Expansion and movement joint sealing in Drylaw, Edinburgh
Work needed on a movement joint in Drylaw? We assess it, carry out the work and guarantee our workmanship for 12 months.
- Water getting into the wall through a failed joint
- Joints where the bead has lost adhesion
- Hardened, cracked sealant on exposed facades
Need expansion joint sealing in Drylaw?
Share the site address and what’s failing, and we’ll reply with a fixed quote or arrange a visit.
About our expansion joint sealing in Drylaw
The seal is what lets a movement joint do its job. Once it fails, water, grit and debris get in; the joint jams, its edges take the load and the arrises spall. Dealt with early, it stays a sealant job rather than a concrete or masonry repair. If you’re dealing with chipped joint edges on forklift routes and new sealant over old, now failing, we can help, whatever the surface. Sealant contractors, mastic applicators, sealant specialists: whatever the job title on the order, in Drylaw it comes down to the same thing: failed joints cut out, faces prepared and the right sealant laid to the right depth.
Scotland’s cities have multi-storey car parks, shopping centres, university and hospital estates, all with movement joints in decks, floors and walls. When the sealant goes, water and grit get in, and a Scottish winter makes it worse.
Our workmanship is guaranteed for 12 months, in Drylaw as everywhere else we work. If our installation lets you down in that time, we return and fix it.
- Location
- Drylaw (EH4, EH5)
- Region
- Edinburgh
- Guarantee
- A 12-month guarantee
- Price
- Quoted before any work starts
- Call
- 01277 525 020
- Page updated
- 3 November 2026
What we can’t put right
Part of a good diagnosis is knowing where sealant stops. You’ll hear from us if the cause turns out to be any of the following:
- Proprietary pre-formed expansion joint systems
- Joints too narrow for the movement, which need redesigning by the engineer
- Waterproofing layers buried beneath the sealant
If you are not sure, just speak to us on 01277 525 020 or send details through our quote form and we will give you a straight answer.
Where we work in Drylaw
- Car park decks and ramps
- Blockwork control joints
- Brickwork movement joints
- Podiums and floor movement joints
- Precast concrete panel joints
- Cladding panel joints
Common questions from Drylaw clients
Our building in Drylaw is near the coast: does that change the sealant?
It can. Coastal exposure works external joints harder than inland weather. That puts more weight on product choice, primers where the manufacturer specifies them, and correct joint sizing.
Do you cover business parks and estates near Drylaw, such as Drylaw Shopping Centre?
Yes, sites like Drylaw Shopping Centre are within our area, along with the rest of Drylaw. To start, just ring 01277 525 020 or email a schedule or drawings with the unit, the joints involved and your access times.
Will your applicators have CSCS cards?
Yes. Our applicators hold CSCS cards, which many sites require.
How long will the new sealant last?
There’s no fixed lifespan: movement, exposure, cleaning, traffic and the product all play a part. Sealant joints are maintenance items, so inspect them regularly.
What sealant do you use in movement joints?
Whatever suits the joint and the specification. The quote states the sealant and its movement class so there are no surprises.
What causes movement joint sealant to fail?
The common causes are poor preparation, three-sided adhesion, the wrong movement class and weathering. We diagnose which one it is before resealing since each needs a different fix.
How do you deal with asbestos in old sealant?
The duty to manage asbestos sits with the building’s dutyholder, so for older buildings we ask for the asbestos register first. Work pauses if suspect material is found, until it has been tested.
Diagnose, treat, sign off
Tell us your site hours and access windows and we will plan around them. On the day, the work area is kept contained and tidy, and we check in with your contact before moving on to each new area. For premises in Drylaw, tell us about access times, shared entrances and any building rules, so the work can be phased and areas kept in use.
- First, the joints are inspected for width, movement and the type of failure.
- You get a fixed quote with the product and its movement capability stated.
- The failed seal is removed and both faces are cleaned until sound and dry, and we tell you if any edges need repairing first.
- We control the depth with backing rod or, in shallow joints, bond-breaker tape.
- Where the maker calls for primer, it’s applied first, then the bead goes in and is tooled to a concave finish.
