Fill In The Gaps Rough Residential

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Gaps Are Good: Leave Strategic Gaps in Construction to Limit Cracks and Callbacks

By Graham Davis
January 25, 2022

This article first appeared in the February 2022
issue of Pro Builder.

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It may sound counterintuitive, but by creating gaps that allow the roof, walls, and floor of a house to move, home builders can mitigate callbacks and lost profit
The previous edition of this column addressed drywall cracks caused by movement of a home’s framing members due to changes in temperature and humidity, as well as wind, seismic, and live loads.
In fact, almost every aspect of a house is constantly in motion. If neglected in your construction processes, this dynamic can (and usually does) lead to callbacks with varying degrees of severity, especially early in a home’s life.
It’s a bit of an art to accommodate the near-constant settling, swaying, shrinking, and expansion of a home’s structure and finishes. If I had to sum up the solution in three words, it would be: “Leave gaps everywhere.” It’s that simple. And, in most cases, fill those gaps with a high-quality, flexible sealant.
The most common cracks in concrete slabs are due to shrinkage early in the curing process. A control joint—a surface cut or groove at least one-quarter the depth of the slab—can direct where a crack occurs, help keep it straight, and conceal it to some extent.
For the roof, walls, and floors, APA (The Engineered Wood Association ) recommends a 1/8-inch gap on all sides of a panel to allow for expansion and contraction caused by moisture. Without such gaps, you can expect issues with finish materials.
For wood, fiber-composite, or cementitious siding types, follow manufacturer instructions for gapping. All siding requires edge gaps where siding meets trim pieces, as well as over drip caps, water tables, and hardscape and landscape elements. Lap siding extends lengthwise as it warms from the sun; a gap allows this movement to occur without causing issues, such as buckling .
Long wall sections require expansion joints, but there also should be a ¼-inch gap around windows, door frames, and at material transitions . Butting brick up tight to a vinyl window is a recipe for a cracked frame or thermal unit, or for the window to stick.
Like concrete floors, three-coat stucco requires control joints to control cracks. Best practices for these gaps are outlined in ASTM Standards C926 and C1063 .
In addition to managing truss uplift (see below), other places where gaps allow frames to move without cracking drywall include a 6-inch gap between the corners of rough openings and any vertical or horizontal joints in the drywall.
Ceramic tile should be decoupled from structural substrates. Create gaps between the tile and subfloor and fill them with crack-isolation membrane.
We’ve covered best practices for waterproofing tiled shower walls in previous articles, but gaps are essential where tile meets other materials, such as a fiberglass tub or shower pan, and also where it turns a corner. Grout lacks flexibility, so fill those gaps with sealant to reduce cracking.
All transitions from one type of material to another along a finish surface, inside or outside, need a 1/8-inch gap filled with sealant.
Rule No. 1: Don’t skimp on sealant! Also, sealants must be durable and flexible. We recommend brands that meet ASTM C920 Class 25 standards . In addition, not all joints are created equal, and sealant simply pressed into a corner will fail early. A best practice is to create an “engineered joint” that fills a gap and bonds only to the two opposing surfaces. For large gaps, press backer rod into the depths of the gap and apply sealant over it, providing the greatest degree of flexibility.
Houses are forever on the move. Let’s build them in a way that allows for it.
Graham Davis drives quality and performance in home building as a senior building performance specialist on the PERFORM Builder Solutions team at IBACOS .
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Transitions where horizontal and vertical stucco surfaces intersect are prone to moisture problems. Attention to proper detailing will help you avoid issues with water intrusion
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Caulking is a sealant that fills gaps, cracks, nail holes, and similar imperfections on the surface. In other words, caulking is applied where moisture would otherwise penetrate and causing leaks and deterioration. In this article, we will go over typically caulked areas on the exterior typical Northwest style homes, and also areas that should never be sealed.
( Jump to “what should never be caulked” section)
This is a must do for all houses. Moisture likes to hide in corners, edges, and under ledges. We can use quality sealants to prevent it from penetrating and causing any damage to the structure.
Where two pieces of siding meet. Should they always be caulked? The answer depends on the manufacturer, and installation method used when the siding was first installed. NOTE: Generally, we do not recommend caulking butt-joints on cedar siding. Natural siding boards are designed to expand and contract with the elements and we do not want any adhesive to prevent their natural movement. We only caulk butt-joints on cedar siding if previously caulked. Fiber cement boards are caulked only when there is no metal flashing behind them. Some manufacturers do not require the metal flashing, therefore, we caulk the butt joint to keep the pieces together and also prevent moisture.
Pretty much all trim joints need to be sealed. This is again to prevent moisture from penetrating into the crack/joint, but it also adds to the overall appearance of the surface.
While a DIYer or a novice painter might attempt to produce a cleaner look by sealing all gaps on a wood garage door, garage door panels are designed to move. The panels on your garage door require room for free-play. Caulking them is a mistake and the caulking is likely to fail prematurely.
Gaps, cracks, failed knots, etc. Anything that might one day allow moisture to penetrate will be sealed.
Gaps, cracks, failed knots, etc. Anything that might one day allow moisture to penetrate will be sealed. Minneapolis House Painters recommends paying attention to corners and crevices as well as trim boards around windows and doors. It’s also recommended to use a cloth or rag ready to wipe up and smooth excess caulking before it sets on the siding
In the old days, the builder would install the trim, bring the siding up to it, and caulk the corner. On most new homes, the trim goes up after the siding is installed, which creates a large gap that should not be caulked. We need air circulation behind these boards and the opening acts as a water exit, should water ever go behind the boards.
Designed to let water out of your windows, these small openings should never be sealed.
While a DIYer or a novice painter might attempt to produce a cleaner look by sealing all gaps on a wood garage door, garage door panels are designed to move. The panels on your garage door require room for free-play. Caulking them is a mistake and the caulking is likely to fail prematurely.
Water is meant to exit through the bottom of each board. While paint does tend to somewhat glue these pieces together, caulking them is never advised and can cause permanent damage. Also, avoid caulking tongue-and-groove siding boards together.
Another water exit pathway that should never be sealed.
Another item that needs room to play is siding boards themselves. the nails holding up the siding should not be caulked. A DIYer or a novice painter might attempt to achieve a cleaner look by caulking the siding nails, but the nail is guaranteed to push the caulking material out within a few months.
Question: is the old caulking removed before new coats are applied? Answer: similar to paint, previous coats of caulking are removed when they have failed and are chipping or peeling off the surface. Unlike the caulking around your bathtub or kitchen sink, exterior caulking is not meant to ever come off. It is not possible to remove it without damaging the surface. Very much like coats of paint, fresh coats of caulking are formulated to be applied to previous coats and use the previous coat for additional adhesion.
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