Caulking vinyl siding seams?
Lately, I have been trying to be very proactive in making my house more energy efficient. The townhouse is only 5 years old, but the first floor always seems very drafty and cold. It is usually a good ten degrees colder than the second floor in the winter (Maryland). I have found and sealed some of the easy to find cracks, etc. but noticed that where the vinyl siding abuts the door jambs, window jambs, or turns a corner that there is no caulk or anything. It appears as though the wind and cold could just go through the little seam of a crack and get behind the siding. Is it common practice to caulk these areas to make the house more airtight? Does it need to be a certain kind of caulk (one that stays flexible)? It just seems as though the builder put the siding up and called it a day without trying to seal the seams at all. Thanks, Neil Neil, It appears you have some misconceptions about vinyl siding. It is definately NOT air tight, and NO, you should not attempt to caulk any of those edges up. Vinyl siding does not get sealed in any way, shape or form. Vinyl siding even has weep holes all along the bottom of the rows to allow moisture to escape because guess what- vinyl siding is not water tight either. If your home is only 5 years old, please be assured that it should have sufficient insulation in the walls to meet the heating requirements in your area. Your upstairs is 10 degrees warmer because warm air rises. If that is something you are concerned about, talking to someone in HVAC about regulating that- perhaps installing more cold air returns in your upstairs- may improve the circulation in your home. Listen to XSleeper. One of the biggest reasons that vinyl siding does not get caulked is that it expands and contracts with changes in temperature. A 12' piece of siding can actually expand/contract up to 3/8 from Summer to Winter. If the seams or butts are caulked the siding will buckle when it expands. Another tip for the cold lower level, keep the door closed at the bottom of the stairs to prevent the warm air from rising upstairs. The builder installed it correctly. The guys have told you correctly. Don't mess with your siding. The effect of heat rising is why your upstairs is colder. Maybe your thermostat is not in the right location ? It should be in the coldest spot in your house. Call your heating man. Sometimes trying to stop cold is more expensive then what the savings would be. Good Luck Originally Posted by XSleeper Neil, It appears you have some misconceptions about vinyl siding. It is definately NOT air tight, and NO, you should not attempt to caulk any of those edges up. Vinyl siding does not get sealed in any way, shape or form. Vinyl siding even has weep holes all along the bottom of the rows to allow moisture to escape because guess what- vinyl siding is not water tight either. If your home is only 5 years old, please be assured that it should have sufficient insulation in the walls to meet the heating requirements in your area. Your upstairs is 10 degrees warmer because warm air rises. If that is something you are concerned about, talking to someone in HVAC about regulating that- perhaps installing more cold air returns in your upstairs- may improve the circulation in your home. Thanks for the tips guys. I'd love to talk to an HVAC guy about regulating things, but everything is finished. It is a 4 story townhouse with no real basement, you just walk in on the first floor and that floor is completely finished off. As far as insulation, I have my doubts. There is no insulation in the wall between the garage and the entry hallway (the garage is unheated and the garage door is uninsulated). I have been working on sealing off the cracks between the garage and the house because I noticed quite a draft in at least one place during the summer with cold A/C air coming into the garage. I think the house really should have been designed with dual zone HVAC, but nothing I can do about that now (at least not inexpensively). Also, there are no doors for me to close to separate the levels. It is completely open from th first floor until the third floor, where I have bedrooms shut-off (vents closed, doors shut). Don't worry, I made sure to keep any rooms with a cold air return open. Any tips on insulating the garage door? I have heard there are kits out there, but have not found any. I don't want to buy a new door because of expense and dealing with the HOA to get it approved. I was thinking of applying some radiant foil insulation to the door. Shouldn't add to much weight and hopefully provide some insulation as well. 1. How hard would it be to install a door at the staircases? Or is it one of those huge open staircases? 2. Is your garage door a typical aluminum one? You might be able to get some 1 rigid foam sheet insulation and glue it into each door section. Originally Posted by Hellrazor 1. How hard would it be to install a door at the staircases? Or is it one of those huge open staircases? 2. Is your garage door a typical aluminum one? You might be able to get some 1 rigid foam sheet insulation and glue it into each door section. 1. Big open staircase. I don't think it would be feasible to enclose it. Plus I don't think the wife would like it. 2. Garage door is typical aluminum, maybe 3/16-inch thick at best. I have thought about the rigid foam insulation but worry about how well it will hold up to moisture, etc. Plus I have heard that adding weight to the garage door could be bad if you don't get it re-balanced, etc. I might check out the foam boards over the weekend if I can. Rigid ISO foam is impervious to moisture and hardly has any weight to it. If you glue it to your door, be sure to use PL300 foam adhesive, which won't eat the foam like many other adhesives will. 2 dow blueboard would give your garage door R-10. If you use Tuff-r insulation, the glue type wouldn't matter since both sides have foil. And that kind of insulation is really light, you wouldn't add more then a few pounds to the door. I have Stimpson siding on my Towhhome-style house, and am running into the same issue as far as sealing windows, doors, etc. Stimpson siding, if you are familiar with it, is a composite-type siding made of sawdust, glue, wax, and other stuff. Very prone to warping if not cared for properly, and like LP siding, the subject of a class action. At some point, it will have to come off the house. The question is the same. Do you suppose it's ok to seal arouond windows, doors etc. since the siding is suceptible to movement depending on the weather? Is all siding the same in that respect. I also have the same issues with temperture upstairs and downstairs. (2 level), so Im trying to do what I can to seal what I can, at least to eliminate that variable. Thanks, Dave
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