Edinburgh · Scotland
Sand mastic for sash & case windows in Gayfield, Edinburgh
Sand mastic across Gayfield and nearby, with old sealant always removed completely and a 12-month guarantee.
- Mastic worn away on windows facing the weather
- Modern sealant on a period surround
- Window mastic to renew ahead of painting
Gayfield: your questions answered
Who arranges sealant work on the shared parts of a tenement in Gayfield?
The owners of the flats generally agree repairs to shared parts like the roof and outside walls, and many buildings have a factor to arrange it. Where the title deeds are silent, the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 fills the gaps. Windows often belong to the individual flat, but it’s worth checking your deeds.
I let a flat near Edinburgh Waverley station. Can you help?
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 we start.
Do you remove the old sealant?
Yes, always, and completely. New sealant will not bond properly to old, so any old material comes out before anything new goes in.
How long does sand mastic take to go off?
It skins over fairly quickly but takes longer to harden fully. We will explain what to expect before we leave.
Is it messy?
Very little: the area around the joints is protected first, and we clear up the old sealant and our materials before we leave.
Are you insured?
Yes. We’re fully insured for domestic and commercial work.
Can I choose the sealant colour?
Usually, yes. White, clear and grey are common, and other colours are available for many products, and we’ll agree it with you first.
What do you put in the joint?
It depends on the joint: sanitary silicone where it gets wet, and sealants suited to movement or weather elsewhere. We use products from Arbo and Everbuild.
Sand mastic for homes and businesses in Gayfield
Sand mastic has long been used to fill the joint between timber frames and masonry. It’s made from sand and a linseed-oil-based binder, applied by hand. On period homes, it looks right where silicone wouldn’t. We work on sash and case windows, tenement windows and timber door frames, and the jobs we see most are patchy fillers round a sash window and gaps round a timber door in stone or brick.
Older stone-built tenements in Scotland’s cities were built with sash and case windows, though many have since been replaced. Whether you are in a tenement flat or a house in Gayfield, the joint between frame and wall is what keeps the weather out.
Big or small, it’s backed by our 12-month guarantee in Gayfield and across Edinburgh.
- Place
- Gayfield (EH7, EH1, EH3)
- Region
- Edinburgh
- Guarantee
- A year, on every job
- Quote
- Quoted before any work starts
- info@mrmastic.co.uk
- Last updated
- 26 October 2026
Should I try it myself first?
A careful DIYer can reseal a simple joint, like a short, easy-to-reach joint indoors. The common mistakes are sealing over old sealant, sealing a damp joint and using far too much.
A DIY attempt does not rule out a professional job. We remove it and do the joint properly.
More services for Gayfield
Gayfield homes and the weather
Gayfield is close to the coast, where wind-driven rain is a fact of life and, nearer the shore, so is salt air. That is hard on the mastic around older windows and doors, especially on the side facing the sea. Historic houses like Whitefoord House (about 0.6 miles south-east) are a reminder that the area around Gayfield has older buildings as well as new. Where a home is older, older frames set in brick or stone need a sealant that suits them, and sometimes that is traditional sand mastic.
If you let a flat or house near Edinburgh Waverley station, cracked sand mastic around sash windows lets in the draughts tenants complain about. In the older streets around Broughton Place Church, the windows may be timber, sash or later replacements, and each needs the right sealant against the wall.
Gayfield is about 1 mile north-east of Edinburgh, in Edinburgh. Gayfield gets the same service as everywhere we cover: the old material taken out, joints prepared properly and a 12-month guarantee. 175 places in Edinburgh are on our list, large and small.
We work across EH7, EH1 and EH3 for sand mastic and the streets around it. Whether your property is on York Lane, Meuse Lane and Albany Lane or a nearby road, our applicators can take on the job. Gayfield sits on or near the A900, which makes travel easy. Other places close to Gayfield include Broughton (1 mile south-west), Greenside (1 mile south), Bellevue (1 mile west), Pilrig (1 mile north-east) and New Town (1 mile west). Further out, we also cover Queensferry (8 miles west), South Portobello (3 miles east), Southhouse (4 miles south), Gilmerton (4 miles south-east), Muirhouse (3 miles west) and Slateford (3 miles south-west). Gayfield is among the bigger towns we cover in Edinburgh.
Local landmarks in Gayfield
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to King George V Park, Mannafields Christian School and St Cuthbert's Church, among other places. Other local landmarks include Drummond Community High School (less than half a mile north-west), 7 pub (less than half a mile south-east) and McDonald Road Library (under half a mile north-east). The nearest railway station is Edinburgh Waverley station, roughly 0.5 miles south of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Victorian Pharmacy Museum (less than half a mile south-west) and Royal Public Dispensary of Edinburgh (0.7 miles south). The countryside around Gayfield includes The New Leaf Co-op and Dunsapie Loch.
Looking after it afterwards
Aftercare is simple, and it makes a real difference:
- Ask us before painting near the mastic
- Avoid patching sand mastic with silicone
- Get any rot dealt with first
- Renew mastic before redecorating the windows
Check the mastic when you check the paintwork. Small cracks are easier to deal with early.
It’s best to renew mastic before painting the windows. Paint over cracked mastic only covers it up.
When to call us in Gayfield
Most of it is simply age. Even well-laid mastic needs renewing in time and how long it lasts depends on the weather it faces.
Signs it’s time to call us include:
- Old cement repairs round a window that have failed
- Gaps round a timber door in stone or brick
- Window mastic to renew ahead of painting
- Failed mastic on an exposed elevation
Managing a site like London Street Primary School? Then the mastic around its windows and doors needs looking after like any other building’s.
What your quote should include
- Which sealant they’ll use, and why
- Is the old sealant removed completely?
- Whether you can choose the colour
- The length of the guarantee
Different surfaces, different methods
Tenement and terrace windows
Tenements and terraces often have many sash windows with ageing mastic. We can do one window or several.
Period and listed homes
A traditional finish suits a period property, and sand mastic is one of them.
Landlords, agents and businesses in Gayfield
Housing providers, facilities teams and property managers book us too in Gayfield and across Edinburgh. Several sites can go on one quote, and we are fully insured for the work.
Businesses can book us for washrooms, kitchens, offices and more. On commercial sites, working times can be discussed when we quote.
What happens if it’s left?
A silicone bead can be quicker, but it can look wrong on a period surround. Sand mastic suits the building and blends with the stone or brick. Private landlords in Gayfield must meet the Repairing Standard, and damp or leaks can fall short of it, so failed sealant is best replaced before it becomes a complaint.
Leaving a failed joint usually makes the job bigger, not smaller, as water and mould keep getting in. If you’re unsure, send an email to info@mrmastic.co.uk and we will give you an honest view and a quote.
Why book with us
- Tidy, careful work
- Every job guaranteed for a year
- 20+ years of sealant experience
- An ARBOMaster approved applicator
How the visit works
When we get to you, we check the joints match what you told us. If we find something unexpected, we talk it through with you first. After that, the work takes a few hours for a single window, longer for several. For a tenement in Gayfield, work inside your flat is between us and you, while shared parts may need the factor or neighbours to agree. Tell us which applies when you book.
- We check each window surround and the condition of the joint.
- The joint is raked out and cleaned.
- Large voids are packed out.
- We point the joint with sand mastic by hand.
- We finish the mastic to a tidy line.
How to prepare
- Tell us about any previous sealing or DIY attempts
- Tell us if parking is tricky
- Clear items away from the joints we are working on
Get a quote
There’s no standard price list, as no two jobs are quite the same. Instead, your job gets its own clear quote. To get started, drop us a line at info@mrmastic.co.uk.