Edinburgh · Scotland
Prestonfield External Mastic
Sealing brickwork movement joints, render, cladding and façade joints for Prestonfield, backed by a one-year guarantee. Call for a quick quote.
- Weeds or debris growing in open joints
- Weathered mastic that no longer stretches
- Joints pointed up with cement by mistake
What we do, step by step
At the end, we look at the finished work together and tell you how long to leave it. The visit itself generally takes a few hours for a handful of joints, longer for a whole elevation, depending on how much there is to do. In a Scottish city, a lot of jobs are in tenement flats, up a common stair from a shared close. For a job in Prestonfield, tell us the floor, how the door entry system works and where we can park nearby.
- First, the joints are inspected and the access agreed.
- We cut out the old mastic and rake out anything in the joint.
- Joint faces are cleaned back and primed if the sealant needs it.
- We fit closed-cell backing rod to control the depth.
- The exterior sealant is applied, tooled and checked along its length.
Before we arrive
- Let us know about parking restrictions
- Let us know if you’ve seen damp or leaks
- Clear the area around the work
Ask for a quote
We do not publish a price list. Instead, your job gets its own clear quote. To get started, email us at info@mrmastic.co.uk.
Advice
About our external mastic in Prestonfield
As ARBOMaster approved applicators, we choose exterior sealants to suit the joint and the surfaces. Some surfaces need a primer before sealing and we use one wherever it does. We work on brickwork movement joints, joints between brick and frames and concrete & block, and common reasons people get in touch are failed sealant between panels on a façade and old sealant gone brittle and cracked.
Gutters and downpipes on tall city tenements are a long way up, and a slow drip can stain and soak the stone for a long time before it’s spotted. For a building in Prestonfield, access is planned first, and shared parts may need the other owners to agree.
Big or small, it’s backed by our 12-month guarantee in Prestonfield and across Edinburgh.
- Location
- Prestonfield (EH16, EH9, EH8)
- Wider area
- Edinburgh
- Guarantee
- A year, on every job
- Quotes
- Quoted before any work starts
- info@mrmastic.co.uk
- Last updated
- 26 October 2026
Towns and villages near Prestonfield
Also in Prestonfield
Aftercare tips
Once the sealant has cured, a few habits help it last:
- Don’t let climbing plants root in the sealant
- Check the sealant is paintable before painting near it
- Get split or bare joints resealed while the damage is small
- Show decorators and builders where the movement joints are
If you have more work done on the wall, such as new render, cladding or an opening, show the contractor the movement joints. They must stay as flexible joints, never rendered or pointed over.
An open movement joint lets rain into the wall every time it pours. Over time it can mean damp inside, stained render or frost-damaged brick which cost more to put right than the joint.
Leave it or put it right?
Low-modulus sealants stretch easily, so they put less strain on the joint edges. That matters on brick, render and concrete, which can be weaker at the face. A stiffer product can damage the joint edge as it fails. In a tenement flat in Prestonfield, a failed seal is rarely just your problem: a leak can come through the ceiling below, and gaps in shared walls or fire-rated joints matter to every flat.
What it costs depends on the size of the job, how hard the old material is to remove and how easy the joints are to reach. We give a clear quote before we start, so you know where you stand.
What you get with us
- Neat joints and a tidy finish
- Anti-fungal silicone where joints get wet
- White, clear, grey or another colour, product permitting
- Experience in homes, commercial sites and hotels
Read our cost guide or customer reviews.
When to call us in Prestonfield
Poor preparation causes many early failures: joint faces that were dusty or damp, unprimed where they needed it, or still carrying old sealant. The sealant never bonds properly.
The most common problems we see are:
- Weeds or debris growing in open joints
- Movement joints with cracked, split or missing sealant
- Rain getting behind render or cladding at a joint
- Leaking joints around cladding and façade panels
If you look after a building such as St Margaret's School, larger buildings have long runs of movement joint that eventually need resealing.
What your quote should include
- What happens if the job turns out different
- Whether VAT is included
- Are they insured?
- What guarantee comes with the work
For landlords and businesses
Water getting past a failed joint can damage the building, which is a bigger problem in a rented property. Resealing at the right time is simple maintenance.
