FAQs

The business as far as the Sealants Online E-Shop is concerned runs 24/7, 365 x days per year as it's 'always on' so to speak, but with regards to the office, shop/trade counter and warehouse the following times apply:

Shop/Trade Counter --- Monday - Friday (except bank holidays) OPEN: 6:00am - CLOSES: 5:00pm
Warehouse (for deliveries in and deliveries out) --- Monday - Friday OPEN: 7:00am - CLOSES 4:30pm
Office (for Technical Sales, Accounts, Marketing)  --- Monday - Friday (except bank holidays) OPEN: 8:30am - CLOSES 5:00pm

If you have a complaint about anything we provide, be it the service from start to finish or a problem with the products you've purchased etc. Or simply just need to contact us to be heard about something, then the first point of call would be to either email info@countyconchem.co.uk or call the sales team on 020 8524 1931. You will then be directed to the appropriate person(s) to deal with your matter promptly and efficiently.

Answer to follow..........

As well as our popular e-shop Sealants Online, we also have a fully-manned, office-based technical sales team on hand to take your phone calls and answer your emails regarding any product enquiries whether it be stock checking, application instructions or colour-matching. The team also process all the credit account purchase orders that are either rang or emailed through. Call them: 020 8524 1931 / Email them: info@countyconchem.co.uk

The other method of purchasing goods from County Construction Chemicals Ltd. is to visit our friendly and colourful trade counter complete with a bright and interesting showroom in Chingford, North-East London where we welcome on average 50-100 x customers every week day. This also serves as the collection point for Sealants Online CLICK & COLLECT orders.     

County Construction Chemicals Ltd. do offer credit accounts to a limited number of customers dependant on a credit check and references. If you wish to be considered for a credit account, please download and fill in the credit account application form here, then return to us via email: info@countyconchem.co.uk

If you placed your order on the e-shop Sealants Online then you can view, download and print off copy invoices whenever you wish. Click on 'Account' in the topright of any page and choose the selections on the left hand column. If you placed you order throught the sales office or over thge trade counter then you can contact our accounts department to request a copy. michellek@countyconchem.co.uk  

Special Offers - Although our general remit is to offer competitive price breaks on our entire range of products throughout the year, from time to time, whether it be seasonal, due to overstock or just simply because we're in the mood, we'll offer time-limited special offers all displayed on the same page together for your persual. We present these special offers as either; percentage discounted prices for units or multiples, free products when certain items are purchased, or another type of saving that's relevant to a specific brand, category of products or certain size or colour within a product line. All of these special offers, as mentioned, will run for a specified timescale with a start date (& time) and an end date (& time). All will be subject to stock availibility. Discounts (with codes)

Discounts - From time to time we'll offer discount codes via our mailshots, our socials and/or simply advertised on the dedicated page. These discount codes will give access to either time-limited or stock-limited discounts on certain items as a percentage off or a specified monetry amount off of our standard prices for either single units or multiples and will apply to mostly individual products or occasionally a specific brand, category of products, certain size or colour within a line. All of our discount codes will run for either a specified timescale with a start date (& time) and an end date (& time) or will be subject to stock availability.

When ordering through Sealants Online you can pay in any of the following ways; 

Pay as you go with a debit/credit card (most popular) - we accept most common cards (except Amex) such as Visa and Mastercard, our ultra-secure payment gateway goes through Opayo (formerly known as Sage Pay) and all details are fully encrypted.

Credit account - County Construction Chemicals Ltd. do offer credit accounts to a limited number of customers dependant on a credit check and references. If you wish to be considered for a credit account, please download and fill in the credit account application form here, then return to us via email: info@countyconchem.co.uk    

We're based in Chingford, North-East London E4 6JW - click here for detailed directions on Google Maps

Through trial & error and supply & demand, we keep a comprehensive range of products from each manufacturer that’s relevant to our business in the marketplace, with certain items, sizes and/or colours coming and going as the demand requires.

Although we don’t advertise it or make any promises, we can, and often do, procure products in for our customers specifically. When the price is confirmed and both parties are happy to proceed with the transaction, the part number will be created and an order should be placed through the usual channels.

Please note; The lead-times vary greatly from one manufacturer to another and can’t always be confirmed at the time of order processing. Please contact the sales team to get a quote for a non-stock item(s) or have any queries about this frequently asked question.

