Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Caulk or expanding foam

Caulk or expanding foam?


Hello, My new home is being framed and I'm looking for ways to seal up the house nicely to prevent the gusts of wind through the living space. I can see daylight through the framing (siding not yet installed) where the headers meet the wall studs. There are also lots of corner studs that have gaps in them. I'm going to be sealing these areas up to make sure we don't get air infultration. What is the determining factor for the decision to use caulk verses an expanding foam? Ease of use? Expense? Any thoughts? Thanks is advance. Tony Generally the rule of thumb is that if the gap is more than 1/2 inch, you shouldn't use caulk. Did they put on house wrap? What kind of insulation are you going with? If you use the expanding foam, be careful with how much you initiallly put in. The stuff can expand so much that it can distort the framing members. I would put caulk around the perimeter of the outside wall at the juncture of the bottom plate and the subfloor. Make sure if the bathroom tub is place on an exterior wall that the insulation and vapor barrier are place there before the tub goes in. If somebody is building the house for you, have a talk with them about just these things. They may have a plan in place to take care of these items.








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