caulk under all lap siding boards?
 

I have noticed that a lot of my lap siding boards have a small (1/16
to 1/8) crevice where the boards lap over one another -- that is where
the thin top edge of the beveled siding (3/16?)goes under the the
thick (3/4?) bottom edge of the next upper board.

I am painting the boards. Should I caulk all of these crevices?

(Boards have been up and sun&weather-exposed for 23 years.)

Thanks,

FACE

"FACE" wrote in message
...

I have noticed that a lot of my lap siding boards have a small (1/16
to 1/8) crevice where the boards lap over one another -- that is where
the thin top edge of the beveled siding (3/16?)goes under the the
thick (3/4?) bottom edge of the next upper board.

I am painting the boards. Should I caulk all of these crevices?



Definitely not.

Ranieri wrote:
"FACE" wrote in message
...

I have noticed that a lot of my lap siding boards have a small (1/16
to 1/8) crevice where the boards lap over one another -- that is where
the thin top edge of the beveled siding (3/16?)goes under the the
thick (3/4?) bottom edge of the next upper board.

I am painting the boards. Should I caulk all of these crevices?



Definitely not.

I'll second that. Any moisture that gets behind the clapboards needs a
way to get out. Caulking will hold in moisture and rot the clapboards
from the inside out. A general rule-of-thumb (but not always true) is
to caulk vertical cracks, but not horizontal ones. Many times a
horizontal seam is where water is meant to leave a structure.

Ken

"Ken" wrote in message
oups.com...

Ranieri wrote:
"FACE" wrote in message
...

I have noticed that a lot of my lap siding boards have a small (1/16
to 1/8) crevice where the boards lap over one another -- that is where
the thin top edge of the beveled siding (3/16?)goes under the the
thick (3/4?) bottom edge of the next upper board.

I am painting the boards. Should I caulk all of these crevices?



Definitely not.

I'll second that. Any moisture that gets behind the clapboards needs a
way to get out. Caulking will hold in moisture and rot the clapboards
from the inside out. A general rule-of-thumb (but not always true) is
to caulk vertical cracks, but not horizontal ones. Many times a
horizontal seam is where water is meant to leave a structure.



Yes - in addition, lap siding is meant to expand and contract across the
width of the board - sometimes a pretty significant amount on wider lap
siding.

On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 08:21:48 -0400, FACE wrote:


I have noticed that a lot of my lap siding boards have a small (1/16
to 1/8) crevice where the boards lap over one another -- that is where
the thin top edge of the beveled siding (3/16?)goes under the the
thick (3/4?) bottom edge of the next upper board.

I am painting the boards. Should I caulk all of these crevices?

(Boards have been up and sun&weather-exposed for 23 years.)

Thanks,

FACE

To Ranieri and Ken, thanks for the prompt response and I understand
what you are saying and why. With the settling over the years, the
vertical cracks/openings are plenty. :-)

I did close up the lower horizontal crevices on the chimney chase just
above the shingles because of bouncing rain but left the upper ones
uncaulked. (Mainly because I ran out of caulk -- another message. :-))
I know that the chimney cap has about an 1 1/2 inch lip-over is not
watertight.

I am not "mr. construction" by any means -- I am trying to save
several hundred bucks by doing stuff myself and I do a lot of "looks
like" and "appears".

FACE