Caulking Tips

Part of what we do at Ville Painters Inc involves educating our clients so that they can make the most informed decision possible.  At times that may not involve hiring us, but we feel that our clients appreciate our insight and value honesty above all else.  In turn, some people who do not hire us in the beginning often call us in the future to assist with another project or to help fix any mistakes. Something that quite a few homeowners try to tackle themselves is a proper caulking job on their home. Caulk is simple to use and can truly put the finishing touches on just about any surface. But there is a lot of brands and variations out there! And if you use the wrong caulk, it is quite difficult to work with and your finished results will not be what you are expecting. 

Our crews will use caulk on almost every surface of a home: door frames, windows, window frames, baseboards, chair rails, crown molding, siding, etc. Any place that there is a transition, and a possible gap is where caulk can be used.  

• Applying caulk to a door frame or a base board prior to painting will make the edges sharp and tight. 
•  Applying caulk around windows will help seal them for better energy efficiency and keeping water out.  
• Applying caulk on kitchen cabinets will seal unsightly cracks.  

Before you apply caulk yourself, make sure you are using the right product for the application.  Many home improvement stores will try to push silicone caulk for everything, but silicone is a bad idea for most situations.  Silicone cannot be painted over – so unless you always want to see a bright shiny bead of caulk, use acrylic or a hybrid caulk. Silicone has a place in bathrooms and kitchens, but on other surfaces a good acrylic caulk covers about everything. Don’t worry, acrylic caulk is just as easy to work with. 

If you have any home projects that need caulk or paint, call Ville Painters at (717) 396-1176 and let us help. We have the knowledge and skill to make your projects look beautiful in the end! And if you decide to go in a different direction, you will be more informed after meeting with us so that you are able to make an educated decision about your project.