Help!! (cracking caulk) I’m going insane!!!!


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Old 03-03-11, 07:20 AM
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Help!! (cracking caulk) I’m going insane!!!!

All the trim in our 5yr old house is separating from the wall and the joints (miter, butt) are cracked. So I decided to fix it by re-caulking with DAP Alex Plus caulk and repainting.

One month after finishing the job the joints are already cracked again?????

Some notes I made today:

-Temperatures during this month ranged from +12C to -22C
-The crack gap is small (1mm or less) meaning very little caulk gets in the crack
-The trim seems well secured as I cannot push the crack closed with force. It seems more like expansion and contraction from temperature and humidity is the source of the problem

Possible solutions

-Use pure silicone (paintable) instead of acrylic or siliconized acrylic

Any other thoughts or suggestions on how to get a lasting seal of these joints and cracks????
 
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Old 03-03-11, 02:53 PM
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Frustrating. The cracks are probably not due to the trim, but to the entire house swelling and contracting with the weather. Left to it's own devices, the cracks would probably disappear on their own come spring, or July, whichever comes first
Pure silicone won't accept paint, so forget that. You may want to try an elastomeric caulk such as Big Stretch (you'll have to look to find it locally). It does not crack, but, instead, stretches and shrinks. May give you some sanity, not sure. Let us know how it goes.
 
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Old 03-03-11, 04:25 PM
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Get a better grade of caulking!!!

I've never known of the Alex Plus holding up long term You should be using a siliconized acrylic latex caulk [it's paintable] I like the White Lightning Brand although there are other brands as good. The caulk should say it has a 30-40 yr warranty even though they won't stand behind it - that and price helps you to evaluate the quality of the caulk

Keeping the humidity at a constant level in the home will also help
 
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Old 03-04-11, 10:30 AM
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I'm Charis w/ Sashco (we make Big Stretch)...I need to stop by the intro area, but just a quick answer for you from the people who make this stuff: a joint that small is rarely going to perform well, no matter what caulk you use - silicone, latex, butyl or plain old mud. There's simply not enough bulk there to both adhere to the joint and stretch. You said as much in your original post, so you're right on track. Using something with more elasticity will certainly reduce the risk of having everything fail, but it's still a matter of needing to figure out how to accomodate proper joint design, and in joints that small, that's nearly impossible.

Applying a wider bead bead that can accomodate more movement would help but probably wouldn't look as pretty. Keeping a consistent humidity (as MarkSr. said) will also help but may not completely solve the issue.

Hope that helps some!

-- Charis w/ Sashco
 
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Old 03-04-11, 04:54 PM
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Hi guys, thanks for all the great advice!!! I purchased the following two caulking products this week

1 - Sherwin Williams 1100A (elastomeric)

2 - GE Silicone II (paintable silicone)

I also managed to find a 1mm narrow tipped applicator that I intend to use to inject the caulk into the crack gap.

One problem I have is getting rid of all the old caulk. I know silicone does not bond to silicone but does acrylic or silicone caulk bond at all to old "acrylic" caulk? I can get rid of the loose stuff but not the bonded stuff in a 1-3mm gap.

Thanks a bunch!!!!!
 
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Old 03-05-11, 04:26 AM
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Caulk will generally bond to caulking but a thin layer of caulk over the existing caulk won't work near as well as a single bead of caulk over the 2 substrates. Take a utility knife and cut along each side of the caulking and you should be able to pull it out. You don't need to remove all the caulk - just the areas that have cracked.
 
 

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