mention outbuildings, exposed walls and how to reach them.
- Each joint is checked and the colour of the new sealant agreed.
- We take out the old sealant until the faces are sound.
- 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.
Preparing for the visit
- Tell us about any water getting in
- Mention if the joints have been sealed before
- Let us know about parking restrictions
Get a quote
We do not publish a price list, because every job is different. Instead, your job gets its own clear quote. To get started, call 0345 464 0079 or send us an email.
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About our external mastic in Little Common
A movement joint is only as good as its depth. Backing rod controls how deep the sealant goes and keeps it off the back of the joint, so it bonds to the two sides only and can stretch. Typical jobs include damp patches traced to an open external joint and movement joints with cracked, split or missing sealant, on façade panels, concrete & block and brickwork movement joints.
In a village or hamlet like Little Common, older cottages and farm buildings often stand in the open, where walls and rooflines take the weather head on. Gutter joints and wall joints there need a sealant that can flex and stay put.
A 12-month guarantee comes as standard.
- Place
- Little Common (CM77)
- Region
- Essex
- Guarantee
- 12 months on all our work
- Quotes
- A clear price before work begins
- Phone
- 0345 464 0079
- Updated
- 26 October 2026
DIY versus a professional finish
Overfilling a joint is a classic DIY mistake. A thick, smeared bead looks untidy and doesn’t move well, and the joint depth matters as much as the finish.
If you’re set on DIY, put the effort into preparation: remove every trace of old sealant, clean and dry the joint, and follow the product’s cure time. If it fails, we can still redo it.
Landlord and commercial work in Little Common
We work for landlords and letting agents as well as householders. Resealing between tenancies is a simple way to keep a property in good order.
Whether it’s one flat or a portfolio, the work is the same standard: old sealant fully removed, joints prepared properly and a 12-month guarantee.
Nearby places to Little Common
What else we do in Little Common
What the job involves on each surface
Copings and trims
Metal and stone copings both move with temperature, so the joints need a sealant that stays flexible.
Concrete and blockwork
Blockwork and concrete shrink over time and move with the seasons. Their movement joints are sealed over backing rod with a flexible sealant.
Little Common: your questions answered
Can you do external mastic in Little Common?
Yes. We work across London and the South East, and Little Common is part of that. You can ring 0345 464 0079 or send us an email and let us know what needs doing, and we’ll give you a clear price.
Is Little Common within the area you cover?
Yes. Little Common is within the area we cover, which takes in towns, villages and rural addresses. Our work covers London and the South East. Just mention lanes, gates or anything else about the route when you book.
Do you work for letting agents?
Yes. As well as homeowners, we work for landlords, agents, businesses and hotels.
What is backing rod for?
Backing rod controls the sealant depth and keeps it off the back of the joint. That way it bonds to the two sides only and can stretch.
Can a movement joint be filled with mortar?
No. Cement or mortar cannot stretch and the joint fails. If it has already been filled, we can normally cut it out and reseal it.
What does external mastic cost?
There’s no set price, as it depends on the job: how much there is, what’s there now, how we reach it and what it needs. We agree the price before any work begins.
Can you match the colour of my brickwork?
We choose a sealant colour to suit the brick, stone or render so the joint blends in. There’s a wide choice of exterior colours.
Does someone need to be in?
For indoor joints, yes, someone needs to let us in. After that, you can carry on with your day.
External mastic in Little Common: local notes
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.
Homes close to Church of All Saints include some older properties, and the joints between older walls, newer extensions and the roofline need a sealant that can move. If you look after a building such as Rayne Primary and Nursery School, movement joints, cladding joints and gutters on larger buildings need the same care as a house’s.
Little Common is about 3 miles west of Braintree, in Essex. Every kind of property in Little Common is covered for external mastic, old or new, large or small. Every job comes with our one-year guarantee. Little Common is one of 644 towns and villages in Essex where we work for external mastic. There’s also a page for Chelmsford, roughly 9 miles from Little Common.
All of CM77 is covered for external mastic, from the main roads to the quietest streets. Other places close to Little Common include Rayne (1 mile north-east), Great Notley (1 mile south-east), Row Green (2 miles south-east), Young's End (2 miles south-east) and Panfield (2 miles north). Larger places within reach include Chelmsford (9 miles south), Braintree (3 miles east), Maldon (12 miles south-east), Witham (7 miles south-east), Saffron Walden (15 miles north-west) and Halstead (8 miles north-east).
What’s near Little Common
We work in homes and buildings around Tabor Academy, 47 The Street pub and Cuckoo Wood, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Braintree station, about 2.4 miles east of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find Tudor House Museum (Braintree) (2.7 miles north-east) and Braintree Community Hospital (1.7 miles north-east). Green spaces nearby include Phyllis Currie Nature Reserve.
How we quote for external mastic
You’ll get a clear quote before work begins. It’s based on:
- Mould in or behind the old joints
- Any working-time requirements on site
- The type of sealant required
- The size of the job
Homes and businesses are quoted the same way: the amount of work, the access and the products needed. Ask us for a quote and we’ll go through it with you.
Asking for a quote
A few details help us give you an accurate quote. When you get in contact, it helps to mention:
- The problem you’ve noticed
- Photos by email, if that is easy
- If someone has resealed it before
- If it’s domestic, commercial or a hotel
To get a quote, ring 0345 464 0079 or send us an email and tell us where the job is and what the problem looks like. You will have a clear quote before any work starts.
Looking after it afterwards
Looking after new joints is easy, and it makes a real difference:
- Make sure movement joints aren’t pointed over
- Check the sealant is paintable before painting near it
- Keep water from gutters off the wall
- Keep high-pressure jets off the joints
Have a quick look at the joints each spring. Splits, gaps at the edges or plants in the joint are early warning signs.
Leave a failed movement joint and water keeps getting into the wall. That can lead to damp patches, staining and frost damage which cost more to put right than the joint.
Common problems we fix in Little Common
Many joints fail because they were sealed too deep or with nothing behind them. If the sealant sticks to the back as well as the sides, it cannot stretch and tears as soon as the joint widens.
The most common problems we see are:
- Weeds or debris growing in open joints
- Movement joints with cracked, split or missing sealant
- Old sealant gone brittle and cracked
- Movement joints filled with mortar instead of sealant
Rented homes near Braintree station change hands often, and failed wall and movement joints let damp in, so they’re worth checking between tenancies.
Before you book anyone
- Whether you can choose the colour
- Whether they seal over old material or remove it
- What preparation is included
- Who turns up on the day