Essex · England
Sand Mastic in Great Leighs
Problem with your window and door surrounds in Great Leighs? We remove the old material, prepare the joints and seal them properly, with a 12-month guarantee.
- Mastic dropping out of the joint
- Gaps round a timber door in stone or brick
- Open joints round the window box
Great Leighs questions
I let a flat near Cressing station. Can you help?
Yes, landlords and agents are among the people we work for. You can phone 0345 464 0079 or drop us an email with the details for a clear quote.
Is Great Leighs within the area you cover?
Yes, we do. We work across London and the South East, and smaller places are part of that. Longer journeys are simply planned in advance.
Can I add another job to the visit?
Yes. Just list everything you need.
Is it OK to seal over old sealant?
No. We remove every bit of old sealant first, so the new joint bonds to clean surfaces.
Is it messy?
Tidy work is part of the job. Nearby surfaces are protected, and the area is left clean when we finish.
How do I get a quote for sand mastic in Great Leighs?
The cost depends on the size of the job, access and how much old sealant has to come out. Call for a quick quote and we’ll talk you through it.
How long does sand mastic take to go off?
It skins over fairly quickly but takes longer to harden fully. We’ll explain what to expect before we leave.
What’s sand mastic made of?
Sand plus a binder based on linseed oil. It’s built up in the joint by hand and shaped to suit the surround.
Sand mastic in Great Leighs
We work across Great Leighs renewing sand mastic on sash windows and doors. Every joint is cleaned out and filled by hand, finished to suit the masonry. We work on period & listed homes, stone surrounds and brick reveals, and common reasons people get in touch are cement or filler used on old window joints that has cracked and silicone on a period window that looks wrong.
In a village or hamlet like Great Leighs, older cottages and farmhouses often have timber windows set in stone or brick. Older buildings like these don’t always suit modern silicone, so the sealant has to be chosen to suit the building.
The work is guaranteed for twelve months. If there’s a problem with our work within the year, let us know and we will sort it.
- Place
- Great Leighs (CM3)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Cover
- One year on every job
- Price
- Quoted before any work starts
- Telephone
- 0345 464 0079
- Last updated
- 26 October 2026
Nearby places to Great Leighs
What else we do in Great Leighs
Windows and doors in Great Leighs
Compared with the north and west, the South East gets less rain, yet outdoor joints still have to be sealed dry, so jobs are booked with the weather in mind.
Homes close to Church of St John the Evangelist include some older properties, and the joint between an old wall and a newer frame is generally the first place rain gets in. If you look after a building such as Great Leighs Primary School, larger buildings have plenty of frames, and the mastic around each one ages.
Great Leighs is about 4 miles south-west of Braintree, in Essex. Whether you’re in the middle of Great Leighs or further out, sand mastic is available for homes and businesses alike. Across Essex, we cover 644 places, and Great Leighs is one of them. You can also see our page for Chelmsford, roughly 6 miles from Great Leighs.
We work across the CM3 postcode area for sand mastic and the streets around it. Local streets include Aragon Road, Fortune Close and Audley Road. Close by, we work in Gubbion's Green (1 mile east), Young's End (1 mile north-east), Fuller Street (1 mile south-east), Row Green (2 miles north-east) and Fairstead (2 miles east). Within a short drive, we also cover Chelmsford (6 miles south), Braintree (4 miles north-east), Maldon (10 miles south-east), Billericay (14 miles south), Witham (6 miles east) and Wickford (15 miles south).
Near you in Great Leighs
Around Great Leighs, our work takes us to homes and buildings near The Castle pub, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Cressing station, roughly 3.4 miles north-east of the centre. A little further out are William Julien Courtauld Hospital (3.6 miles north-east). Open spaces near Great Leighs include Sandylay and Moat Woods.
How the visit works
Most of a good job is in the preparation, so that is where we spend the time. Every joint is cleaned and dried before new material goes in. All told, the work takes a few hours for a single window, longer for several. In a small place like Great Leighs, access is normally the main thing to plan. If the job is outside, mention outbuildings, exposed walls and how to reach them.
- We check each window surround and the condition of the joint.
- We rake out the old mastic and clean the joint.
- We fill deep gaps so the new mastic is not too thick.
- We point the joint with sand mastic by hand.
- We finish the mastic to a tidy line.
How to prepare
- Tell us if parking is tricky
- Mention any leaks or damp you’ve noticed
- Let us know about stairs, lifts or work at height
Get a quote
We quote each job on its own, so the first step is telling us about yours. Simply call 0345 464 0079 or drop us an email and describe the job.
Related advice
Common problems we fix in Great Leighs
Timber swells and shrinks with the weather. That movement opens up the mastic joint over time.
The problems people generally mention when they call are:
- Cracked mastic round a front door frame
- Modern sealant on a period surround
- Cement or filler used on old window joints that has cracked
- Old sand mastic that has cracked, crumbled or fallen out
If you let a flat or house near Cressing station, cracked sand mastic around sash windows lets in the draughts tenants complain about.
Questions to ask before you book
- The length of the guarantee
- Whether VAT is included
- When the joint can take water or movement
- Whether the sealant suits the joint
What affects the cost of sand mastic
We quote each job individually. These are the things that affect it:
- Working hours on commercial sites
- Whether there’s mould to deal with
- Whether old sealant or filler has to be cut out
- The size of the job
Rather than a set price list, we look at what your job involves: how many joints, what’s in them now and how we reach them. The price is agreed before we begin.
What to tell us for a quote
What to tell us when you ask for a quote:
- Where the property is
- Any access issues, like height or stairs
- Any previous sealing or DIY work
- How many joints, rooms or windows are involved
The more we know about the job, the more useful the quote. Tell us where the job is, what’s wrong and how much there is, and email photos if that’s easy.
Work for landlords, hotels and businesses
Letting agents often deal with us directly. Tell us the address, the job and how access works and we will give you a quote.
Hotels need rooms back in use, so the work can be planned room by room around your bookings where we can. We have worked in hotels as well as homes and businesses.
Keeping the joints in good condition
Aftercare is simple:
- Find out about consent before window work on a listed home
- Don’t run silicone over sand mastic
- Sort the mastic before the decorators arrive
- Look over the window mastic once a year
Leave the new mastic unpainted, as traditional guidance advises. If you are redecorating, ask us first.
Sound mastic protects the frame. Once it fails, water can sit against the timber and timber that stays wet can rot.
DIY sealant or a professional job?
Sealing over old silicone is the commonest DIY error. Silicone doesn’t stick to old silicone, so it peels away and traps moisture behind it. All the old material has to come out first.
A careful DIYer can reseal a simple joint, such as a straightforward joint indoors. The common mistakes are sealing over old sealant, sealing a damp joint and using far too much.
Why act early in Great Leighs
Filling over old, loose mastic does not last. We remove the loose material first so the new mastic stays put. Around Great Leighs, older homes often have timber in their floors and frames, and water through a failed joint can rot timber if it’s left.
The cost depends on how much there is to do, how much old material has to come out and how easy the joints are to reach. You’ll have a clear quote before any work starts.
Why Great Leighs clients choose us
- More than 20 years in sealant work
- ARBOMaster approved applicator
- We leave the area clean and tidy
- Homes, businesses and hotels
Read how sealant jobs are priced or our reviews.