East Sussex · England
Mastic man in Rye
Careful sealant work for Rye’s cobbled Citadel, guest houses and inns, Rye Harbour homes and the marsh-edge villages around the town.
- 20+ years’ experience
- ARBOMaster approved applicator
- One-year guarantee
Sealant jobs we do in Rye
Rye is a town where the buildings are the main event. On the high ground of the Citadel, around St Mary’s church, Mermaid Street, Watchbell Street and Church Square, the old houses lean and step down the cobbled lanes. The Landgate of 1329 is the only one of the four fortified entrances to survive, and the Ypres Tower dates from 1249. Most people in Rye, though, live outside the Citadel, in later streets that need everyday sealant work like anywhere else.
Mr Mastic covers Rye from our base in Crawley. We reseal baths, showers and kitchens, renew the mastic around windows and doors and seal external joints, choosing materials and colours that suit an old building as well as a modern one.
Medieval lanes, later streets and a harbour village
Inside the Citadel, houses are old, often uneven, and full of awkward rooms. Bathrooms are frequently fitted under sloping ceilings or into former bedrooms, with baths on timber floors that move. We fill the bath before sealing and use a flexible sanitary silicone so the bead moves with it. Around old timber windows, we use a sealant that can be painted where the joint needs it, and keep the bead neat and narrow.
Beyond the old walled town, Rye has streets of later houses and flats, with the bathroom and kitchen jobs you would expect: mould along shower trays, worktop joints that have shrunk back and uPVC windows with hardened mastic. About two miles downriver, Rye Harbour was built on shingle from the early 19th century and sits right on the estuary, with a holiday park beside it. Nearby Playden and the surrounding villages have many oast houses converted into homes, with curved walls and unusual window shapes that need careful sealing.
If you are not sure whether a joint needs silicone or a paintable product, our remedial sealant page explains how we decide.
Marsh winds, tight lanes and listed frames
Rye stands above Romney Marsh and Walland Marsh, close to the estuary of the River Rother and not far from Camber Sands, and the wind comes across open, flat land with little to stop it. Frames facing the marsh and the sea take salt air and wind-driven rain, and old mastic there cracks sooner. We cut out failed joints, clean back to sound material and use a durable, weatherproof sealant with backing rod where deep.
The Citadel holds only a minority of the town’s homes, but its cobbled lanes are narrow, and the Landgate admits only light vehicles, so we plan access and parking before the visit. In listed buildings, it is wise to check with the council before going beyond a like-for-like reseal.
Inns, guest houses and holiday lets
Rye has hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, tea rooms and restaurants, including historic inns such as the Mermaid Inn and the Olde Bell. Guest bathrooms in busy rooms get more use than most, and mouldy sealant is the first thing a visitor notices. We can reseal room by room so the rest stay open; our guide to hotel bathroom resealing explains how.
The town is also a shopping centre for the marsh, with galleries, shops and restaurants in the old town, and the industrial estate on the road to Rye Harbour has units with staff washrooms. Holiday lets around Rye and Camber are well suited to changeover-day resealing.
From first call to finished joint
- Call or email. Tell us what needs doing, where it is and anything about access. Photos by email help.
- Get a clear quote. We give you a clear price before any work starts, and agree a date with you.
- Cut out and prepare. All the old sealant comes out, and the joints are cleaned, treated and dried.
- Seal and finish. The right sealant for each joint is applied and tooled to a neat, even finish.
- Cure and guarantee. We tell you when it can be used, and every job has our one-year guarantee.
Jobs we take on in Rye
- Bathroom & kitchen resealing: Every joint in the bathroom and kitchen, from the bath edge to the worktop, stripped back and resealed with anti-fungal silicone.
- Window & door mastic: Frame perimeters inside and out resealed with flexible, colour-matched sealant, with backing rod where the gap is deep.
- Commercial & hotel sealant: Guest bathrooms, staff washrooms and kitchens in commercial buildings resealed in a planned order that keeps the site running.
- Remedial sealant & repairs: Messy, layered or wrong-product sealant cut out and replaced with the right sealant, laid the right way.
- Fire-rated sealant: Fire-rated sealant for service penetrations and frame gaps where it has been specified, applied to the tested details.
- External & façade joints: Expansion joints in brick, render and cladding cut out and renewed at the right depth so they can move without splitting.
- New-build mastic & snagging: Snagging sealant for new homes and plot-by-plot mastic for builders and developers.
- Floor & skirting joints: Floor and skirting joints in homes, shops and warehouses sealed neatly and to the right depth.
- Regrouting: Cracked, stained or crumbling grout raked out and replaced, with corners resealed in silicone.
- Glazing & conservatory sealant: Glazing joints on conservatories, roof lanterns and screens renewed with a sealant suited to glass and frames.
- Gutter, fascia & soffit sealing: Dripping gutter joints and end caps, and gaps at fascias and soffits, sealed with weatherproof exterior sealant.
- Sand mastic for sash & case windows: Traditional burnt sand mastic renewed around sash and case windows and doors in stone and brick.
Why Mr Mastic in Rye
Rye is one of the furthest towns we cover from Crawley, and we plan the trip so it is worth your while. You get a team with 20+ years’ experience, full insurance and ARBOMaster approved applicator status, using Arbo and Everbuild sealants on every job. Our record runs to more than 2,847 projects and a 4.9-star Google rating from 180+ five-star reviews. You will have a clear quote before we start, and the finished work carries our one-year guarantee.
Getting around Rye
From the centre, the nearest railway station is Rye station. Well-known places nearby include Rye Castle Museum (East Street) (less than half a mile east) and Ypres Tower (less than half a mile east). Closer in, we work on homes, rented flats and businesses near Rye Community Primary School, Rye College, Church of St Mary and St Anthony of Padua Church. Green spaces within reach include Rye Harbour Nature Reserve.
What customers say
Rated 4.9 on Google from 180+ five-star reviews. Read the reviews on Google.
“Called for a bathroom reseal and the mastic man showed up on time with all the right equipment. Brilliant attention to detail. The sealant looks perfect and they kept everything tidy.”
“We had old mastic that needed replacing throughout our kitchen and bathrooms. The mastic man professional was knowledgeable, quoted fairly, and delivered excellent quality work. Highly recommend!”
“Professional mastic man service from start to finish. They assessed the work properly, gave a clear quote, and executed the job perfectly. Very satisfied with the results.”
Neighbourhoods we cover in Rye
Pick your area for local details, or call 07833 053749 or email us with your postcode.
Nearby towns we cover
Questions from Rye
Do you cover all of Rye?
Yes. We cover the Citadel and the rest of the town, plus Rye Harbour, Playden and Camber.
My house in the Citadel has old timber windows. Can the sealant be painted?
Silicone cannot be painted, so where a joint needs painting we use a suitable paintable sealant instead.
Can you reach houses on the cobbled lanes?
Yes. We plan access and parking in advance and carry tools and materials in from the nearest suitable spot.
Do you reseal guest house bathrooms one room at a time?
Yes. We work room by room so the rest of your rooms can stay in use.
Why does the mastic on my marsh-facing windows fail so quickly?
Wind, salt air and rain from the open marsh and coast dry out old mastic until it cracks. A flexible, weatherproof replacement lasts much better.
Can you seal the curved walls of a converted oast house?
Yes. We use backing rod where gaps are deep and a flexible sealant that follows the curve.
Is it worth resealing before selling or letting a Rye property?
Often, yes. Clean, white sealant makes a bathroom look cared for, and it is a quick job compared with most repairs.
Do you reseal holiday lets in Camber?
Yes. Changeover days are ideal, and we will tell you how long to leave the seal before guests arrive.