Caulking Smart Siding

Lp smartside is becoming more and more the high end composite siding of choice among builders as it looks good is durable and has the advantage of being able to be painted to restore like new condition.

Caulking smart siding.

We repalce an awful lot of smart siding due to rot and deterioration. 20 pieces of smartside 5 4 in x 4 in x 16 ft trim equals 320 linear feet. Whether you use caulk or the joint pieces hit the cut edges with primer before you install. Water can seep in around butt joints and trim so these areas need to be caulked.

When to use caulk on exterior siding siding caulk can be used on several different areas of your exterior siding to help prevent water damage and moisture buildup. You can also use caulk to repair cracks in your siding. One tube will cover approximately 20 linear feet with a 3 16 inch gap as required for smartside installation. Some of the most commonly caulked areas of siding include both corners and crevices as well as some butt joints and window and door trim boards.

Quad max caulk comes in 9 5 ounce tubes and is sold 12 tubes per case. Caulking them is a mistake and the caulking is likely to fail prematurely. Do not caulk the underside of your siding i e caulk each piece of siding to the one beneath it. Two appropriate products are polyurethane and solvent based caulk.

The gaps can be caulked with approved products have joint mouldings covers and be flashed from behind the siding provided the opposing ends are factory finished and have not been field cut. Lp siding requires flexible exterior grade paintable caulk to seal gaps. Learn more about our engineered wood siding and trim. Although lp building products siding is available bare or painted cutting the materials to fit during installation exposes some areas to the elements.

Seal the panels with semi gloss or satin paint in an oil or alkyd base as translucent sealers are not appropriate for composite siding. While paint does tend to somewhat glue these pieces together caulking them is never advised and can cause permanent damage. I would recommend james hardi cement lap over smart siding. It would be worth a coat of primer on the back side as well prior to isntall.

Where lap meets trim match caulk to the color of the siding.