We want to see your caulk (or sealant depending on whether or not the joint is susceptible to movement). Good caulk jobs ... bad caulk jobs ... doesn't matter. Share your photos and stories.
First up is a simple case. Two toilet fixtures side-by-side in a men's room. One has a joint that is perfectly fine (a little sloppy at the grout line, but acceptable). The other, simply looks like they forgot to tool it. Also looks like the caulking had been replaced, and the old caulk wasn't sufficiently removed.
Non Sequitur
Jan 4, 17 12:05 pm
Brilliant idea. I'm in an uber, heading back to the office after a smoke seal inspection. Terrible caulk!
As a side note, I keep my caulk in a tube sock RHCP style!
Everyday Intern
Jan 4, 17 12:08 pm
NS, pics or it didn't happen...
Donna Sink
Jan 4, 17 12:16 pm
Oh jeez. I suck at making things but even *I* could do better than that second picture, EI!
Let me see what I can find today at work....
Non Sequitur
Jan 4, 17 12:21 pm
Pics will come forth... just give me time for Sir Sean Connery's sake.
I've literally been a sealant nazi on this project.
senjohnblutarsky
Jan 4, 17 12:27 pm
Are we allowed to include various types of sealant?
Non Sequitur
Jan 4, 17 12:56 pm
Here ya go:
You're looking at a curtainwall insulated backpan and concrete slab smoke-sealant application. Important note... I have yet to approve the product and system.
Non Sequitur
Aug 27, 19 2:17 pm
.
Non Sequitur
Aug 27, 19 2:24 pm
Found them
shellarchitect
Jan 4, 17 1:00 pm
wtf is that? Did you review shop drawings?
Non Sequitur
Jan 4, 17 1:03 pm
^for me?
Shop drawings were returned twice for revision and need the city's blessing (long story... worthy of a thread on it's own)... the trades still went ahead and started applying anyways.
Kevin Wagner
Jan 4, 17 1:21 pm
I hate it when I get caulk blocked.
Everyday Intern
Jan 4, 17 1:29 pm
senjohnblutarsky, please tell me that those are existing conditions and that you're going to fix them. Anyone think that coping installation could pass ANSI/SPRI ES-1?
Non Sequitur, ouch. Was it somebody's first day? Will it be somebody's last?
senjohnblutarsky
Jan 4, 17 1:53 pm
Not existing. Never fixed. Contractor and Client were very closely related. Very Closely.
The "roof hatch" they installed was a piece of roofing metal they cut and laid on top of the other metal. It's secured with a string tied to the ladder below. Guess where the rain goes?!?!
I can't believe there were no comments on the pipe penetration.
b3tadine[sutures]
Jan 4, 17 1:56 pm
I don't understand, isn't more, better? I mean the contractor had to pay more, and more = expensive.
Non Sequitur
Jan 4, 17 2:04 pm
Sen, I'm fine with the pipe penetration... but please, look at the colour of that plastic putty knife on the dark orange. Terrible colour coordination. btw, what does that pipe connect to?
EI, by the look on my general's face when I pointed things out... I am sure a few guys got an early weekend. I've got more examples of big bad caulks lined up. Will post more later.
Everyday Intern
Jan 4, 17 4:17 pm
I'm actually ok with the pipe penetration. It's ugly, and I'd never allow someone to do it that way on my dime, but at least it's in an overhanging bit and there is a roof below.
I really like the way you can see the contractor just cut and folded the part of the roof up and out of the way so it could fit the offset in the parapet in the second pick. That and the lack of cricket where the parapet ends so any water that flows down to that point can get directed right to the spot where the roof was cut and folded to fit the end of the parapet. I don't think I could detail a roof to leak any better.
And that's just the roof. What were they thinking on the parapet? Did they leave the sheet material just hanging there like that?
The roof hatch sounds amazing. You'd think you'd give someone related that closely a little better quality of service, but maybe not. I guess it depends on the family.
senjohnblutarsky
Jan 4, 17 4:51 pm
Well, client was a municipality. But a connection to a high level individual with the municipality existed. The whole thing is a giant mess. They should have torn every bit of it off and started over.
I never actually worked on the project. The pictures just came in to the office from the Architect who was working on it. I've enjoyed showing them to people since. If you really want to see a mess, I can share the whole album with you.
