A rant about window installers - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

**ProWallGuy** · 10-03-2008, 09:34 PM

All right guys, the time has come that you need to realize that 100% silicone is NOT the only caulk on the market. I am sick and tired of coming across jobs where idiots smear silicone everywhere. Do you realize that no paint will stick to it? You can't sand the 5hit off? Don't you ever think about the guy that comes behind you and needs to paint the adjacent surface?

Case in point, my last job was a simple repaint of 2 pairs of shutters. New windows put in last March. The dumbass who installed these smeared silicone all over the place. Look at the pictures, I had to use a freakin grinder to take the shutters down to almost bare wood to remove the stuff.

So it boils down to this:

EITHER LEARN HOW TO USE A FREAKIN' CAULK GUN, OR DON'T ATTEMPT TO DO IT ALL ALL.

Rant over, carry on.

neolitic · 10-03-2008, 09:36 PM

**Double-A** · 10-03-2008, 10:00 PM

Hire a painter!

GD Paper hangers!

thom · 10-03-2008, 10:09 PM

You can caulk over silicone with latex then paint it.

Chris Johnson · 10-03-2008, 10:14 PM

I would like to add to the rant...Why do exterior finishers (In my area anyways) not leave a 1/4-3/8" gap between the trim and window and use proper caulk, not Sherwin Williams indoor/outdoor caulk and properly seal the joint and tool it properly. Nothing worse then going back to see a house and see a painter with **** caulking a 5 gallon bucket of water and an army of rags wiping off most of what he puts on and then 6 months later everything is cracked.

Caulking is an art and a trade by itself, if done properly with the correct materials it should last many years without problems.

End of my rant

chris n · 10-04-2008, 05:20 AM

You can caulk over silicone with latex then paint it.

So you have a half inch build up instead of a quarter