Why and How Should You Caulk Before You Paint?

Possibly one of the most overlooked steps before painting either the exterior of a home or the interior is caulking… it’s one of the secrets of painting your house like a professional.

Not only will caulking make your job look better, but it can help your home be more energy efficient, saving on cooling and heating costs. Your house was totally caulked and basically airtight when it was originally built, but over time, because your house shifts constantly as it moves and expands with temperature changes, not only can small cracks appear, but the original caulking dries out and splits, and pulls away from the areas it is intended to protect.

When caulking goes unrepaired…

• Cold drafts begin.
• Heat escapes (higher energy bills).
• Cooled air escapes (higher energy bills).
• Bugs and insects have easier access to your home.
• More dust is allowed inside.
• When exterior caulking becomes defective, it allows moisture and rain to seep between siding boards, behind the trim, and eventually reach the drywall of the interior.
  • This is the beginning of rotting wood, water stains, mold and mildew and possible flooring damage.

Caulking Tips

1. The time to caulk is after you have cleaned and repaired any damage to the walls and millwork.
2. If you are painting new surfaces, prime first, then caulk.
3. Choose the right caulk for the job:
   1. Latex caulk is great for indoor projects – It expands easily with temperature change, can be painted, comes in colors, and easily cleans up with water.
   2. Acrylic Latex caulk, because it is a combination of acrylic resins and latex is very strong, great for longterm projects, flexible and great for indoor projects.
   3. Silicone caulk is a great product to use on tough jobs, especially those that are exposed to the weather or heavy wear and tear. It’s not as easy to clean up as the others I’ve listed, so extra care not to drip should be taken.
   4. ***Never mix the different kinds of caulking, they are each intended to do a certain job and combining them will make them ineffective.

Here’s a great video that shows you how to lay down the caulking…

Caulking can be tedious and messy, but really needs to be part of your project, so…If you’re like a lot of people, you’d rather leave the painting, caulking and the clean-up to someone else. If so, call Claffey’s. We’ll save you money by doing the job right the first time.

Contact us or give us a call for a free estimate – (425) 888-3634

Claffey’s Painting is a full service painting contractor serving Western Washington, Chelan, Douglas and Kittitas Counties. We have painted over 7000 homes and would enjoy the opportunity to help paint yours. We can guide you through all the decision making processes so you get the right paint for the right job, and the professional job you’re looking for.