We also work for businesses, from offices to washrooms and kitchens. For commercial premises, we can talk through working times when we quote.
Prestonfield buildings and the weather
Prestonfield is within about 3 miles of the coast, where wind-driven rain is a fact of life and, nearer the shore, so is salt air. Both are hard on movement joints and outside wall joints, which can dry out and crack sooner where a building faces the weather. Historic houses like Whitefoord House (about 1.4 miles north-west) are a reminder that the area around Prestonfield has older buildings as well as new. Where a home is older, older brick and stone need a sealant that suits them, at the right joint depth.
If you live in an older home near Priestfield Parish Church, older walls, gutters and the joints where extensions meet them need a flexible sealant. If you let a flat or house near Edinburgh Waverley station, split movement joints are easy to miss on a rental until damp shows inside.
Prestonfield is about 2 miles east of Edinburgh, in Edinburgh. Prestonfield gets the same service as everywhere we cover: old sealant removed completely, careful preparation and a one-year guarantee. Prestonfield is one of 175 places in Edinburgh where we work for external mastic.
Work in EH16, EH9 and EH8 works the same way as everywhere else we cover. We cover properties on Lady Road, Cobden Road and Gilmour Road. You will find Prestonfield on the A7, which makes it straightforward to reach with everything needed for external mastic. If you’re just outside Prestonfield, we cover Cameron Toll (1 mile south), Mayfield (1 mile west), Bridge End (1 mile south-east), St Leonard's (1 mile north-west) and Newington (1 mile west). Within a short drive, we also cover Leith (3 miles north), Bonnington (3 miles north), Stockbridge (3 miles north-west), North Leith (3 miles north), West Coates (3 miles west) and Queensferry (10 miles west).
Local landmarks in Prestonfield
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Duddingston Kirk, Scottish Poetry Library and Peffermill Playing Fields, among other places. Other local landmarks include Leslie's Bar (0.6 miles west), Sciennes Primary School (1.1 miles west) and Royal Blind School (0.5 miles south-west). The closest station to Prestonfield is Edinburgh Waverley station, roughly 1.7 miles north-west. A little further out are Morita Museum of Fine Art (0.5 miles west) and Cameron Toll Shopping Centre (0.5 miles south). Not far away are The New Leaf Co-op and Duddingston Loch.
When something else is needed
Some problems need a builder, plumber or other trade rather than us:
- Loose or hollow render, which needs re-rendering
- Cracked brickwork or render that needs a builder or plasterer
- Adding movement joints to masonry that has none
If in doubt, drop us a line at info@mrmastic.co.uk and we will say what we think.
What we seal
- Render & cladding joints
- Brickwork movement joints
- Façade panels
- Copings & trims
- Concrete & block
- Joints between brick and frames
Common questions in Prestonfield
Can you help a landlord with a rental near Edinburgh Waverley station?
Yes, landlords and agents are among the people we work for, and several properties can be quoted together. You can send an email to info@mrmastic.co.uk with the details for a clear quote.
Is external mastic in a coastal place like Prestonfield any different?
Coastal homes put outside sealant through more weather than inland ones, so the choice of sealant and the preparation matter even more. Walls facing the sea are usually the first to need attention.
Are you an approved applicator?
Yes. ARBOMaster is the approved applicator scheme for Arbo sealants, and we’re part of it.
How long should I leave it?
That depends on the sealant used, so please follow the time we give you.
How do you reach high-level joints?
It depends on the building. Send us pictures and a rough idea of the height and we’ll confirm how they can be reached safely.
What should I tell you?
A short description and the location, with pictures by email if possible. We’ll ask anything else we need to know.
Are you insured?
Yes. Full insurance covers our work.
Can you seal over the old sealant?
No. Fresh sealant does not stick to old sealant, and it traps any mould or water underneath. It all has to come out first.
What the job involves on each surface
Concrete and blockwork
Big joints in concrete need careful depth control. Backing rod sized to the joint sets it so the sealant isn’t too deep.
Brickwork movement joints
Brick walls have vertical movement joints to absorb expansion. They’re resealed over backing rod with a low-modulus sealant coloured to suit the wall.