Reading expansion joint sealing
Sealant work in Reading for main contractors, managing agents and facilities managers: expansion and movement joint sealing in walls, decks and floors, quoted at a fixed price.
- Spalled or broken joint edges in floors and decks
- Movement joints with split or torn sealant
- Sealant pulling off the joint face
Expansion joint sealing in Reading
Tell us what needs sealing and where, with photos or drawings if you have them, and we’ll price it.
Expansion joint sealing for commercial buildings in Reading
Our movement joint work takes in walls, panels, decks and floors: brickwork and blockwork joints, precast and cladding panel joints, concrete joints, car park decks and ramps, podiums and floor movement joints. The product depends on the movement, the weather and anything that runs over it, and we’ll confirm the choice in the quote. Site teams most often ask us about hardened, cracked sealant on exposed facades and new sealant over old, now failing, on brickwork movement joints, podiums and floor movement joints and precast concrete panel joints. Facilities teams, main contractors and managing agents in Reading tend to want the same three things: a fixed quote, no surprises on site and a 12-month guarantee behind the result.
Movement joints in a large town like Reading range from car park ramps and retail floors to the brick and panel joints on bigger buildings. When they fail, water and grit get in, edges break up and leaks follow.
Every job is signed off with a 12-month guarantee. It’s a plain promise: if our work fails within that year, we put it right.
Surface by surface
Cladding panel joints
Cladding panels move more than masonry as they heat and cool. A sealant with the right movement class is chosen.
Car park decks and ramps
Car park joints are some of the hardest-working joints in any building. We use a sealant made for wheel loads and the expected movement, phased so parts of the car park stay open.
Our process
Where the site stays busy, the work is phased so only one area is out of use at a time. Each area is protected, prepared and sealed before we move to the next. For premises in central Reading, deliveries and parking need a bit of planning, whereas edge-of-town units normally have yard space. Let us know what’s there when you send details.
- We assess the joints on site or from photos, noting widths and how each has failed.
- A fixed quote names the sealant we propose and its movement class.
- Where areas have to stay open, we agree a phased sequence before starting.
- The failed seal is cut out and both joint faces cleaned back to sound material.
- Backing rod or bond-breaker sets the depth, primer goes on where specified, and the sealant is applied and tooled.
- Finished joints are inspected, the cure time confirmed and the 12-month guarantee applies.
Preparing the site
- Send your site hours and access windows
- Warn occupants and staff about the work
- Let us know about inductions and permits
Request a quote
Let us know the site, the scope and your timescale, and a fixed quote will follow. The easiest way is to ring 01277 525 020 or email a schedule or drawings.
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Keeping the joints sound
Once the work is signed off, a little attention goes a long way:
- Keep scrapers and ploughs from dragging across joint sealant
- Keep product details with the building records for the next reseal
- Keep stones and debris out of open joint lines
- Report split or peeling joint sealant early
Movement joints belong on the planned maintenance inspection list. A periodic look picks up tears and lifting before water gets in. Should you spot a problem, you can call 01277 525 020 or email the details over and send a picture.
An open joint fills with grit, and a joint full of grit can’t close. The arrises crack and break away under the load, turning a sealant job into a repair job. A sound seal keeps the joint working.
Places near Reading
More services for Reading
Common questions from Reading clients
Does a site in Reading have to shut while its joints are sealed?
Rarely. Work is phased around your operations. The phasing plan comes with the quote.
Will you take on work at estates like Reading Link Retail Park, close to Reading?
Yes. Estates, retail parks and business parks around Reading Link Retail Park among them, are all within reach. To start, just call the office on 01277 525 020 or email a schedule or drawings with the unit, the joints involved and your access times.
How long does movement joint sealing take?
The metres of joint, the access and the amount of removal decide it. Typically it takes a day or so for a modest run of joints, and longer where decks, ramps or floors are done in phases.
Is it fine to apply new sealant on top of old?
No, never. Sealing over old material is one of the classic causes of early joint failure, so it all comes out first.
What exactly is a movement joint?
Movement joint is the broad term for any joint built in to let a structure move. On site, people tend to use them interchangeably, and the sealing method is much the same.
Are you fully insured?
Yes. Mastic Doctor is fully insured, public liability included.
Are you CHAS accredited?
Yes. Mastic Doctor is CHAS accredited and a Constructionline member, which helps with supplier vetting.
When something else is needed
Our job is the joint, not everything around it. On its own, sealant can’t deal with:
- Concrete or masonry repairs along the arrises
- Mechanical expansion joint covers, cover plates or proprietary joint systems (a specialist supplier’s job)
- Waterproofing layers buried beneath the sealant
If you are not sure, just call the office on 01277 525 020 or use the quote form and we will give you a straight answer before you book.
Surfaces we seal
- Precast concrete panel joints
- Cladding panel joints
- Blockwork control joints
- Car park decks and ramps
- Podiums and floor movement joints
- Brickwork movement joints
Commercial clients in Reading
Hotels, schools, healthcare sites, offices and retail units come to us directly as well. The work is planned around how the building runs, so the building keeps working while we do.
Planned maintenance programmes are welcome: working through a building or an estate in stages that fit your budget. Reading can form part of a wider programme.
When to call us in Reading
Repeated failure often traces back to the wrong product. Products not classed for the movement fail early. Movement capability is set out in BS EN ISO 11600.
Site and facilities staff are often the first to spot these:
- Expansion joints filled with dirt and stones
- Damp inside where a wall movement joint has failed
- Sealant peeling off one face of the joint
- Hardened, cracked sealant on exposed facades
Phasing is what makes joint work possible on busy sites such as Nimrod Industrial Estate (under half a mile south-east of Reading): one bay, aisle or car park row at a time.
Questions to ask before you book
- What level of public liability insurance do they hold?
- What site paperwork they can supply
- Their pre-qualification and accreditations
- Can the work be phased to keep areas open?
Slabs, ramps and loading bays in Reading
Reading has at least three named business or industrial parks inside a 3-mile radius. Sites like these are full of saw-cut floor joints, yard slabs and car park joints. Reading is about 38 miles from central London. The South East has large numbers of industrial estates and warehouses along the motorway corridors.
University campuses such as University of Reading (to the east of Reading) have car parks, paved walkways and building elevations with movement joints. Sites like Spire Dunedin Hospital (to the west of Reading) carry ambulances, deliveries and visitors’ cars over their road and deck joints.
Reading is about 38 miles west of London, in Reading. We send applicators to Reading for movement joints. Our Reading coverage takes in 17 places, large and small.
We cover the RG6, RG31, RG1 and RG30 postcode districts for movement joints. We cover commercial and managed buildings on Downshire Square, Market Way and Market Place and the roads nearby. You’ll find Reading on or near the A4 and A33, so getting applicators and materials to site is simple. We also cover Coley Park (1 mile south-west), West Reading (1 mile north-west), Newtown (1 mile east), Lower Caversham (1 mile north-east) and Whitley (2 miles south-east).
Landmarks near Reading
Around Reading, our work takes us to commercial buildings near Eurospeak Language School, University of Reading library and Former Kennet Arms. Nearby too are Kendrick School (0.6 miles north-east) and Eldon Square (0.9 miles east). For rail, the closest station is Reading West station, roughly 0.7 miles north-west of the centre. A little further out are Beaumys Castle (5 miles south) and The Oracle (under half a mile north-east). Green spaces nearby include Sonning Hill and Longwater.