PLEASE NOTE; several of our product range have forced hazardous labelling and will not be eligible to be shipped by air or sea. Any customers placing orders containing these items will be notified and an alternative option agreed. If in any doubt if the items you require are hazardous, please contact the sales team for more information.

Apart from the odd boxed quantity only item, most of our products are already competitively priced for single units as standard to suit the current marketplace, with nearly all of these items offering better price break discounts for larger quantities.

Aside from some products priced slightly different on Amazon & Ebay, all of our shopping channels offer the same prices across the board for all types of customers, whether purchasing over trade counter/showroom, over the phone with the sales team or through the E-Shop. This is to bring standardisation to our system, so the prices (with quantity breaks) advertised on the E-Shop www.sealantsonline.co.uk are global prices across our business County Construction Chemicals Ltd.

Over the years, through trial & error and supply & demand, we keep a comprehensive range of products from each manufacturer we deal with that’s relevant to our business in the marketplace, with certain items, sizes and/or colours coming and going as the demand requires. Although we don’t advertise it or make any promises, we can, and often do, order products in for our customers specifically, this is known as a 'special order' and carries certain stipulations. When the price is confirmed and both parties are happy to proceed with the transaction, the part number will be created and an order should be placed through the usual channels. The lead-times vary greatly from one manufacturer to another and can’t always be confirmed at the time of order processing.

We accept many types of credit cards/debit cards via the website such as Visa, Mastercard, and Maestro. We've also recently integrated PayPal and Apple Pay (coming early 2025) and look forward to further including Google Pay at some stage later on. Please note; If any refunds are due on your order(s) after you've paid, you will receive the payment via the original method of payment that you used.

We have the E-Shop setup to alleviate as much unnecessary admin for our sales team which includes the somewhat dated method and extra step of providing Pro-Formas for payment. If you require a firm quote for any type of goods we offer, then of course, we can satisfy this with a return email for your records (as is the case with many of the orders processed through the sales office). If you absolutely either; cannot accept an email quotation or place an order through Sealants Online without an official Pro-Forma invoice then please contact the sales team to request this as a one-off.    

The website is setup with the very best live price breaks we can offer on each product according to the market at the time but we can and often do negotiate better prices for bulk enquiries and/or ongoing call-off orders etc. Each trade discount or bulk price is dealt with on a case by case basis so the very best way to get a deal is to firstly contact the sales team with a general idea of the product(s) and quantity required.

If the full quantity of one or more line items on your order is out of stock at the time of ordering and the lead time looks to be over 3 x days into us, it's standard that we'll advise you and consequently liaise on a one-to-one basis whether it's feasible for us to part-ship what we do have in stock at the time with a balance to follow or other options.

Our delivery schedule is that we don't ever guarantee next day delivery but strive to get all processed orders (stock permitting) out the same day. That said, we have at least an 85% success rate with orders that are received before 1pm (stock permitting) delivered next day as standard and receive high praise from many customers for this service! As there is lots of possible variances carriage such as stock availibilty, local collections, hub sorting and end couriers etc. we simply cannot put our name to a guaranteed next day delivery service and urge our customers, particularly trades to order in good time to allow for any discprepancies! If you were to place a click & collect order then arrange for your courier to come in to us between 6am - 5pm then of course, same day or next day is possible (please let us know if you intend to use this method).       

For an outline of the procedure and policy regarding the return of goods to us for whatever reason, please see the returns page here.

We do keep a selection of colour charts for some of our most popular silicone sealants here and use them to match customers samples when they visit our showroom. This is a daily practise and one, in which we’ve become aware, through word of mouth and feedback, has made us a popular point of interest with many trades people. We can, on occasion, (if absolutely necessary) send mastic sealant colour charts out to customers by post. Although a hard copy delivered to your office or house, can prove very handy for matching substrates such as kitchen worktops, tiles, frames, specific paints and other fittings in situ, we exercise caution somewhat with our mastic sealant colour chart distribution as it proves costly in production and postage providing very little ROI in most circumstances where small quantities are required! That said, customers planning medium to large projects and contractors that offer their customers bespoke solutions will benefit greatly from keeping hard copies of a selection of colour charts in their portfolio or toolbox. Another point to remember, is that we sell nearly every product in our range in single unit items, thus a ‘sample’ can be purchased and delivered for relatively little cost online.

Another great method matching colours is to purchase one of our affordable RAL colour swatches (available here) which can be used as a reference to remotely confirm a colour with our sales team.  

