Tip #6

14 Quick, Easy & Inexpensive Ways to Improve You Home Inspection Report: Tip #6
Copyright 2007 by Tex-Pro Residential & Commercial Inspections PH: 713.876.2298 www.texproinspections.com

One of the first lines of defense against water penetration and cool air seepage is caulk. Caulk is used around every exterior window and door of your home, as well as around the garage doors, eaves, siding, expansion joints, gutters, vents, cables and other openings in your exterior walls. The caulk provides a barrier to the elements, as it expands and contracts and continues to seal the opening that it was squeezed into. However, caulk does deteriorate over time, and severely deteriorated caulk provides little or no protection from those very same elements. Therefore, caulk must be replaced or just "re-caulked" periodically if your home is to be protected.

In an older home, the dried up caulk will have pulled away from the window or door jam. In a newer home, it is not unusual to find that the builder missed caulking a window or two at all. In either case, the homeowner should purchase a quality tube of caulk, about $3.00, and a caulking gun for a few dollars more, and with a small amount of practice, the homeowner should be able to fill up any missing or damaged caulking joints with no trouble.

Look to the windows and doors first, as they are the most obvious and probably the most serious. Then proceed around the house, filling any gaps that would allow water in or cool air out. Your home will be much more efficient, more water tight and less accessible to insects when you are done. Since "Caulking Deteriorated" is on almost all of my reports, following this tip will almost certainly save you an "In Need Of Repair" mark.

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