Dr. Marvel's Magic Elixir

There have been a lot of posts about caulk lately (tis the season) and I didn't want to be left out.

I've seen windows, doors, floors, brick, plumbing fixtures, concrete, and roofs caulked just to mention a few uses. Not long ago I even saw some "silly cone" sealant used for wood glue. As you can guess, just like Dr. Marvel's Magic Elixir, it didn't work very well. There are different kinds of products for different applications and if used for something else they just don't work (or work in a very limited way).

Just a few days ago I took these pictures of an application where caulk was used to repair a chimney flashing. Looks pretty good, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it wasn't the correct way to do the repair. When I found out that the contractor was the one who put the caulk on the chimney, I had to chuckle.

Since it was a vacant house and bank owned there was no one there to hear my laugh. The next picture should have been a big hint that this wasn't working.

This is a freshly painted ceiling with 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint.

When using caulk on anything take care to use it on something it was intended for. Call an expert (not this contractor), or better yet, call several experts and get a consensus of opinions. Look it up on the internet to see what you should be using. Don't grab a tube of Dr. Marvel's Super Caulk and expect it to solve your problem. More than likely it won't solve anything. You'll end up just cleaning it off and starting over again.

Jack Gilleland

Home Inspection Services, Clayton

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