If you wish to paint over (when fully cured) straight away or at any time in the future then you should use a polymer-based sealant. A steadily growing trend in construction joint sealing, polymer mastic sealants are also known internationally as hybrid polymer, modified polymer (MP Sealants), silane or modified silane/polymer (MS Sealants), tripolymer & Tribrid® polymer. These technologies denote a type of specialist sealant that differ from traditional sealants such as silicones in that, as well as the usual flexibility, UV stability and weather resistance, polymers don’t contain solvents that often damage sensitive materials such as plastic whilst offering anorther huge selling point advantage over silicone sealants of being weatherproof and over paintable just like acrylic sealants such as caulks etc. that can't be used externally. Another historic material that was used extensively in the beginning of specialist joint sealing right up til recently was polysulphide (or polysufide) mastic, which was exactly what polymer mastic sealants were created to replace and have done an excellent job of doing so like for like with polysulphide sealants all but disappearing from the marketplace altogether nowadays. Polysulphide mastic sealants were known for their strong odour, were notoriously slow to cure, contained some nasty solvents and had a shorter shelf-life than their polymer mastic sealant replacements.

The quick answer is that 'mastic' was once upon a time a type of sealant material but nowadays has unofficially evolved into being the umbrella term for all types of sealants hence why we frequently refer to all types of sealant products as 'mastic sealants'. However, the umbrella has many types of material beneath it the most common being silicone, polymer, modified silane (MS) and acrylic amongst others. For a much more comprehensive breakdown of the different types of materials classed as mastics, please visit our blog post 'Mastic Sealants Quick Guide' on our main website here.

The successful lifespan of sealant materials such as silicone can vary depending on the type, quality, and environmental conditions, but generally, they all tend to last 10 to 20 years under normal use. The following are all factors that influence the longevity:

1. Type of material and quality of product
• High-quality sealants: Premium silicone sealants, especially those designed for specific applications (e.g., weatherproofing or high-temperature use), tend to last longer, often up to 20 years.
• Low-quality sealants: Cheaper sealants may degrade faster, lasting only 5–10 years.

2. Exposure to Environmental Factors
• UV Rays: Prolonged exposure to sunlight can accelerate ageing and cause cracking or discolouration.
• Moisture and Humidity: Constant exposure to water (e.g., in bathrooms or kitchens) can reduce lifespan if the sealant isn't mould- and mildew-resistant.
• Temperature Extremes: Significant fluctuations in temperature can weaken the sealant over time.

3. Application Conditions
• Proper surface preparation and application ensure a strong bond and maximise durability. Poorly applied silicone is more likely to fail prematurely.

4. Movement of Materials
• If the joint or surface the silicone is applied to experiences excessive movement, the sealant may wear out faster.

5. Usage Area
• Bathrooms and Kitchens: Silicone sealant in wet areas may need replacing every 5–10 years, especially if mould becomes an issue.
• Exterior Applications: Weatherproof silicone on windows or roofs can last closer to 20 years, provided it's high quality and properly maintained. Signs It Needs Replacement
• Cracking or peeling
• Discolouration (yellowing or black mould)
• Loss of adhesion (gaps or lifting)
• Hardening or brittleness Regular inspection and maintenance can help extend its life.

For long-lasting results, always use a sealant suited to the specific environment and conditions. Contact the technical sales team for any advice or recommendations.

All types of mastic sealant can appear to crack or shrink but notoriously bad for this is water-based products such as acrylics that evaporate a certain amount upon cure thus shrinking and cracking, this is why you should not use acrylic mastic sealants such as decorators caulk etc. externally where far more moisture is present.

If you find other types of sealant such as silicone or polymer shrinks or cracks it could be one of several reasons, often related to its composition, application, and the conditions it is exposed to. Here are the main factors:

 1. Improper Application
• Thickness Issues: If the sealant is applied too thinly or unevenly, it may not adhere properly or withstand movement.
• Poor Surface Preparation: If the surface isn’t clean, dry, or primed as required, the sealant may not bond well, leading to cracking or shrinking.
• Incorrect Tooling: Not smoothing or shaping the sealant correctly after application can leave it vulnerable to failure.
 
 2. Ageing and Degradation
• UV Exposure: Prolonged exposure to sunlight can break down the sealant’s chemical structure, causing it to lose flexibility and crack.
• Oxidation: Over time, sealants can degrade due to exposure to air and environmental elements.
• Loss of Plasticisers: Some sealants contain plasticisers to maintain flexibility. These can evaporate over time, causing the sealant to shrink and become brittle.
 
