Expansion joint sealing in The Folly
Work needed on a movement joint in The Folly? We assess it, carry out the work and guarantee our workmanship for 12 months.
- Arrises breaking up along floor joints
- Expansion joints filled with dirt and stones
- Car park joints leaking onto vehicles below
Expansion joint sealing in The Folly
Share the site address and what’s failing, and we’ll reply with a fixed quote or arrange a visit.
Expansion joint sealing in The Folly, done properly
Floor movement joints in warehouses, retail and public buildings carry wheeled traffic. Unsupported edges break up under wheels so the product has to suit both the traffic and the movement. We’ll tell you if the edges need repairing before sealing and phasing can keep areas working. We work on blockwork control joints, precast concrete panel joints and cladding panel joints, and what we’re called in for most is rain penetration at brick or block movement joints and leaks through car park deck joints onto the level below. Whoever orders the work in The Folly, the brief is usually the same: a clear scope, tidy work and joints that don’t fail again.
Jobs around smaller places like The Folly are planned so the whole job is done in one visit, with the right materials on hand. Tell us the joint widths if you can, and what drives or walks over them.
Every job is signed off with a 12-month guarantee. The promise is simple: if our work fails within that year, we put it right.
- Where
- The Folly (AL4)
- Region
- Hertfordshire
- Cover
- A 12-month guarantee
- Quote
- Quoted before any work starts
- Telephone
- 01277 525 020
- Page updated
- 3 November 2026
Common questions from The Folly clients
Is a hospital such as Harpenden Memorial Hospital somewhere you can work?
Yes. Healthcare sites are among the places we work. The estates team’s permit system and infection-control rules come first, and the work is planned around them.
Is The Folly off your patch?
No. Places such as The Folly are covered as much as the big towns. Our area covers London and the South East counties. We plan jobs in smaller places so return trips are kept to a minimum.
Is any job too small?
Small jobs are welcome alongside larger packages. Send details for a fixed quote.
Do the joint edges need to be sound before sealing?
A bond is only as strong as the material behind it, so we will tell you if the edges need repairing before sealing. We flag it at the quote stage where we can see it.
What if there’s asbestos in the old mastic?
Asbestos is possible in some older mastics, particularly in buildings from before 2000. We check the asbestos register before cutting out old sealant in an older building, and work stops until any suspect material has been tested. Removing asbestos is a job for asbestos specialists, not us.
When can you be on site?
The office is staffed Monday to Friday, from 8am until 5pm. Let us know your site hours and access windows, and the work will be planned around them.
What do you charge?
Each job is quoted on its own details. For yours, speak to us on 01277 525 020 or email drawings and photos.
Site staff or a sealant specialist?
What you see is the finished bead, but most of the work is hidden. Backing rod, primer where specified and a joint designed to move with the building are where general trades tend to cut corners.
For a quick touch-up, site staff may be fine, but larger jobs are different: a specialist works through quantities efficiently, leaves a consistent finish and backs it with a 12-month guarantee.
How a job runs
We bring the products specified for the job, along with primers and backing rod. Joint faces are cleaned back to sound, dry surfaces, primer goes on where the manufacturer specifies it, and the sealant is tooled off neatly. Jobs in and around smaller places like The Folly are normally planned as a single visit, so we ask for photos and rough sizes first. Then the right materials arrive with us.
- Photos, joint lengths and drawings come to us, or we visit.
- Joint widths and expected movement are checked against what the sealant can take and tell you if the design looks wrong for the movement.
- Old sealant and debris are cut out of every joint.
- Any broken arrises or friable edges are flagged before work goes further.
- The right sealant goes in at the right depth, bonded to the two sides only.
- Areas reopen once cured, and the work carries our 12-month guarantee.
Before we start on site
- Tell us what induction or permit system the site runs
- Clear stock, furniture or equipment away from the joints
- Arrange parking or a loading space
Ask for a quote
For a fixed quote, give us a call on 01277 525 020 or send photos by email. You can also send details through our quote form.
Related advice
Expansion joint sealing in The Folly: the local picture
The South East is one of the drier parts of the UK. External joints still wait for dry conditions, and gritting in cold spells finds its way into open joints. At about 24 miles from central London, The Folly is within reach of the capital. The roads out of London are lined with trade parks and distribution sheds; their floors carry heavy traffic every shift.
