# I keep having to recaulk the crown moldings in my spec units. HELP!



## boman47k (Oct 13, 2006)

Recaulking over old/previous caulking?


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## Bastien1337 (Dec 20, 2010)

do you glue your trim to the drywall or just shoot it with finishing nails.

I like to shoot pl premium on the back of any trim I use...casement, baseboard, crown, chair.


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## Ole34 (Jan 29, 2011)

Bastien1337 said:


> do you glue your trim to the drywall or just shoot it with finishing nails.
> 
> I like to shoot pl premium on the back of any trim I use...casement, baseboard, crown, chair.


 
hard to find guys like you!...do you keep sandpaper in your back pocket to hit the cuts after you saw also??? .............i use to work with a crew would sand all their cuts down and glue...........HEAVEN !! oh, and they wouldnt shoot nails into beads also


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## Bastien1337 (Dec 20, 2010)

Ole34 said:


> hard to find guys like you!...do you keep sandpaper in your back pocket to hit the cuts after you saw also??? .............i use to work with a crew would sand all their cuts down and glue...........HEAVEN !! oh, and they wouldnt shoot nails into beads also


it depends, I usually like to install then sand, a little more time consuming, but if I need to take a bit of one side of the moulding so its meets nicey nicey to the other side, thats what i'll do.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 17, 2008)

im the same way, why sand the same cut twice if its needed once installed

i glue to the wall and ceiling also


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## room2roof (Feb 1, 2011)

MrPulte said:


> Good Afternoon,
> 
> I am looking for ways to reduce my overhead on this huge 75 unit mid rise building. There is ALOT of molding in these units; crown, neck, base, and chair. Because these units are not sold yet, I have to maintain these units, and at least twice a year recaulk them. I am looking for a way to cut this down. Is there a caulk that anyone swears by? We use builders grade caulk, which costs about 2 dollars a bottle, but would gladly pay more for a more flexible caulk which does not crack with the temperature. Please help. Thank you for your time.
> 
> Alex


Well for starters stop buying crappy caulk youre spending more in labor paying your guys to recaulk. when you install trim you should cope the inside corners instead of cutting 45s and glue the outsides and that'll resolve your biggest issue. 

I use OSI quad caulking which is for window and siding mainly but is extremely flexible and does not shrink, however it must be used sparingly and cleaned up while applying with rag dampened in paint thinner since it has an oil base. Dont worry this product can be painted with Latex paint with no problem what so ever. We use it when using the brake to wrap new vinyl windows in Trim coil and to install fiber cement siding and trim. you ccan pick it up at LOWES for about $5. a tube. i find it does go a bit further than latex caulk which almost every brand at every price sucks to me when it comes to shrinkage (just thought of george costanza for a minute there ..lol)


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## WisePainter (Sep 16, 2008)

CO762 said:


> Pulte, Centex, they're both the same nationwide resid development company now.
> 
> Alex, wherever your problem is, whichever state, etc. I'd not get caught up in the details and just make sure to hire a quality American company that employs quality minded American workers that will guarantee their work.
> Pay them good and let the GC and Subs do their quality work. :thumbsup:


lol, I was feeling down today.
I needed the laugh!

thank you!

What I use is too expensive for shoddy spec homes...


EDIT: aw what the heck...Duo-Sil from Siroflex...


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## boman47k (Oct 13, 2006)

Do any of you others ever apply caulk over caulk when recaulking?


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## Bastien1337 (Dec 20, 2010)

yes its called backtrimming, sometimes it shrinks and you hit it again to make it nice and full.

only time you need to worry about caulking over caulk is if the old isn't well adhered are would stand proud of the new caulk.


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## boman47k (Oct 13, 2006)

I always thought new caulk would not stick to new caulk. I have some I need to recaulk, but putting it off because I was dreading trying to remove the old on crown. 

Now I am wondering if the new caulk sticks to the old, or is it sticking to the primer and or paint.


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## Bastien1337 (Dec 20, 2010)

caulking will stick to caulking. now a latex caulking product might not stick to an oil product like silicone, but thats another issue.

if the caulking is clean and well adhered you can caulk right over it, there might be reasons why you wouldn't want to do it such as too much of a build up. 

The only reasons most companies spec to remove old caulking is for people who dont understand what or how much is necessary to remove or leave. so it becomes a liability for the companies if there is failure. They might claim, "well the old caulking was in bad condition and thats why the new stuff failed because you went over the old."

The reference is usually to old, moldy, or non adhered caulking, this should be removed. The rest is typically a build up issue, it just might be to coved out or bulky looking to caulk over caulk. It just looks amateurish to do so.

but in instances of inadequate caulking or caulking that maybe has shrunk I would re-caulk with out removal.

another issue which is more of an aesthetic one, is it can also be difficult to get a smooth bead over a preexisting one. When you caulk you are usually pushing the bulk into the gap leaving just enough on the outside surface to be tooled into a smooth bead. If the bead is full you could very easy put to much caulking down and it will spread quite wide leaving a messy appearance, it might also be spread to thin because there is no crevasse to push it into, thusly defeating the purpose of the new caulking.


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## MattRoefer (Mar 1, 2010)

My advice is painting and going with it....try using the paint to make a good line, instead of using the caulk to try to fix the mistakes.


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## dprimc (Mar 13, 2009)

room2roof said:


> I use OSI quad caulking which is for window and siding mainly but is extremely flexible and does not shrink, however it must be used sparingly and cleaned up while applying with rag dampened in paint thinner since it has an oil base.


Quad for interior trim? Seriously????


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## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

I use Big Stretch with great results.


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## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

Crap homes... What is the difference?


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