 3. Thermal Expansion and Contraction
• Sealants are often used in joints or areas that expand and contract with temperature changes. If the sealant lacks sufficient elasticity, these movements can cause it to crack or separate from the surface.
 
 4. Moisture and Humidity
• Excess moisture during application can interfere with the curing process, resulting in weaker adhesion and potential shrinkage.
• In humid conditions, some sealants (like silicone) might not cure evenly, leading to imperfections. 
 
5. Subpar Materials
• Using low-quality or inappropriate sealants for the job can lead to early failure. For example, an interior-grade sealant might not withstand outdoor conditions.

6. Excessive Joint Movement
• Sealants are designed to tolerate a certain amount of movement. If the joint moves beyond its capacity, the sealant can crack or pull away. 
 
7. Chemical Reactions
• Some sealants can react with the surface or environment (e.g., acidic or alkaline conditions), leading to degradation or shrinkage.

In summary, using the correct sealant for the specific application, preppiing the surface properly, and applying the product in the correct conditions can significantly reduce the risk of cracking or shrinking.

In general, as long as the surface/substrate that you're sticking your mirror to is relatively flat, clean, dry and free of dust & dirt etc. then many types of adhesive can, in theory bond to both the surface and the mirror back and stick a mirror to a wall. Although many silicones would and could do the job, there's always a risk of the oils in the product leeching or bleeding into the mirror foil backing which is why we highly recommended using either a speciallist mirror adhesive or a hybrid, modified silane (MS) or hybrid polymer type adhesive.  We have a dedicated and detailed blog post concerning sticking mirrors on walls on our main website.

Stick Mirrors On Walls Case Study blog - click here.

Buy Mirror Adhesives online - click here.

  

Often claimed but seldom seen in practise, damp tolerant adhesives are a genre of bonding products that are specially formulated to be used as adhesive products that bond similar or different materials together even when moisture (or very high humidity) is present. Damp tolerant adhesives are engineered, tried and rigorously tested to resist the many negative effects of water when first applied, providing a strong and durable bond that fully cures in-situ, despite the usual challenges of wet, damp or porosity of the substrate(s). Usually made up of a specialist blend of modified polymer (MP) or modified silane (MS) damp tolerant adhesives are especially handy to use in areas where air and sun don't often reach so as to dry the surface.

Although some tradespersons will tell you it doesn't matter and is just a marketing pitch, the absolute truth is that most general purpose mastic sealants (including silicone) are not intended for or suitable for use on natural stone surfaces. A necessary type of specialist sealant for sealing connection joints, gaps and irregularities in modern construction and masonry work, natural stone mastic sealants are ideal for use on popular natural stone materials such as marble, granite, limestone, sandstone and other stones are used are collectively known as natural stone mastic sealants.

The main concern when sealing luxurious stonework whether used in areas of high humidity (e.g. wetrooms and kitchens) or, just in general, any places where natural stone is installed, is bleeding or leeching into the natural stone substrate(s) causing unslightly migratory staining which is very common when acetoxy curing, high modulus silicones or even neutral cure, low modulus silicone sealants are used. All of our carefully selected natural stone mastic sealants are certified and tested to the highest standards for your peace of mind when sealing natural stone surfaces in your property.

We're often asked this question as there's just so much choice. We have a vast array of mastic sealant guns available from stock. You can take a look at our detailed mastic sealant gun blog post on our main website.

Best Mastic Sealant Guns blog - click here.

Buy Mastic Sealant Guns online - click here.

We pride ourselves on keeping what is possibly the biggest range of mastic sealant colours in the UK with literally 1000's in stock ready to order or a specific exact matching service. There's a few different ways we can match your required colour, you can either; send in a sample by post (this could be just a fleck of paint, chip of a tile or splinter of wood etc.) obviously this would then be down to our sales team to choose the best match (in their opinion), you could take a look at our colour card page here and try to match with an image on the screen (not recommended as an accurate method, more of a guide), you could use the universal colour coding system of RAL (we stock RAL charts as well as many sealants made to these exact specifications), or the very best method sealant colour matching is to visit our trade counter/showroom in Chingford and our team will happily assist you with our vast array of mastic sealant colour charts. If you do require an exact colour match that's outside of the large selection we stock then an enquiry should be made with the sales team in the office. More info on our exact sealant colour matching service can be found on the County Construction Chemicals Ltd. website here.