Thursday, September 10, 2009

Caulking Maintenance

With the coming of fall it is a great time to walk around your home and do some caulking maintenance. Caulking is one of the easiest home maintenance tasks that should be done twice a year. Once in the fall right before the cold and wet weather comes and then again in the spring before the hot summer months. Caulking is also very inexpensive and can be completed in an afternoon’s time if done regularly.

Caulking is important in helping to prevent water intrusion, increase energy efficiency and prevent insects from crawling through cracks into your home. Take a walk around your home and inspect the caulking for gaps or separations around all windows, doors, between the foundation and the siding and at corners and angles between siding materials.

Follow these easy steps to caulk the exterior of your home.

1) Remove the old caulking completely using a scraper or putty knife.

2) Apply new caulking where the two surfaces meet holding the caulking gun at a 45 degree angle. Be sure to caulk in one continuous stream to avoid cracks, bubbles or missed areas in the caulking.

3) Moisten the tip of your finger to compress the caulking in and wipe any excess caulking away.

4) Let it dry.

These 4 easy steps can help lower repair costs down the road. For more tips and information visit our website at http://www.hinessiding.com/.