JaimesSpruill615
A Quick History of Caulking and Its Ways to use Home Repairs
When caulking first came out, it would fill small cracks with hardly any problems, of flaking or checking later on, but as people began to feel larger cracks, the caulking itself would begin to crack and separate from the sides from the areas that they were suppose to bond to.
Then they announced silicone caulking, however, you couldn't paint it. There have been plenty of contractors who use silicone caulking, because it promised to not separate or crack. This solves one problem but created another. When the painter was finished painting, there have been little cracks or checks within the paint that was within the caulking.
Don't go away yet, they came out with paintable silicone caulking. Now everyone was happy, believe that silicone was tough to neat and work with not to mention it's environmentally insensitive. Silicone was very successful, but was still just a little pricey, compared to the regular caulking which was sold at that time.
Within the building industry, something that sticks out a lot more than others is an, if a product is too expensive, it will not be used that usually.
Then comes the miraculous 15 year caulking, only to be outdone through the Twenty-five year caulking, and so the ultimate 35 year caulking. What's the difference between these? I could not really tell you what the difference is, but I let you know this. Caulking was meant to fill small gap's, usually less than a quarter of an inch and that is if this works the best.
Any gaps that are bigger than that, at less than one half inch wide, should use a polyethylene-based caulking. If you are going to fill a gap that's larger than a half inch wide, you should use a filler piece and then caulk between your filler piece and the edges from the crack or gap.
As always, read the instructions around the caulking to make sure you can use it around the products you will be repairing or filling. Using the right home repair product to fill the best hole, may prevent you against repairing exactly the same spot later on or at best the near future.
