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 "Caulking" in the building trades is to close up openings, gaps and joints of a building using a specified sealant. Caulking controls water penetration, provides thermal insulation and can even reduce noise pollution. On the exterior of masonry buildings caulking is primarily placed to control water infiltration. Controlling water infiltration is a preventative maintenance easily done by replacing caulk on a building, but if not done or if not done properly then larger issues may soon develop that can become costly to the building owners. There are different types of caulk sealants that can be used for different applications. Let our experts help you with the caulking maintenance on your building to help keep the water out. We can take a look at the caulk sealant around your windows and doors, but those are not the only places that caulk may need to be replaced. There is also caulk in control joints and copings that may need replacing. Let our experts take a look at your building and we can give you our professional opinion on what caulk should be used, where it should be placed, and why?

After you have decided what type of caulk sealant you need to use the decisions don't stop there. Most likely a backer rod will also need to be used prior to the caulk placement. Backer rod, also called back-up rod and backer material, is a flexible foam material used behind the caulking to reduce the amount of caulk needed, it increases the elasticity and it allows the caulk into contact with the sides of the joint where it can have a proper bond. It also allows the caulk to flex more as well to prevent the caulk from tearing. By reducing the amount of caulk needed on your project, it can also keep costs down by filling parts of the joints where caulk is not needed.

There are 2 main types of backer rod for caulk/sealant applications on a masonry building. There is the open-cell foam and the closed-cell foam backer rods. The open cell is porous and will allow gasses to escape in order to prevent the caulk from blistering. Closed-call backer rods are impermeable and do not adsorb water. However they are less compressible and do not allow gases to vent through, which may become an issue depending on the sealant being applied and the construction of the building. Bruno Construction masonry, Inc. Can determine which caulk sealant and backer rod combination is best for your project. We are here to help!