Fire Stopping in Stow
We carry out fire-rated and intumescent sealing of service penetrations and linear gaps in Stow and the surrounding area. Send details for a fixed quote.
- Improvised or mixed-product fire seals
- Fire sealant pulled out of the opening
- Builders’ foam or ordinary silicone in compartment walls
Fire stopping for businesses in Stow
Tell us what needs sealing and where, with photos or drawings if you have them, and we’ll price it.
Maintenance after handover
Once the work is signed off, a little attention goes a long way:
- Settle who seals which penetrations at the start of a project
- Check risers and ceiling voids after each round of works
- Foam or ordinary sealant is never a fire-seal repair
- Have penetrations checked while they can still be seen
Store the specified product details somewhere the next contractor can find them. It makes later repairs much easier to match.
A simple record of seal locations and products helps. It tells the next contractor exactly what to reinstate, and it helps at inspections.
Fire stopping in Stow
The test standards are BS EN 1366-3 for penetration seals and BS EN 1366-4 for linear joints, with results classified under BS EN 13501-2. That classification, such as EI 60 or EI 120, belongs to the product in its tested arrangement. So our job is to reproduce that arrangement faithfully. We work on service gaps in risers, linear gaps at wall heads and pipe penetrations, and the failures we’re asked to look at most are seals that don’t match their tested detail and fire-rated sealant that has cracked or shrunk back. Most enquiries from Stow start with one failed joint and grow into a wider look at the building: we look at the rest while we’re there and tell you what we find.
Hotels and care homes around smaller places like Stow often have services added during refurbishment. A round of checks after M&E work is good practice, and any gaps found are sealed where fire-rated sealant is specified.
We stand behind the joints we seal: 12 months, guaranteed. That covers our preparation and application, and we come back if anything isn’t right.
- Location
- Stow (TD1)
- Wider area
- Scottish Borders
- Cover
- A 12-month guarantee
- Quote
- Fixed quote, scope in writing
- Call
- 01277 525 020
- Last updated
- 3 November 2026
Leave it or put it right?
An improvised seal can look finished while offering no tested performance. The fix is to remove it and reinstall to the detail. Exposed buildings in Scotland take a lot of weather, so it’s worth renewing joints around Stow before they leak.
Access can matter as much as the joints themselves: joints within easy reach take less time than ones that need access equipment. Mention the access as part of your enquiry.
Why choose Mastic Doctor in Stow
- Health and safety: CHAS accredited
- Fully insured
- One phone line for London, the South East and Scotland
- Old sealant cut out, never sealed over
Take a look at what affects the cost and our accreditations and insurance.
Different surfaces, different methods
Drylining partitions
Plasterboard partitions are tested as a specific construction. The sealant detail has to be tested in that wall type, with the stated board layers.
Cables and cable bundles
Single cables and small bundles are often within a fire-rated sealant’s tested detail. Bundle size, cable type and the space between cables all matter.
Towns and villages near Stow
More services for Stow
How a job runs
On arrival, we sign in, go through any site induction and check how permits are handled. Floors, finishes and fittings next to the joints are covered before any cutting starts, with the work itself typically taking a single visit for a short list of penetrations, or a phased programme for a whole building. Tell us who will meet us and how to get in at your building near Stow. That goes into the plan alongside the quote.
- First we confirm the product and tested details named in the specification.
- Openings are measured and grouped by detail.
- Old or wrong materials are cut out.
- Where the detail needs backing, it goes in at the stated depth.
- We gun the sealant in to the specified depth around each service and tool it.
- We walk the completed areas with you and confirm the records agreed at quote stage.
Before we start on site
- Move anything stored against the joints
- Tell staff and tenants when we’ll be in
- Tell us which areas need to stay in use
Get a fixed quote
Photos, drawings or a schedule of the joints are often enough for a fixed quote. If the job needs a look first, we will arrange a site visit.
Read more
Questions about Stow
Will you design a fire-stopping scheme for our building in Stow?
No. The designer or fire engineer sets the detail and building control accepts it. We install fire-rated and intumescent sealant around service penetrations and linear gaps where it is specified, to the manufacturer’s tested detail.
How do the Scottish rules apply to fire-rated sealing in Stow?
Under Scotland’s non-domestic Technical Handbook (clause 2.1.14), service penetrations should keep at least the wall or floor’s fire resistance duration, using products tested for their end use. Design sits with the designer and the verifier; installation to the tested detail is our part.
What if there’s asbestos in the old mastic?
Some older mastics, especially in pre-2000 buildings, can contain asbestos. We check the asbestos register before cutting out old sealant in an older building, and if asbestos is suspected, work stops until it’s tested. Removing asbestos is a job for asbestos specialists, not us.
Do you work to architects’ specifications?
Yes. The specification and the manufacturer’s installation guidance are what we work to.
Do you take on multi-site work?
Yes. Multi-site work and planned programmes are a core part of the service, planned site by site to suit how each building is used.
Will you just go over the old sealant?
No. We cut the old material out and clean the joint back before sealing, because fresh silicone will not bond with aged silicone.
Is the work guaranteed?
Yes. It runs for twelve months and covers how we prepared and sealed the joints, though not damage or work by other trades.
Fire stopping around Stow: points for this area
Under the Scottish non-domestic Technical Handbook, clause 2.1.14, penetrations should be fire stopped to at least the wall or floor’s fire resistance duration, and products should be tested for their end use. We install what’s specified, to the product’s tested detail.
Hotels such as Manorhead Hotel, less than half a mile north-west of Stow, rely on fire-resisting walls between bedrooms and corridors, and refits that add services leave penetrations to seal where fire-rated sealant is specified.
Stow is about 6 miles north of Galashiels, in the Scottish Borders. Anywhere in TD1, the process is the same: send details, get a fixed quote, we seal, and the work is guaranteed. 91 places across the Scottish Borders fall within our area, Stow among them. Edinburgh is covered too, around 22 miles from Stow.
Business premises anywhere in TD1 are within our area. We cover commercial and managed buildings on Station Road, Townfoot and Galashiels Road. Nearby places we also cover include Killochyett (1 mile north-west), Fountainhall (3 miles north-west), Lauder (5 miles north-east), Clovenfords (5 miles south) and Nether Blainslie (5 miles east). A short drive away, we cover Peebles (13 miles west), Selkirk (10 miles south), Innerleithen (9 miles south-west), Melrose (8 miles south-east), Earlston (8 miles south-east) and Langlee (6 miles south-east).
Near you in Stow
Stow has its own railway station: Stow station.
Signs you need fire stopping in Stow
Damage plays a part too. Maintenance work can knock a seal, cut it back for an extra cable or remove it with an old pipe.
These are often picked up first by site or facilities staff:
- Unsealed joints where partitions meet the slab
- Seals that don’t match their tested detail
- Snag lists that include open service penetrations
- Unsealed penetrations discovered above suspended ceilings
In a building such as St Mary's Church, any service penetration through a fire-resisting wall should be sealed to the specified detail.
Questions to ask before you book
- Will RAMS and insurance details be available?
- Proof of insurance
- Their approach to joint depth and backing
- Will failed sealant be removed rather than covered?
Owners, agents and contractors
Whether you are a managing agent, a property factor or an owner’s representative: send the details, accept a fixed quote, and we carry out and guarantee the work. Keys, access and contacts can be agreed in advance.
Building owners and managing agents use us on sealant work across single buildings or whole portfolios around Stow. Several sites can go on one quote, which keeps the paperwork simple.