Caulking is the first line of defense in keeping water from entering your home
Proper maintenance to the exterior of your Indianapolis area home is vital to maintaining its value and minimizing costly repair bills. Water is perhaps the #1 enemy of your home. Water has a sneaky way of finding the “nooks and crannies” of your home and once it gets in can cause major damage.
There are many modern construction materials used to keep water from entering your home: There are drainage planes, as they are called, that can keep water that gets behind siding or trim from entering. However, the first line of defense is usually caulking. Proper caulking should keep water from ever reaching the secondary means of drainage. It is important to routinely inspect the caulking on the outside of your house for deterioration. And, it’s important to look for missing caulking.
The inspection and application of caulking is something that most homeowner’s can accomplish. However, if your home is a 2-story, and you are uncomfortable on ladders, hire a local painting contractor. Be sure to look for problem areas around windows and doors, siding and trim and wherever a piece of wood or wood trim changes plane (changes direction). For example, the joint between your soffit and fascia or soffit and siding. Also, pay attention to where two pieces of wood or fiber cement siding butt together. These areas are normally caulked during initial installation, but caulk can deteriorate with changing weather conditions, etc.
If you find problems with your caulking, you can fix it yourself as mentioned above. Be sure to remove old caulking first before you re-caulk. Installating fresh caulk over old caulk is not a good idea. Also, make sure the cracks or gaps you are filling are clean of debris, dirt, etc to avoid adhesion issues. If you have any questions, ask a local painter or a local remodel contractor for answers. Another good source of information is your local paint supply store (ie Sherwin Williams, Porter-Paints, etc).
Looking for an Indianapolis area painter? Give us a call for a referral or check with your local Builder’s Association and do research online at websites such as google and Angies List. Good Luck!
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