It would actually be fun to have a thread dedicated to screw ups. I'd hate to sully a caulk/sealant thread with other things. And if you haven't seen it before, check out a company called Mechanical Hub on facebook. They post some beautiful screw ups. They also post some really nice installs as well.
Everyday Intern
Jan 4, 17 6:14 pm
Good stuff on that facebook link. I love that kind of stuff. I always try to see the screw ups from the perspective of the person trying to solve the problem. Kind of a forensics mentality of what were they thinking that they thought this would be an acceptable solution. Sometimes the solutions, while not standard, are actually quite beautiful in their own right if they are elegantly executed. Nothing is beautiful about that roof though.
I don't have a problem if the thread morphs to include other screw ups, weird fixes, etc. A lot can be said about caulk, but sometimes you have to pay attention to other things as well so the caulk doesn't get tired.
Josh Mings
Jan 4, 17 6:30 pm
This thread is going to haunt my nightmares tonight.
Non Sequitur
Jan 4, 17 7:11 pm
Just wait until tomorrow. I have another one planned.
b3tadine[sutures]
Jan 4, 17 11:42 pm
.
z6jbishop
Jun 15, 17 1:56 pm
Canada eh?
Josh Mings
Jan 5, 17 12:17 am
Is that a frisbee?
citizen
Jan 5, 17 12:33 am
No, it looks like your average caulked puck.
Zbig
Jan 5, 17 8:51 am
What the puck!?
Donna Sink
Jan 5, 17 8:52 am
That picture makes me think of Clerks.
x intern
Jan 5, 17 8:59 am
Had a subcontractor use fire caulk at all their penetrations on a project that had no fire rating. Fire marshal wouldn't tag due to unprotected penetrations. It took forever to sort out.
Non Sequitur
Jan 5, 17 9:14 am
No pics, but I've just spent the last hour sorting out a potential messy caulk problem. Contractor just submitted an alternative smoke sealant caulk expecting it to be suitable... turns out that product is only acceptable for one proprietary movable partition system from Australia. But don't worry, they told me will use a white coloured sealant and tool it flush to the gypsum board! That's a relief, even though it's a non-compliant caulk, at least it'll look good for the architect.
My response was terse.
Josh Mings
Jan 5, 17 10:42 am
So does that puck qualify as continuing a fire rated assembly (if the exterior load bearing wall needed an hour)? Looks like some kid hit the puck and the homeowner just decided what the hell, keep it.
Medusa
Jan 5, 17 11:24 am
I've done some basic caulking in my house (tub, windows, doors, trim) and for the life of me, I can't understand how a laborer who does this all day, every day can do such shit work. Getting a clean caulk line is really not that difficult and doesn't take a lot of time. And wtf is up with that red metal roof up there? I can't believe that is new construction.
Everyday Intern
Jan 5, 17 11:36 am
Many manufacturers' smoke sealant also doubles as their acoustical sealant. Sometimes it gets packaged differently ... sometimes they don't bother to call it a different product. For example ... or in spray variety.
The hockey puck looks like it was there to keep rodents from entering the soffit and spray-foamed into place. The spray foam pushed the puck out of alignment. The contractor was probably planning to use Bondo or Abatron to smooth over the mess once the foam hardened. Not that it's a good way to fix the problem, but not that uncommon either on low-budget jobs. Well, the hockey puck is unusual.
senjohnblutarsky
Jan 5, 17 12:02 pm
I observed some abysmal sealant applications this morning. But, sadly, I don't think I want to post pictures of an active project.
Caulk on top of caulk on top of dirt that was never cleaned prior to first application. And then more caulk.
Everyday Intern
Jan 5, 17 12:08 pm
Wood Guy, that's too logical of a scenario. More likely it was some neighbor kids up in MN playing in the street. A slap shot from little Billy went stray as his mullet distracted him when he made contact with the puck. Fortunately, the puck missed Old Lady McGregor's front window ... unfortunately, the puck got lodged in the soffit and they couldn't get it unstuck.
