Sealants are products that fill gaps and seal adjacent surfaces. Unlike traditional fillers they stay flexible underneath a solid surface skin, keeping gaps filled and, where relevant, waterproof.

They come in standard-sized tubes designed to fit in a cartridge gun - a piston-operated device that squeezes the sealant from the cartridge through a nozzle.

All-Purpose Sealant

As its name implies, this sealant is a general-purpose product designed for a wide range of sealing jobs. It's a good all-rounder but sometimes it's better to get a tailor-made sealant for a specific job.

This acrylic-based product is intended for indoor use, such as filling gaps along skirting boards, around door and window frames and in wall-ceiling angles. It is usually white and can be overpainted with emulsion or solvent-based paint as soon as a skin has formed on the surface of the filler. Colour-line sealants come in a range of popular colours and can be used as a decorative feature in their own right.

Silicone Sealant

This product is silicone-based and produces a waterproof seal that can be used indoors and out for jobs as diverse as sealing around shower cubicles or waterproofing exterior light fittings. It's available in white or brown, to match the most popular external woodwork colours, and also comes in a clear version. A special silicone sealant remover is available to enable easy removal of old silicone sealant strip.

Frame Sealant

Frame sealant is a water-resistant acrylic sealant and joint filler, formulated specifically for sealing around door and window frames out of doors. It comes in white or brown, and can be painted over in approximately an hour.

Roof and Gutter Sealant

This all-purpose exterior sealant will stop leaks in flat roofs of all types, as well as filling leaking joints in gutters and downpipes. It also sticks to stone, concrete and brick, so can be used to repair cracked tiles and split flashings.

Gun-Free Sealants

Several types of sealant are now available in easy-to-use aerosol dispensers making the use of a cartridge gun unnecessary. The sealant is extruded from a nozzle when the cap on the container is depressed, giving precise fingertip control - something that is often difficult to achieve with a cartridge gun.

Sealant Strips

Self-adhesive sealant strips are an alternative to cartridge or aerosol sealants and are ideal to use where the gap is wider than a bead of sealant. Designed to be pressed into place to seal the gap they can then be covered with other sealant materials to complete the repair.