Scottish Borders · Scotland
External Mastic in Smailholm
Sealing brickwork movement joints, render, cladding and façade joints for homes and businesses in Smailholm and across the Scottish Borders. Fully insured, ARBOMaster approved and guaranteed for a year.
- Damp patches traced to an open external joint
- Sealant pulling away from one side of the joint
- Cracked joints where brick meets render or frames
DIY sealant or a professional job?
If you are 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 does not work out, we can still put it right.
If you’ve already had a go yourself, that’s fine. We remove it and do the joint properly, so just mention it when you contact us.
External mastic for homes and businesses in Smailholm
On houses, flats and commercial buildings across Smailholm, we reseal joints in brickwork, render, cladding and façade panels. Every joint gets the same careful preparation: clean, sound faces and a controlled depth. We work on concrete & block, façade panels and brickwork movement joints, and the jobs we see most are failed seals between different materials and plants rooting in failed movement joints.
In and around a place like Smailholm, many buildings face open ground and take the full weather. Gutter joints and wall joints take a battering, so they need a sealant that moves with the building.
All of our work is guaranteed for twelve months, in Smailholm and everywhere else we cover.
- Where
- Smailholm (TD5)
- Wider area
- Scottish Borders
- Cover
- A year, on every job
- Quotes
- A clear price before we start
- info@mrmastic.co.uk
- Last updated
- 26 October 2026
Questions from Smailholm
Is Smailholm in your area for external mastic?
Yes, Smailholm is within the area we cover. Our work covers the whole of Scotland. Just send an email to info@mrmastic.co.uk with a few details of the job.
Will you come out to Smailholm?
Yes, Smailholm is covered. We work across all of Scotland, from towns to the smallest places. The journey is planned ahead, so it helps to know about access.
Why is there a gap in my brick wall?
Walls move with heat, cold and moisture, so long walls have planned gaps to take that movement. The gap is sealed with a flexible sealant over backing rod.
How do you reach high-level joints?
It depends on the building. Where joints can be reached safely, we’ll do them. Tell us about the building and we will confirm what access is needed.
Are you an approved applicator?
Yes. ARBOMaster is the approved applicator scheme for Arbo sealants, and we’re part of it.
Can a movement joint be filled with mortar?
No, not where the gap is a movement joint. Filling it with mortar defeats its purpose and can lead to cracking. We’ll reseal it with a flexible sealant.
Why do you put foam in the joint first?
Backing rod controls the sealant depth and keeps it off the back of the joint. Then the sealant bonds to two faces and can move.
What information do you need?
The location, the problem and the rough size of the job. Photos by email help too.
When it is not the sealant
Sealant is not the answer to every problem, and we will tell you before any work starts. It won’t solve:
- Subsidence or other structural problems
- Walls that need new movement joints cut into them
- Cracks in the bricks or render themselves, away from the joints
If you are not sure, just send an email to info@mrmastic.co.uk and we will give you a straight answer.
Surfaces we seal
- Brickwork movement joints
- Concrete & block
- Joints between brick and frames
- Render & cladding joints
- Copings & trims
- Façade panels
How we quote for external mastic
The price is agreed before any work begins. It’s based on:
- How many areas need sealing
- Whether there’s mould to deal with
- The old material and how stubborn it is
- The type of sealant required
There are no prices on our website, because each job is priced on what it involves. For a quick quote, please send an email to info@mrmastic.co.uk and we will talk you through it.
Asking for a quote
The more you tell us, the more accurate the quote. When you get in contact, it helps to mention:
- How we’d reach the joints
- If someone has resealed it before
- The rough size of the job
- The type of property
To get a quote, email us at info@mrmastic.co.uk with the location and a short description of the problem. We will send you a clear quote before any work starts.
Walls and rooflines in Smailholm
Private landlords in Scotland must meet the Repairing Standard, which includes keeping a home wind and watertight, and sound outside sealant is part of that. Plenty of Scottish homes have harled walls, and where harling meets frames, pipes and other materials, the joint needs a flexible sealant that grips a rough surface.
If you live in an older home near Smailholm Church, older walls, gutters and the joints where extensions meet them need a flexible sealant.
Smailholm is about 10 miles east of Galashiels, in the Scottish Borders. Anywhere in TD5, we cover external mastic for homes and businesses. Smailholm is one of 89 places in the Scottish Borders we cover for external mastic. Our Edinburgh page covers work nearby, about 34 miles away.
All of TD5 is covered for external mastic, from the main roads to the quietest streets. We also cover Gordon (4 miles north), Stichill (4 miles east), Maxton (5 miles south-west), St Boswells (5 miles south-west) and Earlston (5 miles west). We also work in nearby towns such as Galashiels (10 miles west), Kelso (5 miles east), Selkirk (12 miles south-west), Jedburgh (10 miles south), Duns (14 miles north-east) and Melrose (7 miles west).
Around Smailholm
Well-known places in the area include Mellerstain House (1.6 miles north) and Kelso Hospital (4.9 miles east). Not far away are Brotherstone Hill and Bemersyde Moss.
Looking after it afterwards
To keep the joints looking good and working properly:
- Deal with leaking gutters that soak the joints below
- Check the sealant is paintable before painting near it
- Tell anyone working on the walls about the movement joints
- Avoid pressure-washing directly into sealant joints
Keep pressure washers away from the sealant. A strong jet can damage the edges of the bead over time.
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 Smailholm
Many joints fail because they were sealed too deep or with nothing behind them. Sealant bonded to three sides has nowhere to go and rips as the joint opens.
If you can see any of these, it’s time to have the joints looked at:
- Sealant pulling away from one side of the joint
- Cracked joints where brick meets render or frames
- Damp patches traced to an open external joint
- Hard, crazed mastic that has stopped moving
Around Smailholm, as everywhere, external mastic is only as good as the preparation behind it.
What to look for in a quote
- What the quote includes, VAT included or not
- How the joint is cleaned and prepared
- When the joint can take water or movement
- What product goes in the joint
How it works
On the day, there’s very little for you to do. Point us to the joints and we will get on with it. The job generally takes a few hours to a few days, depending on the length of joint and the access from start to finish. Outdoor work around Smailholm depends on the weather, as sealant needs a dry surface, so external jobs may need to move if the day turns wet. Indoor work goes ahead whatever the weather.
- We inspect the joints and agree which need resealing and how they’ll be reached.
- Old sealant and any debris are cut and raked out.
- We clean both faces of the joint and prime them where the product calls for it.
- 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.
Before we arrive
- Clear the area around the work
- Where the joints are inside, avoid wetting them before we arrive
- For business premises, tell us about site rules or sign-in
How to get a quote
For external mastic in Smailholm, drop us a line at info@mrmastic.co.uk. Tell us what the problem is and where, and we’ll agree the price before any work begins.
Related advice
Surface by surface
Render joints
Render has movement joints and stop beads that need sealing. They’re resealed in a sealant that suits the render.
Copings and trims
Joints in copings, parapets and trims are exposed to the worst of the weather. We reseal them with an exterior sealant suited to the material.