So, down a puck, little Billy went looking through the garage to find if his dad had anything that could make a suitable replacement puck. He couldn't find anything but did find some spray foam. Being raised that far up north (Minnesota) Billy understood the importance of sealing leaks in a building to prevent air infiltration/exfiltration and decided to seal the leaks around the puck in Mrs. McGregor's soffit. He's a mulletted street child, not a savage. Mrs. McGregor needs to stay warm at night.
Wood Guy
Jan 5, 17 1:52 pm
Yeah, that was probably it. ;-)
senjohnblutarsky
Jan 5, 17 2:53 pm
And yes, it leaks.
Everyday Intern
Jan 6, 17 1:50 pm
This is an example of what is happening all over the city with new construction ... sanded sealant joints in sidewalks. I don't understand it. For control joints in masonry they can make a lot of sense because you can make them look like the surrounding mortar, but for a sidewalk?
You're not really disguising the joint with the sand. It obviously appears different than the surrounding concrete. Even if the sand matched the concrete perfectly, the joint is a completely different size than all the saw cut joints surrounding it, so you still aren't fooling anyone.
The sand will get worn off. It's a trafficked joint for one, and sanded joints are difficult to get right anyway. They require that you tool the joint, broadcast the sand onto the surface, and "pat" it into the sealant before it skins over. Usually you'll find that a portion of the joint is fine, but then it starts to show that the sealant had skinned over (installer too slow with the sand), or it wasn't sufficiently "patted" into the sealant (installer potentially trying to work too quickly).
In the end, you're left with a visible sealant joint with sand only on portions of it that at a glance make it look dirty and dusty. All this equals an ugly sidewalk ... the opposite of the design intent which was to get something with a little bit of visual appeal (otherwise, why sand the joint in the first place).
The joint pictured was only installed about 1-2 years ago.
Everyday Architect
Aug 27, 19 2:47 pm
adding back the lost photo for posterity...
AdrianFGA
Jan 6, 17 8:51 pm
@Non Sequitur
You're looking at a curtainwall insulated backpan and concrete slab smoke-sealant application
Looks to me like an office building curtain wall. The sealant job looks bad, but usually these things don't take place in a vacuum. Who was involved in nominating, selecting, or approving the subs who worked on this?
Important note... I have yet to approve the product and system.
Can you describe a bit more the process of approving a system which has already been installed?.
Non Sequitur
Jan 6, 17 10:49 pm
Adrian, I have a large construction company actions as general. They picked all the sub contracts.
You are correct that this is a commercial curtain wall installation. I've already told them to remove the bad caulk and redo the job with the sealant tooled flush to top of slab. They are fighting me on this but it's not my fault they went ahead with installation before submitting the correct shop drawings. I've already got the same subs to redo all the sealants in both parking levels.
Wilma Buttfit
Jan 7, 17 2:30 pm
I'm doing some caulking around the house today. This thread is inspiring!
WillDon
Feb 10, 17 1:09 am
Recently, I read that caulks are often used compared to true sealants. Caulking doesn't take much effort or skill, anyone can do it. Caulks are based on less expensive polymers such as linseed oil, polybutene, asphalt, butyl rubber, SBR rubber, vinyl acetate and acrylic latex. A caulk has a limited movement capability. If you cannot DIY take expert help from some contractors. Be careful to keep these simple tips in this article in mind while hiring them http://www.royalyorkroofing.ca/blog/roof-repair/what-to-look-for-in-a-roof-contractor/ . Tarry, take your own time. From this pic, it seems, it needs a fast repair.
Fantastic.
Those images make me want to laugh, then cry, then laugh, then cry...
Miles Jaffe
Jun 8, 17 5:41 pm
True story.
Back in the day I was working in a shop making doors and windows for a beach house. A stupid Hamptons PoS with > 100 windows and about 80 doors. Windows were 3 over 1 over 3 and all the exterior doors were glazed. The day we set the glass it was pouring rain. By pouring I mean tropical deluge, 12" in a day. The kind of rain where a few seconds of exposure carries the risk of drowning.
On that particular day I was detailed to pick up supplies, which is how I came to find myself standing at the counter in the lumberyard, soaked to the skin, a steady stream of water issuing from my feet, buying 4 cases of silicone caulk. Nobody said a word.
