A Step-By-Step Guide To Caulking A Window

Caulking your windows is a great way of ensuring that any cracks around your windows are sealed up. This helps in a number of ways. For starters, it reduces the amount of air getting into the house from the outside and also air escaping from the house. Doing this improves the insulation of your home, making it more comfortable to live in. This also has the effect of reducing energy costs that you incur heating or cooling your home.

At this point, you may be wondering how one goes about the process of caulking a window. Read on to learn more about this process.

Select The Right Day

To get the best results out of your caulking process, you need to do it on a dry day with mild weather. If it’s too hot (Above 90 degrees Fahrenheit) or too cold (below 40 degrees Fahrenheit) will not get you the optimal results that you are looking for. Another factor to consider is the humidity. The best window caulking results are obtained on a dry day. If it’s snowing, raining, or otherwise too humid, the caulk does not adhere properly to the window and there is the risk that it will eventually come apart.

Apart from the actual day of application, you need to ensure that there are some days after the application that are equally mild and dry. This helps to dry the caulk completely.

Prepare The Surface

By using a scraping tool, carefully remove all the old caulk from the window. If it is difficult to get it off, use a heat gun to warm up the old caulk. This helps to soften it up and makes it much easier to remove. You should never apply new caulk over old caulk as this will affect the integrity of the new layer.

Cleaning The Surface

Once the old caulk is removed, the next task is to clean the surface where you will be applying the caulk. For this, you can use a damp sponge or rag to remove any debris left from the old caulk. Once the area is spotlessly clean, dry the surface with a dry cloth to remove all moisture. If you still have some excess moisture on the window, you could leave it for a few minutes to dry. The end result should be a surface that is completely free of old caulk and that is also completely dry.

Get The Right Caulk

There are many different types of caulking compounds that are suitable for different surfaces. For example, latex caulk is easy to apply and remove, making it perfect for DIY projects. However, it is not very durable so you will have to apply it several times over the lifespan of the house. Silicone caulking is much more durable and does not easily crack. However, it is harder to apply and thus is more likely to be applied by a professional.

Caulk Application

Once everything is ready, you can then proceed to apply the caulk. Some experts recommend priming the surface but others regard this as optional. The caulk can be applied with a caulk application gun which makes the process much easier. Caulk cartridges are typically well marked to ensure that you get the angle and the bead size right depending on where you are applying it.

One thing to remember is that if you make any mess with the caulk, you will need to clean it immediately. This is because when caulk dries, it is much harder to remove. People also cover the area around the surface with masking tape which absorbs most of the mess created. This can then be removed at the end of the process, leaving the surface underneath clean.