When you think about caulking, you should think about home maintenance. However, caulking is also an essential tool used by painting contractors to fix the walls and prepare the surface of your home for painting.
What is caulking, and why do we consider it important?
Caulking is a compound designed to seal cracks, fill gaps, connect joints, and patch holes in home surfaces. Typically, caulking involves applying a layer using a caulking gun that blends the paste seamlessly into the surface. The main benefits of caulking in the home are how it helps to retain the home’s overall aesthetic and helps to remove irregularities without impacting the appearance, while ensuring the walls and surfaces of your home are flat, regular, and ready to be painted.
For instance, if you have an irregularity in your home exterior, the painting contractor can use caulking to fill the flaw; the result of this is a clean and uniform look. You can also use caulking to prevent drafts, which can improve your home’s cooling and heating costs.
5 Problems Painting Contractors Use Caulking to Fix
Removing Minor Cracks
Minor cracks in your walls and ceiling can cause paint jobs to not look uniform, bubble up, and more. Caulking allows painting contractors to fill and flatten those areas, so that when they are painted, they are indistinguishable from the rest of the wall.
Defeat Drafts
Caulking holes and leaks around windows and doors in your home is the best way to improve your home’s energy efficiency, reduce carbon footprint, cut home energy costs, and reduce drafts. Contractors will use acrylic latex if you are caulking dry environments, while for damp areas, they’ll consider vinyl latex.
Keep Out Pests and Bugs
Another problem caulking can solve in your home is the invasion of pests and bugs. To seal out unwanted pests, painting contractors use mortar caulk. It’s excellent for sealing gas in bricks, stone, and metal. You can also use it to repair fissures in your basement and foundations, which is extra protection against rodents and insects. Mortar repair caulk is also perfect for interior and exterior use and can be painted once it is dry.
Gaps in Wood
The truth is no matter how well you think you have measured and cut wood, many times you end up with some gaps between or below baseboards and moldings. If contractors need to seal those gaps, they can use acrylic latex caulk to fill those small spaces. Another exciting benefit of acrylic latex is its variety of color options that can match whatever surface you are sealing.
Excellent for Sealing and Protecting
There is also a fireproof caulk that does more than just patching holes but can protect the home from fire moving between open spaces.
When you consider caulking in preparation for painting or for your next home maintenance strategy, think of all of these benefits. Fillo Painting can bring this plan to life, so talk to us today by checking out our website or by calling 770-769-7941.