Everyday Architect
Jun 8, 17 9:44 pm
threadkilla, that instagram account is fantastic! Thanks for resurrecting the thread.
z6jbishop
Jun 15, 17 2:04 pm
Performance joint sealed to masonry :/
Non Sequitur
May 15, 18 8:20 am
Bringing back a classic discussion. Too bad my original images are now broken links.
Feast your eyes on this fresh caulk:
and close-up.
Bench
May 15, 18 11:33 am
Couldnt tell what I was looking at in the first photo because I thought it was crumbling brick. That second photo, jesus christ
Non Sequitur
May 15, 18 11:42 am
Funny thing is that it's not even the caulk I specified.
Bench
May 15, 18 11:48 am
Honest question - why would you need to spec one caulk over another ?
senjohnblutarsky
May 15, 18 12:01 pm
Appearance (sanded, unsanded, paintable, etc). Width of joint? Requires different sealants. Does the joint experience movement? Requires different sealants. Does the joint experience foot traffic? Horizontal or vertical? Is it an institutional location? That would require a pick-proof sealant.
Non Sequitur
May 15, 18 12:04 pm
ULC is prescriptive with often no alternatives. We don't just say "provide firestop and smoke sealant", we note the specific system which dictates product and gap tolerances and get shop drawings to match. Different manufacture's product may require thicker beads or may not be suitable to fill the gaps for example. I'm obviously simplifying this, but this is a big item in our area for the inspectors so I make sure to be ahead of them.
Wilma Buttfit
May 15, 18 12:14 pm
There's a story here about an architect who lost his career over spec'ing the wrong sealant. Don't know if true or just a legend.
Non Sequitur
May 15, 18 12:21 pm
Tintt, there could be a story there as smoke sealant is a life-safety item. Too many contractors and clients (and about 95% of junior to intermediate staff) don't know the differences. Not too difficult to imagine it if an architect picked the wrong product for an incorrect application and a fire separation fails. I normally give the GC and project managers fair warning early on that I won't budge of fire stopping. Either you do as your told or you're redoing the work.
Wilma Buttfit
May 15, 18 12:31 pm
It was an exterior sealant on a highrise.
Almosthip7
Aug 27, 19 1:38 pm
Im a "Hilti Caulk Master"
senjohnblutarsky
Aug 27, 19 2:01 pm
I'm disappointed. I clicked this thread for an eyeful of caulk. And all I have is some disjointed ramblings as an update.
Non Sequitur
Aug 27, 19 2:16 pm
You missed a great deal of the fun... I should dig up my original caulk pics from the broken links and repost
Everyday Architect
Aug 27, 19 2:49 pm
Do it NS. I dug up one of my lost photos and reposted it as a reply to the original above.
Non Sequitur
Aug 27, 19 2:53 pm
I just did.
Everyday Architect
Aug 27, 19 5:35 pm
Back to our originally scheduled programming ... this is an older photo I came across today. I forget exactly why I took it, but you have to admire the installer that decided the hanger rod belonged in the middle of a partition. I'm also noticing that it doesn't look like pillow packs or other firestopping devices installed for the data cables. I'm sure it was corrected before substantial completion.
Everyday Architect
Aug 27, 19 5:50 pm
.
Non Sequitur
Aug 27, 19 9:23 pm
Hot damn that's sexy. I know what the first few hours of my workday will be spent doing tomorrow... hint: it's searching for recent caulk pics.
Chad Miller
Aug 28, 19 9:55 am
Are those pillow packs? Never actually seen them installed in person . . .
Everyday Architect
Aug 28, 19 10:48 am
That photo is from the manufacturer’s website. I wanted to show what it should have looked like.
Chad Miller
Aug 28, 19 11:27 am
Isn't showing what it should have looked like pretty much the description of our careers? ;)
Chad Miller
Aug 28, 19 10:05 am
More bad caulk
Non Sequitur
Aug 28, 19 3:26 pm
I don't know which is worse: the colour of the tiles and counter or the caulk job
Non Sequitur
Aug 28, 19 12:34 pm
When in doubt CAULK everything.
senjohnblutarsky
Aug 28, 19 2:20 pm
Holy shit.
Non Sequitur
Aug 28, 19 2:30 pm
Yep. Funny thing is, this wall is not rated... never needed it and was never designed as one. I was doing CA on a fit-up project and the city inspector demanded the GC install a full height (30' at least) 60min shaftwall to this existing not in scope partition. The copious amounts of red CAULK was the compromise we made with the inspector.