- We check every joint before sign-off, and the work carries our 12-month guarantee.
Before we start on site
- Tell us your opening times and when work is allowed
- Clear stock, furniture or equipment away from the joints
- Flag any permit to work we’ll need
Ask for a quote
A handful of photos and a postcode is the fastest way to a quote. Upload them with the quote form, or call 01277 525 020 or email the details over to discuss it first.
Read more
Aftercare for building managers
Every sealant joint needs some looking after, and how long they last depends on how they’re treated. We suggest:
- Sweep decks, ramps and floors so grit doesn’t collect in the joints
- Keep scrapers and ploughs from dragging across joint sealant
- Keep product details with the building records for the next reseal
- Treat a small split as a warning, not a cosmetic issue
Every joint we seal is backed by a 12-month guarantee on workmanship. Keep the handover details, product and date with your O&M records.
Once debris packs a failed joint, the structure has nowhere to expand. The arrises crack and break away under the load, turning a sealant job into a repair job. A sound seal keeps the joint working.
More services for Drylaw
Slabs, ramps and loading bays in Drylaw
The sea is no more than about 1 mile from Drylaw. Open joints in coastal car parks and yards let in salt-laden water as well as grit, so a failed joint lets more in and the edges break up sooner. Being in the east of Scotland, Drylaw gets less rain than the west coast. Freezing weather and salt still attack open external joints. Resealing before the cold months helps protect the edges.
For a store at a site such as Drylaw Shopping Centre, less than half a mile to the north-east of Drylaw, the service yard and goods-in area are where joints break down first. Hospitals like Western General Hospital (Edinburgh) (to the east of Drylaw) have multi-storey or surface car parks whose joints carry vehicles round the clock. At places like Craigleith Retail Park (0.5 miles south-east of Drylaw), joints are sealed a section at a time so operations carry on.
Drylaw is about 2 miles west of Stockbridge, in Edinburgh. Drylaw sits inside our coverage, with the same fixed quotes and 12-month guarantee as everywhere else. Across Edinburgh, 174 places are covered, Drylaw among them.
If you need expansion joint sealing in EH4 and EH5, the process matches everywhere else we work: details, then a fixed price, then sealing and a 12-month guarantee. Streets here include Mottram Road, Telford Road and Drylaw Avenue, and sites on any of them can send details for a fixed quote. Access to Drylaw is via the A902 among other routes. We also cover Blackhall (1 mile south-west), Muirhouse (1 mile north), Crewe Toll (1 mile north-east), East Pilton (1 mile east) and West Pilton (1 mile north). A short drive away, we cover Leith (3 miles east), Bonnington (3 miles east), Greenside (3 miles east), Buccleuch (3 miles south-east), Pilrig (3 miles east) and North Leith (3 miles east).
Local landmarks in Drylaw
In Drylaw, that means premises near Stewart's Melville College and Gabrielle Keiller Library, among other places. The closest station to Drylaw is Haymarket station, about 1.7 miles south-east. A little further out are Western General Hospital (0.6 miles east) and Murrayfield Experience (1.6 miles south). For a walk, there’s Corstorphine Hill and Dunsapie Loch.
Different surfaces, different methods
Podium joints
Podium joints often sit within a waterproofing system. Where the specification calls for sealant, we reseal, and tell you if the problem looks like the waterproofing below.
Concrete and precast panel joints
Precast panels often have surface residues that sealant won’t bond to. We prepare the faces thoroughly and prime where the maker calls for it, so the new seal holds.
Owners, agents and contractors
Housing associations and managing agents often need work done across blocks and communal areas. Work can be phased so residents and staff keep access throughout, with each stage agreed with your site contact.
We work for building owners and managing agents on everything from one building to a spread of sites. One quote can cover more than one site, which keeps the paperwork simple.
Site staff or a sealant specialist?
For a quick touch-up, site staff may be fine, but larger jobs are different: a specialist brings efficiency, a consistent finish and a 12-month guarantee.
Putting right a botched joint often costs more than sealing it well at the start, since all of it has to come out and the faces be cleaned back again. That’s why many clients bring in a specialist from the beginning.