Advice for commercial buyers
Practical guides from over 20 years of commercial sealant work: what fails, why, and how to specify and plan it properly.
Guides for commercial buyers
Fire stopping, joint design, specifications, maintenance planning and costs, written for contractors, FMs and managing agents.
Fire Stopping Explained for Building Owners
What fire stopping is, where penetration seals and linear joint seals go, how they are tested and what building owners should ask for.
Read the guide →Why Expansion Joints Fail and How to Fix Them
The common reasons movement and expansion joints fail in brickwork, cladding, car parks and floors, and how a lasting repair is done.
Read the guide →Sealant Specification Guide for Contractors
How to choose and specify construction sealants: movement class, substrate, standards such as BS 6213 and BS EN 15651, and colour.
Read the guide →How Long Does Commercial Sealant Last?
What decides the life of sealant joints on commercial buildings, the signs of failure to look for and how often to inspect them.
Read the guide →Planned Sealant Maintenance for FMs
How facilities managers can build sealant inspections and resealing into a planned maintenance programme across one or many sites.
Read the guide →CDM and RAMS Basics for Sealant Work
What CDM 2015 means for sealant packages, what RAMS should cover and the site paperwork clients and main contractors usually ask for.
Read the guide →What Affects the Cost of Commercial Sealant?
The factors that drive the price of commercial mastic and sealant work, from access and joint length to product and phasing.
Read the guide →Sealant Joint Design: Width, Depth and Backing
Why joint width, depth and backing rod decide whether a sealant joint lasts, and how to avoid three-sided adhesion and early failure.
Read the guide →Fire-Rated vs Intumescent Sealant Explained
The difference between fire-rated acrylic, silicone and intumescent sealants, where each is used and why the tested detail matters.
Read the guide →Sealant Work in Hospitals and Care Homes
Planning sealant and fire-rated sealing in hospitals, clinics and care homes: infection control, phasing, permits and records.
Read the guide →Shorter guides
Hotel Sealant Programmes: Room by Room
How hotels plan bathroom and public-area resealing in phases so rooms come back into use quickly and joints don't fail again.
Read the guide →Sealant and Curtain Walling: General Guidance
General guidance on sealant joints around curtain walling and glazed facades: perimeter joints, compatibility and maintenance.
Read the guide →Silicone, Polyurethane or MS Polymer Sealant?
How silicone, polyurethane and hybrid MS polymer sealants differ on commercial jobs, and which joints each one suits best.
Read the guide →Backing Rod Explained: Why It Matters
What backing rod and bond-breaker tape do in a sealant joint, how to size them, and what goes wrong when they're left out.
Read the guide →BS EN 15651 Sealant Classes in Plain English
What the four parts of BS EN 15651 cover for facade, glazing, sanitary and walkway sealants, and how to read a product's class.
Read the guide →Sealant Snagging Before Handover
The sealant snags that hold up handover on new-build and fit-out projects, and how to close them out before the client walks round.
Read the guide →Asbestos in Old Mastic: What Duty Holders Need
Why some older mastics and sealants can contain asbestos, what the duty to manage means and what to check before work starts.
Read the guide →Car Park Expansion Joints: Sealing and Upkeep
Why car park deck and ramp joints fail under traffic and de-icing salt, and how sealing and inspection keep water out of the structure.
Read the guide →Warehouse Floor Joints: Stopping the Damage
How forklift and pallet-truck traffic breaks up warehouse floor joints, and when to fill, seal or repair them.
Read the guide →Leaks Around Windows on Commercial Buildings
How to tell whether water at a window comes from the perimeter sealant, the frame or the wall, and what a reseal can fix.
Read the guide →Colour-Matched Sealant on Commercial Jobs
When coloured and colour-matched sealant is worth specifying, how matching to RAL, stone or cladding works and what to expect.
Read the guide →Hygienic Sealing in Commercial Kitchens
Why sealed, cleanable joints matter in commercial kitchens and food areas, which sealants suit them and how to plan the work.
Read the guide →Planning Sealant Works in School Holidays
How schools, colleges and universities can schedule washroom, floor and fire-rated sealing around term dates and occupied buildings.
Read the guide →Fire Stopping After M&E and Fit-Out Works
Why new cables, pipes and ducts breach fire-resisting walls and floors, and a simple checklist for making good after the trades leave.
Read the guide →Building Safety Act and Fire Stopping Records
A plain overview of why fire stopping records matter more under the Building Safety Act, and what owners should keep on file.
Read the guide →BS 476 to BS EN 13501: The 2029 Change
What the removal of BS 476 national classes from Approved Document B in 2029 means for fire-rated sealants and specifications.
Read the guide →How to Choose a Commercial Sealant Contractor
The questions to ask a sealant contractor before you appoint them: accreditations, insurance, RAMS, products, guarantee and records.
Read the guide →Sealant Planning for Managing Agents
How managing agents, property factors and housing associations can plan communal and external mastic work across blocks and estates.
Read the guide →Adhesive, Cohesive and Substrate Sealant Failure
How to read a failed sealant joint: what adhesive, cohesive and substrate failure look like and what each one says about the cause.
Read the guide →Weather and Sealant: When Work Can Go Ahead
How rain, cold, frost and condensation affect external sealant work, and why some mornings in Scotland and the South East wait.
Read the guide →Sealing Precast Concrete and Cladding Joints
How panel joints on precast concrete and cladding are sealed, why they fail and what a resealing programme involves.
Read the guide →Movement Joints in Large Tiled Floors
Why big commercial tiled floors need movement joints, where they go and what happens to the tiles when they're missing or failed.
Read the guide →Fire Stopping and Scotland's Building Standards
What Scotland's Technical Handbook says about fire stopping service penetrations and junctions, and what it means for owners.
Read the guide →Rather we handled it? Send details for a fixed quote
Send drawings, photos or a joint schedule, or tell us about the site, and we’ll come back with a fixed quote.