Non Sequitur
Aug 28, 19 12:42 pm
And another one... this one was done after cladding installation. GC forgot to install the membranes as per details and caused the rain to funnel directly into the building's brand new conference centre space. This caulk was the solution since they did not want to take the whole thing apart. Solution was proposed well after our last deficiency walk-through and no-one is pleased.
Chad Miller
Aug 28, 19 12:49 pm
Ouch.
Non Sequitur
Aug 28, 19 12:58 pm
Yeah, the original detail was a slim shadow reveal... now it's a celebrated 40mm CAULK joint.
Everyday Architect
Aug 28, 19 1:01 pm
And still not solving the underlying issue. Maybe it solved it for a certain amount of rain, but with a big enough storm, I bet it leaks again.
Non Sequitur
Aug 28, 19 1:26 pm
ding ding ding.... EI, it's almost like you know what you're doing!
Everyday Architect
Aug 28, 19 1:42 pm
almost? I can't get a little more credit than that?
What if I add that during the winter, I bet you get some condensation issues because you probably don't have a continuous air barrier and vapour retarder...
(I even wrote vapor the Canadian way for you)
Non Sequitur
Aug 28, 19 1:57 pm
I appreciate you using the correct English spelling. Thanks. I did some detail membrane lapping coordination between existing building (masonry) and addition so the continuity of the AB should be decent and the VB is all new on the inside. The main problem is the flashing at the base of the wall not shown in picture. They did not follow the drainage detail so all the water funneled into the base of wall and stayed there until the sheathing could take no more.
tduds
Aug 28, 19 2:28 pm
What if - hear me out - we just made the whole building out of caulk?
Non Sequitur
Aug 28, 19 2:32 pm
Tduds, Jean Nouvel would like a word with you.
Everyday Architect
Aug 28, 19 2:44 pm
I worked one summer installing siding with a guy who could have done that. My favorite example is with a piece of millwork that he measured and cut terribly. Instead of redoing it (like any good carpeter would have) he pulls out the DAP and starts loading it up to fill the gap. A few minutes later he had basically recreated the millwork profile in caulk to fill in the gap.
We want to see your caulk (or sealant depending on whether or not the joint is susceptible to movement). Good caulk jobs ... bad caulk jobs ... doesn't matter. Share your photos and stories.
First up is a simple case. Two toilet fixtures side-by-side in a men's room. One has a joint that is perfectly fine (a little sloppy at the grout line, but acceptable). The other, simply looks like they forgot to tool it. Also looks like the caulking had been replaced, and the old caulk wasn't sufficiently removed.
Brilliant idea. I'm in an uber, heading back to the office after a smoke seal inspection. Terrible caulk!
As a side note, I keep my caulk in a tube sock RHCP style!
NS, pics or it didn't happen...
Oh jeez. I suck at making things but even *I* could do better than that second picture, EI!
Let me see what I can find today at work....
Pics will come forth... just give me time for Sir Sean Connery's sake.
I've literally been a sealant nazi on this project.
Are we allowed to include various types of sealant?
Here ya go:
You're looking at a curtainwall insulated backpan and concrete slab smoke-sealant application. Important note... I have yet to approve the product and system.
.
Found them
wtf is that? Did you review shop drawings?
^for me?
Shop drawings were returned twice for revision and need the city's blessing (long story... worthy of a thread on it's own)... the trades still went ahead and started applying anyways.
I hate it when I get caulk blocked.
senjohnblutarsky, please tell me that those are existing conditions and that you're going to fix them. Anyone think that coping installation could pass ANSI/SPRI ES-1?
Non Sequitur, ouch. Was it somebody's first day? Will it be somebody's last?
Not existing. Never fixed. Contractor and Client were very closely related. Very Closely.
The "roof hatch" they installed was a piece of roofing metal they cut and laid on top of the other metal. It's secured with a string tied to the ladder below. Guess where the rain goes?!?!
I can't believe there were no comments on the pipe penetration.
I don't understand, isn't more, better? I mean the contractor had to pay more, and more = expensive.
Sen, I'm fine with the pipe penetration... but please, look at the colour of that plastic putty knife on the dark orange. Terrible colour coordination. btw, what does that pipe connect to?
