Sticky Fingers – Caulking gone bad
Sometimes you have to wonder if those who are building our home are properly trained or ever read installation guidelines.
With this said I know a lot of very good builders out there but I also see many poorly executed portions of the home that really should just not ever happen. Often these are from more budget friendly homes, while not always.
Caulking and flashing will happen on every home build and proper execution of this should really not be even a question mark but so often it is.
It results in higher maintenance costs for homeowners and potential damages or hidden damages depending on how poorly it was performed and in what environment you are located.
Here in Central Washington we can get away with some of these mistakes due to the drying potential our environment presents. But this is not always the case and if you just move a few miles from the valley floors up into the mountains the environment radically changes and the mistakes can get amplified.
As a Wenatchee based home inspector I travel quite a bit from the Chelan and Douglas counties to the Okanagan county, Kittitas County, Grant County and more. I also have done many homes in Western Washington and am quite familiar with those environments too.
I do a lot of new construction inspections and try to keep up on current standards and practices to the best of my ability.
Here is the case of the sticky fingers.
One thing I do know is how caulking should be performed. Caulking is a universal material used on all homes and can prevent water and pest intrusion. But if done incorrectly it can cause more damage and headaches than good. Then factor in that once you use caulking it is now an area of maintenance that has to be monitored, repaired and replaced from time to time and will create an increased cost of homeownership over time.
A properly flashed home will greatly reduce the need for caulking.
So here is an example of new construction where the contractor has caulked all the head flashing and horizontal flashings. Hey great we have flashing here, but too bad the messed them up by caulking them, Now if moisture does get behind the siding it has no avenue to escape.
Siding manufacturers have pretty good instructions on where to caulk and not to caulk but these are moot if you never read them.
Here are a couple of images from both James Hardie and LP on caulking, or more specific where not to caulk.
This is pretty standard these days and how this is not known to all contractors, painters and helpers is poor training and oversight.
https://lpcorp.com/resources/product-literature/installation-instructions/lp-smartside-lap-siding
If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacturer requirements please let me know.
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…
Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Real Estate, Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service
Coordinator & Instructor- Fundamentals of Home Inspection- Bellingham Technical College
Former WA Home Inspector Advisory Licensing Board
www.ncwhomeinspections.com 509-670-9572
You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and on my website Blog.
If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacturer requirements please let me know.
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…
Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Real Estate, Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service
Coordinator & Instructor- Fundamentals of Home Inspection- Bellingham Technical College
Former WA Home Inspector Advisory Licensing Board
www.ncwhomeinspections.com 509-670-9572
You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and on my website Blog.
(Click on Icons to go to social media pages.)
“The first step towards knowledge is to know that we are ignorant.”
Richard Cecil
