This is the intro in a series of sponsored post, I’ve partnered with Sashco, the maker of Big Stretch and Lexel sealants to talk about the basics of caulking and sealants, we are calling this Caulking 101.
You’re ready! The tube of caulking is in the caulking gun, the tip is cut, and the inner seal has been punctured. You’re ready to start squeezing that trigger. But are you really ready? Are you using the right sealant? Have you designed a proper joint? Has the surface been prepped? Did you cut the tip properly? What’s the plan for tooling? Caulking is more than just smearing some pookie on a joint, the end product should look good, but more importantly perform and last. Caulking and caring.
The primary reason to use a sealant is to keep something in or out of a joint, the bridge between two or more surfaces. Those somethings might be water or air, or they could be dust or something else undesirable. The sealant needs to be able to flex and bend, expand and contract all while staying stuck to the surfaces it’s trying to protect (adhesion) and to itself (cohesion). There are many different formulations of sealants, not one is the best at everything. Knowing what you are trying to accomplish, the characteristics of the different surfaces, the performance of the sealant, and the conditions it will be subjected to are all important considerations when choosing a sealant.
Over the next several blog posts, we will be talking all about caulking, the basics, I’m sure there will be some topics you are familiar with and maybe there will be a few things you didn’t know. For most, caulking isn’t a fun job, and the last thing you want is to have to do it twice because of an uninformed decision. Caulking 101 is here to help.
The second post in the Caulking 101 Series will be all about caulking and sealant terminology. The words and definitions used in the sealants industry you should know. Stay tuned.