Mastic sealing for housing associations, managing agents and property factors

What blocks and estates need

Housing associations, managing agents and property factors usually meet failed mastic through repair reports: water at a window after heavy rain, a draught around a communal door, a stain in a stairwell. Handling each report separately means repeat visits and a building patched with sealant of different ages. A planned approach, scoped from an inspection of the joints, is usually better value over the life of the building.

Our mastic sealing service is built for organisations that look after blocks and estates, alongside window perimeter sealing, movement joint sealing and fire-rated sealing in communal areas where it is specified.

Typical areas

• Window and door perimeters across a block
• Communal entrances, stairwells and landings
• External wall and movement joints
• Balcony and threshold joints
• Communal kitchens and washrooms in sheltered or supported housing
• Service penetrations in communal fire-resisting walls and floors, where fire-rated sealant is specified

Residents and communication

Work on occupied blocks goes best when residents know what is happening. We agree with you what notice goes out, which areas are affected on which days and how access to windows or balconies will be arranged. Tell us how you prefer to keep residents informed and we’ll fit in with it. Tell us your site hours and access windows and we’ll plan around them.

Planning a block-wide programme

A programme usually starts with an inspection of joints on each elevation and in the communal areas, enough to show whether failure is widespread or limited to particular orientations or details. From that we can price a block or estate as a whole, or split it into phases that suit your budget years. Any consultation with leaseholders or residents sits with you; a clear scope and a fixed quote for each phase make that easier to run.

Scotland: tenements and property factors

In Scotland, many blocks are looked after by property factors, and Glasgow and Edinburgh in particular have large stocks of sandstone tenements. On stone, a neutral-cure sealant made for the substrate is commonly used, in a colour that sits quietly against it. We cover every Scottish council area, as well as Greater London and South East England. Our guide to sealant planning for managing agents covers scoping a programme.

Fire-rated sealing and older blocks

Fire stopping in communal areas has become a recurring focus, particularly in higher-risk buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022. Where fire-rated sealant is specified, we install it to the product’s tested detail; design and sign-off sit with others. Read the Building Safety Act and fire stopping records.

Some mastics used before 2000 can contain asbestos. Before old sealant is disturbed, the asbestos register or survey should be checked; that duty sits with the dutyholder. Work on any suspect joint stops until it has been tested.