EI, by the look on my general's face when I pointed things out... I am sure a few guys got an early weekend. I've got more examples of big bad caulks lined up. Will post more later.
I'm actually ok with the pipe penetration. It's ugly, and I'd never allow someone to do it that way on my dime, but at least it's in an overhanging bit and there is a roof below.
I really like the way you can see the contractor just cut and folded the part of the roof up and out of the way so it could fit the offset in the parapet in the second pick. That and the lack of cricket where the parapet ends so any water that flows down to that point can get directed right to the spot where the roof was cut and folded to fit the end of the parapet. I don't think I could detail a roof to leak any better.
And that's just the roof. What were they thinking on the parapet? Did they leave the sheet material just hanging there like that?
The roof hatch sounds amazing. You'd think you'd give someone related that closely a little better quality of service, but maybe not. I guess it depends on the family.
Well, client was a municipality. But a connection to a high level individual with the municipality existed. The whole thing is a giant mess. They should have torn every bit of it off and started over.
I never actually worked on the project. The pictures just came in to the office from the Architect who was working on it. I've enjoyed showing them to people since. If you really want to see a mess, I can share the whole album with you.
It would actually be fun to have a thread dedicated to screw ups. I'd hate to sully a caulk/sealant thread with other things. And if you haven't seen it before, check out a company called Mechanical Hub on facebook. They post some beautiful screw ups. They also post some really nice installs as well.
Good stuff on that facebook link. I love that kind of stuff. I always try to see the screw ups from the perspective of the person trying to solve the problem. Kind of a forensics mentality of what were they thinking that they thought this would be an acceptable solution. Sometimes the solutions, while not standard, are actually quite beautiful in their own right if they are elegantly executed. Nothing is beautiful about that roof though.
I don't have a problem if the thread morphs to include other screw ups, weird fixes, etc. A lot can be said about caulk, but sometimes you have to pay attention to other things as well so the caulk doesn't get tired.
This thread is going to haunt my nightmares tonight.
Just wait until tomorrow. I have another one planned.
Canada eh?
Is that a frisbee?
No, it looks like your average caulked puck.
What the puck!?
That picture makes me think of Clerks.
Had a subcontractor use fire caulk at all their penetrations on a project that had no fire rating. Fire marshal wouldn't tag due to unprotected penetrations. It took forever to sort out.
No pics, but I've just spent the last hour sorting out a potential messy caulk problem. Contractor just submitted an alternative smoke sealant caulk expecting it to be suitable... turns out that product is only acceptable for one proprietary movable partition system from Australia. But don't worry, they told me will use a white coloured sealant and tool it flush to the gypsum board! That's a relief, even though it's a non-compliant caulk, at least it'll look good for the architect.
My response was terse.
So does that puck qualify as continuing a fire rated assembly (if the exterior load bearing wall needed an hour)? Looks like some kid hit the puck and the homeowner just decided what the hell, keep it.
I've done some basic caulking in my house (tub, windows, doors, trim) and for the life of me, I can't understand how a laborer who does this all day, every day can do such shit work. Getting a clean caulk line is really not that difficult and doesn't take a lot of time. And wtf is up with that red metal roof up there? I can't believe that is new construction.
Many manufacturers' smoke sealant also doubles as their acoustical sealant. Sometimes it gets packaged differently ... sometimes they don't bother to call it a different product. For example ... or in spray variety.
However, if they were using an intumescent caulk like this for all penetrations ... that's just stupid.
The hockey puck looks like it was there to keep rodents from entering the soffit and spray-foamed into place. The spray foam pushed the puck out of alignment. The contractor was probably planning to use Bondo or Abatron to smooth over the mess once the foam hardened. Not that it's a good way to fix the problem, but not that uncommon either on low-budget jobs. Well, the hockey puck is unusual.
I observed some abysmal sealant applications this morning. But, sadly, I don't think I want to post pictures of an active project.
Caulk on top of caulk on top of dirt that was never cleaned prior to first application. And then more caulk.
Wood Guy, that's too logical of a scenario. More likely it was some neighbor kids up in MN playing in the street. A slap shot from little Billy went stray as his mullet distracted him when he made contact with the puck. Fortunately, the puck missed Old Lady McGregor's front window ... unfortunately, the puck got lodged in the soffit and they couldn't get it unstuck.
