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Caulking Home Windows and Doors

Air leaks problems?

Using a caulking compound to seal air leaks around windows and door frames can improve sharply the energy efficiency of your home windows and doors, and is a cheap solution.

Caulking Materials for windows and doors

Caulking materials for home windows and doors include silicone, poly-sulfides, acrylic-latex, butyl rubber, polyurethanes, neoprene, etc.

Caulking selection

When buying, do not just choose the cheapest product. High-quality caulking is generally more expensive and with a long life expectancy. Cheaper caulking has a life expectancy of 3 to 10 years only.

Resistance of caulk to water, weathering or shrinkage is also important in caulking selection.

The best caulking materials adhere to wood, metal, plastic, glass or masonry elements of windows, doors and surrounding walls. And this is an important element of selection due to the degree of expansion and contraction of those materials..

Most caulking materials can be applied with a caulking gun: a possible important element, since it makes the application easier.

How Much Caulk You Need

For large jobs, 5-gallon containers are common in stores. But there are much smaller cartridges for more small applications.

There are also caulking compounds in aerosol cans, squeeze tubes, and ropes for small applications or particular jobs.

Caulking application

Caulking packages include a description of the material and installation instructions. Just follow the directions for application.

Caulking should not be applied at temperatures below 40°F (4ºC). Dry weather and low humidity is important during application to avoid moisture problems and to allow caulk to set and adhere properly.

Other general good procedures include:

- Avoid, whenever possible, non-continuous stream of material...

- Remove eventual old caulk and paint or other residues around the windows or doors before applying the new caulk.

- Seal cracks completely: apply or reapply the caulk till it forms a smooth bead.

- Apply caulk to all joints in window and door frames and in the joints between frames and walls.

- To avoid bubbles in openings, send caulk to their bottoms, and make sure the caulk sticks to both sides of the opening.

- Push caulk into cracks if it oozes out of them.

- If the caulk shrinks, reapply it.

See also:
Weathterstripping Windows and Doors
Basics on Advanced Energy Efficient Windows, Skylights and Doors