Caulking Between Wood Siding

Best for use with drywall wood and masonry.

Caulking between wood siding. Placing caulk over large portions of wood siding prohibits the natural movement of the wooden panels and can cause extensive damage to the exterior of your home. Bottom of siding boards should not be caulked water is meant to exit through the bottom of each board. Many professionals like those at james hardie also agree that you should not use caulk on fiber cement siding unless there is no metal flashing underneath. Use latex painter s caulk inside of doors and windows or to quickly fill cracks.

Fill in gaps between crown moulding and baseboards. While paint does tend to somewhat glue these pieces together caulking them is never advised and can cause permanent damage. Flashing acts as a waterproofing layer for this type of siding and caulking will prevent the flashing from doing its job. The siding expands and contracts with temperature and humidity.

Caulking on the exterior siding joints at the corner board if done carefully does not need to be smoothed with a finger. Caulking them is a mistake and the caulking is likely to fail prematurely. Any contractor worth their salt knows that you never caulk anywhere where water may need to escape. Most other areas were caulk is necessary should be lightly smoothed with your finger.

Seal a door frame in place and seal the subfloor at the bottom of a door frame. You never ever caulk the underside of lap siding. Sometimes known as acrylic latex caulk. In my opinion caulking between the seams in any lapped siding either horizontal or vertical is not good practice but not just because of any potential vapor barrier effect.

It needs to move and breathe. Matt is 100 correct.