When Should You Replace The Exterior Caulk?

Caulking the exterior of your home is not meant only to keep the outside of your home appealing to the eye but also to keep water and pests at bay. However, most people forget that caulking needs to be part of your regular home maintenance. So, when should you replace your home’s exterior caulk?

Replace the exterior caulking job on your home whenever you see the first signs of wear and tear. Signs of wear and tear include flaking, powdered material on the surface of the caulk, peeling, and cracking. Upon seeing these signs, remove the old caulk and replace it with new.

Below, we will take you through how exterior caulking works on your home and tell you the best way to apply it! That way, you don’t have to hire a professional! Let’s get to it.

A structure, such as a house or building, is protected from water and vermin with the use of exterior caulk, a moldable polymer.

Small gaps and flaws in the framework are patched up with caulking before they become significant issues. For instance, it can prevent dampness and water from entering a house and causing harm.

Even the smallest cracks can allow water to enter, leading to problems like rot, mold, and mildew. This may potentially result in structural damage as well as health issues.

By preventing wind or air from entering tiny cracks and crevices in the house, this kind of caulking can also increase a home’s energy efficiency, resulting in significant utility bill savings.

It may also aid in keeping insects outside. Small insects frequently reside in crevices that caulking fills to prevent them from entering the home, where they may cause significant damage that would require expensive repairs.

Exterior caulk must endure years of exposure to extreme weather events, so it’s crucial to check for any symptoms of damage or deterioration and replace it as soon as possible to maintain continued protection.

Thanks to the high-quality caulk’s exceptional adherence and flexibility, it will continue to be airtight and watertight. These characteristics must be maintained throughout time for caulking to remain effective, otherwise, it runs the risk of peeling away from the surface.

After the first year in a new residence, experts advise checking and replacing the caulking because a lot of settling takes place during this time. As a house lowers, caulk frequently separates from wall connections, but this is simple to fix.

A checkup every few years should be adequate to prevent issues since homeowners in established homes need to repair their caulking around every five years. A home inspection is a smart idea, though, if it’s in a region with harsh weather or has recently seen heavy rains.

Rain or snowmelt could seep into cracks around windows and descend into walls. This moisture may eventually penetrate the flooring and travel along the frame, permeating the wood and resulting in rot.

This could lead to an issue that can be very costly to solve and provides the ideal conditions for mold to grow.

Additionally, it is a good idea to look around chimneys and skylights. Homeowners who are unsure about their ability to carefully inspect the caulking in these places may seek an expert’s assistance.

Every year, you should check your caulking and redo it if you find any cracks forming or if it starts to pull from the window. If you have drafts in your home, it’s usually a sign that the caulking needs to be replaced.

You might also notice a sudden increase in heating expenditures as heat leaves through the gap that aged caulk creates. During the summer, you can find more little bugs in your home than normal, particularly at night when they’re drawn to the light.

Because the window caulk maintains the glass windows in place and acts as a cushion, you could hear your windows rattle in extreme circumstances.

The window will start to rattle on chilly days if the caulk has seriously degraded. As a result of the rain getting into the windowpane without caulking, you can also observe bent wood and chipped paint.

If left to stand, the wood will absorb the moisture and might bend, and the swelling might cause the paint to fracture.

Your exterior caulking job should last for around 5 years if you use a decent, high-quality caulking brand before you’ll need to reapply it. However, inclement weather can hasten degradation, particularly on the east and west sides of the structure.

We advise a yearly checkup in the early spring to check for peeling and cracks so you can repair it while the weather is beautiful.

Some homeowners like to conduct yearly checks in the early fall to ensure their windows are properly sealed for the winter. Either approach will be effective as long as you are consistent.