For a school such as St Helen's Church of England Primary School, playground and building joints can be done in the holidays. A healthcare site such as Harpenden Memorial Hospital, 2 miles west of The Folly, depends on car parks, ramps and service yards whose joints take traffic all day.
The Folly is about 2 miles east of Harpenden, in Hertfordshire. We send applicators to The Folly for movement joints, handled exactly as we handle every other area. Our Hertfordshire coverage takes in 371 places, large and small. Our London page has more on work in that area.
Anyone looking for expansion joint sealing in AL4 gets the same process as the rest of our area: details, then a fixed price, then sealing and a 12-month guarantee. If your site is on Folly Fields and Lower Luton Road or close by, send details and we will quote for movement joints. Just outside The Folly, we also work in Lea Valley (1 mile west), Amwell (1 mile south), Mackerye End (1 mile north-west), Blackmore End (1 mile north) and Batford (1 mile west). Nearby towns on our patch include Watford (11 miles south), Hemel Hempstead (8 miles south-west), Stevenage (8 miles north-east), St Albans (5 miles south), Welwyn Garden City (5 miles east) and Hitchin (9 miles north).
Around The Folly
Recent enquiries here include premises near Sir John Lawes School and The Cherry Trees pub, among other places. The Folly’s nearest station is Harpenden station, roughly 2 miles west. Other landmarks nearby include St Albans City Hospital (4.2 miles south) and Harpenden Museum (2.2 miles west). Open spaces near The Folly include Wheathampstead Local Nature Reserve.
What sealant work can’t fix
We check first that sealant really is the fix. It isn’t the answer for:
- Structural movement beyond what the joints were designed for (that needs a structural engineer)
- Changing the joint layout or spacing of a structure
- Broken or spalled joint edges, which need repairing before any sealant goes in
If in doubt, call the office on 01277 525 020 or email us and we’ll say what we think.
Where we work in The Folly
- Podiums and floor movement joints
- Blockwork control joints
- Car park decks and ramps
- Precast concrete panel joints
- Brickwork movement joints
- Cladding panel joints
Also near The Folly
Also in The Folly
Maintenance after handover
Cleaning and maintenance staff play a part too. Share these points with them:
- Reopen bays and walkways only after the stated cure time
- Inspect exposed joints once the cold weather has passed
- Clear dirt from joint lines during routine cleaning
- Keep racking legs and heavy point loads off floor joints
Movement joints belong on the planned maintenance inspection list. Early splits and edges starting to lift show up on a routine check, when they’re still cheap to deal with. If anything looks wrong, call 01277 525 020 or email us with photographs.
When one joint fails, others of the same age are rarely far behind. It pays to check every joint, not just the obvious one so you can prioritise and budget. We will tell you which movement joints need doing now and which can wait.
Common problems we fix in The Folly
Most movement joint failures come down to the joint stretching further than the sealant can take. A joint that’s too narrow for the movement, or a product with the wrong movement class, will split through the middle. Resealing like for like often fails the same way.
Most enquiries start with something like this:
- Previous reseals laid over old sealant
- Torn sealant in brick or block movement joints
- Water getting into the wall through a failed joint
- Brittle, chalky sealant on external joints
On industrial estates such as Southdown Industrial Estate (1.8 miles west of The Folly), saw-cut floor joints, loading bay slabs and yard joints take the heaviest traffic.
What your quote should include
- Are they CHAS accredited or on Constructionline?
- How long is the guarantee, and what does it include?
- Will RAMS and insurance details be available?
- Their approach to joint depth and backing
Why act early in The Folly
Combining joint work with other maintenance reduces set-up costs. Leaking joints need sealing now because damage continues. Urgent joints now, the rest later, is often the sensible plan. Halls, stores and units around places like The Folly may not be checked every day, so a failed joint can leak for a while before anyone sees it. Renewing joints in good time avoids the problem.
There’s no price list, since every building and every scope is different. Call for a quote and we will price your job on its own details.
What you get with us
- Commercial sealant work since 2005
- CHAS accredited
- Products installed to the manufacturer’s instructions
- Failed material removed, not covered up
Take a look at how commercial sealant jobs are priced and our accreditations and insurance.