Why Caulking is Critical to the Longevity of a Paint Job

By creating a flexible seal for the gaps in the external components of a building, caulk keeps water out of the structure. Unlike paint, caulk has the ability to expand and shrink with the ambient temperature and humidity. When caulk begins to fail, moisture gets into the surrounding wood joints. Before long, the moistures causes paint failure, eventually rots the wood and causes expensive repairs on the outside components or even in the interior spaces.

Because of our frequent freeze and thaw cycles, caulk often begins to fail within 2 or 3 years, even though “45-year” or “55-year” caulk may have been used during the exterior painting project. It is therefore important to do maintenance caulking and maintenance painting.

A visual inspection of the surfaces every three years at the most will reveal areas where caulk has begun to fail. Intervening at this stage to remove the failing caulk, re-caulk and spot-paint those areas will add years to the life cycle of a exterior paint job and prevent expensive repairs.

Make it a point to ask Painting in Partnership to come and inspect the caulk on your house. This is work that saves you money!

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