So, down a puck, little Billy went looking through the garage to find if his dad had anything that could make a suitable replacement puck. He couldn't find anything but did find some spray foam. Being raised that far up north (Minnesota) Billy understood the importance of sealing leaks in a building to prevent air infiltration/exfiltration and decided to seal the leaks around the puck in Mrs. McGregor's soffit. He's a mulletted street child, not a savage. Mrs. McGregor needs to stay warm at night.
Yeah, that was probably it. ;-)
And yes, it leaks.
This is an example of what is happening all over the city with new construction ... sanded sealant joints in sidewalks. I don't understand it. For control joints in masonry they can make a lot of sense because you can make them look like the surrounding mortar, but for a sidewalk?
You're not really disguising the joint with the sand. It obviously appears different than the surrounding concrete. Even if the sand matched the concrete perfectly, the joint is a completely different size than all the saw cut joints surrounding it, so you still aren't fooling anyone.
The sand will get worn off. It's a trafficked joint for one, and sanded joints are difficult to get right anyway. They require that you tool the joint, broadcast the sand onto the surface, and "pat" it into the sealant before it skins over. Usually you'll find that a portion of the joint is fine, but then it starts to show that the sealant had skinned over (installer too slow with the sand), or it wasn't sufficiently "patted" into the sealant (installer potentially trying to work too quickly).
In the end, you're left with a visible sealant joint with sand only on portions of it that at a glance make it look dirty and dusty. All this equals an ugly sidewalk ... the opposite of the design intent which was to get something with a little bit of visual appeal (otherwise, why sand the joint in the first place).
The joint pictured was only installed about 1-2 years ago.
adding back the lost photo for posterity...
@Non Sequitur
You're looking at a curtainwall insulated backpan and concrete slab smoke-sealant application
Looks to me like an office building curtain wall. The sealant job looks bad, but usually these things don't take place in a vacuum. Who was involved in nominating, selecting, or approving the subs who worked on this?
Important note... I have yet to approve the product and system.
Can you describe a bit more the process of approving a system which has already been installed?.
Adrian, I have a large construction company actions as general. They picked all the sub contracts.
You are correct that this is a commercial curtain wall installation. I've already told them to remove the bad caulk and redo the job with the sealant tooled flush to top of slab. They are fighting me on this but it's not my fault they went ahead with installation before submitting the correct shop drawings. I've already got the same subs to redo all the sealants in both parking levels.
I'm doing some caulking around the house today. This thread is inspiring!
Recently, I read that caulks are often used compared to true sealants. Caulking doesn't take much effort or skill, anyone can do it. Caulks are based on less expensive polymers such as linseed oil, polybutene, asphalt, butyl rubber, SBR rubber, vinyl acetate and acrylic latex. A caulk has a limited movement capability. If you cannot DIY take expert help from some contractors. Be careful to keep these simple tips in this article in mind while hiring them http://www.royalyorkroofing.ca/blog/roof-repair/what-to-look-for-in-a-roof-contractor/ . Tarry, take your own time. From this pic, it seems, it needs a fast repair.
coming up with all these caulk puns is an EASY D!
Had to resurrect this thread after spotting this brilliant instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/greaseball1987/
Enjoy!
lol
Fantastic. Those images make me want to laugh, then cry, then laugh, then cry...
True story.
Back in the day I was working in a shop making doors and windows for a beach house. A stupid Hamptons PoS with > 100 windows and about 80 doors. Windows were 3 over 1 over 3 and all the exterior doors were glazed. The day we set the glass it was pouring rain. By pouring I mean tropical deluge, 12" in a day. The kind of rain where a few seconds of exposure carries the risk of drowning.
On that particular day I was detailed to pick up supplies, which is how I came to find myself standing at the counter in the lumberyard, soaked to the skin, a steady stream of water issuing from my feet, buying 4 cases of silicone caulk. Nobody said a word.
threadkilla, that instagram account is fantastic! Thanks for resurrecting the thread.
Performance joint sealed to masonry :/
Bringing back a classic discussion. Too bad my original images are now broken links.
Feast your eyes on this fresh caulk:
and close-up.
