Caulking Split In Siding Joints

Caulk is a substance designed to seal a joint between two surfaces and to fill small holes.

Caulking split in siding joints.

This is where the siding in the middle of the wall butts up against another piece of siding. Although i do not understand why they have not changed the information about caulking. It depends on the option you choose but if joint caulking option is selected seal all gaps at butt joints with a high quality exterior sealant meeting the astm c920 minimum class 25 sealant. Metal flashing or any metal to wood joint should not be caulked another water exit pathway that should never be sealed.

Before caulking joints between dissimilar materials make sure that the manufacturer recommends the caulk for both materials. Sometimes the old caulk in the siding joint is cracked and you need to cut the old caulk out with a razor knife. Use top quality caulk outdoors where it needs to withstand extreme temperature changes and remain flexible for 30 to 50 years. If overused or incorrectly placed siding caulk can cause more damage to your exterior than good.

1 i chose this caulk because it has 25 flexibility compared to silicone based caulk. When deciding how to use caulk on your siding however it is generally more important to consider where you should not use it. But here the main problem is people usually don t find the right type of caulk for their works. These siding joints can be caulked successfully if the gap is wide enough for the caulk to get into the crack.

Sometimes the old caulk must be razor cut from these butt joints. Deterioration of the caulking in the joint has become a maintenance issue for home owners over time. 2 house built before 2008 so has no flashing okay to caulk. If you use sashco s acrylic latex caulking sealant you can have any interior or exterior as good as new.

Hardie no longer recommends the caulking of any joint in their lap siding colorplus or primed. Lp requires a minimum 3 16 spacing at all butt joints. If the siding joint is so tight that the caulk only bridges the gap it may split again. An area that is difficult to caulk successfully on exteriors is the siding butt joints.

The nails holding up the siding should not be caulked. Joint flashing is recommended for all hardie lap siding now. Siding nails should not be caulked another item that needs room to play is siding boards themselves. Do i have to caulk at butt joints.

It is generally not a good idea to use caulking on wood siding. You need to have the best caulk for hardie siding to help your walls and wooden surfaces to get rid of open cracks and thin spaces between joints.