Couldnt tell what I was looking at in the first photo because I thought it was crumbling brick. That second photo, jesus christ
Funny thing is that it's not even the caulk I specified.
Honest question - why would you need to spec one caulk over another ?
Appearance (sanded, unsanded, paintable, etc). Width of joint? Requires different sealants. Does the joint experience movement? Requires different sealants. Does the joint experience foot traffic? Horizontal or vertical? Is it an institutional location? That would require a pick-proof sealant.
ULC is prescriptive with often no alternatives. We don't just say "provide firestop and smoke sealant", we note the specific system which dictates product and gap tolerances and get shop drawings to match. Different manufacture's product may require thicker beads or may not be suitable to fill the gaps for example. I'm obviously simplifying this, but this is a big item in our area for the inspectors so I make sure to be ahead of them.
There's a story here about an architect who lost his career over spec'ing the wrong sealant. Don't know if true or just a legend.
Tintt, there could be a story there as smoke sealant is a life-safety item. Too many contractors and clients (and about 95% of junior to intermediate staff) don't know the differences. Not too difficult to imagine it if an architect picked the wrong product for an incorrect application and a fire separation fails. I normally give the GC and project managers fair warning early on that I won't budge of fire stopping. Either you do as your told or you're redoing the work.
It was an exterior sealant on a highrise.
Im a "Hilti Caulk Master"
I'm disappointed. I clicked this thread for an eyeful of caulk. And all I have is some disjointed ramblings as an update.
You missed a great deal of the fun... I should dig up my original caulk pics from the broken links and repost
Do it NS. I dug up one of my lost photos and reposted it as a reply to the original above.
I just did.
Back to our originally scheduled programming ... this is an older photo I came across today. I forget exactly why I took it, but you have to admire the installer that decided the hanger rod belonged in the middle of a partition. I'm also noticing that it doesn't look like pillow packs or other firestopping devices installed for the data cables. I'm sure it was corrected before substantial completion.
.
Hot damn that's sexy. I know what the first few hours of my workday will be spent doing tomorrow... hint: it's searching for recent caulk pics.
Are those pillow packs? Never actually seen them installed in person . . .
That photo is from the manufacturer’s website. I wanted to show what it should have looked like.
Isn't showing what it should have looked like pretty much the description of our careers? ;)
More bad caulk
I don't know which is worse: the colour of the tiles and counter or the caulk job
When in doubt CAULK everything.
Holy shit.
Yep. Funny thing is, this wall is not rated... never needed it and was never designed as one. I was doing CA on a fit-up project and the city inspector demanded the GC install a full height (30' at least) 60min shaftwall to this existing not in scope partition. The copious amounts of red CAULK was the compromise we made with the inspector.
And another one... this one was done after cladding installation. GC forgot to install the membranes as per details and caused the rain to funnel directly into the building's brand new conference centre space. This caulk was the solution since they did not want to take the whole thing apart. Solution was proposed well after our last deficiency walk-through and no-one is pleased.
Ouch.
Yeah, the original detail was a slim shadow reveal... now it's a celebrated 40mm CAULK joint.
And still not solving the underlying issue. Maybe it solved it for a certain amount of rain, but with a big enough storm, I bet it leaks again.
ding ding ding.... EI, it's almost like you know what you're doing!
almost? I can't get a little more credit than that?
What if I add that during the winter, I bet you get some condensation issues because you probably don't have a continuous air barrier and vapour retarder...
(I even wrote vapor the Canadian way for you)
I appreciate you using the correct English spelling. Thanks. I did some detail membrane lapping coordination between existing building (masonry) and addition so the continuity of the AB should be decent and the VB is all new on the inside. The main problem is the flashing at the base of the wall not shown in picture. They did not follow the drainage detail so all the water funneled into the base of wall and stayed there until the sheathing could take no more.
What if - hear me out - we just made the whole building out of caulk?
Tduds, Jean Nouvel would like a word with you.
I worked one summer installing siding with a guy who could have done that. My favorite example is with a piece of millwork that he measured and cut terribly. Instead of redoing it (like any good carpeter would have) he pulls out the DAP and starts loading it up to fill the gap. A few minutes later he had basically recreated the millwork profile in caulk to fill in the gap.