Caulking (also called seam beauty agent, gap filler caulk) is an inconspicuous but very important job in home improvement. Because it fills almost every corner of the home.
Caulking is required to fill the gaps between tiles, between the basin and the countertop, between the window frame and the wall, and between the baseboard and the wall etc.
Due to the low precision of accessories or houses, there will always be certain gaps, which not only affect the appearance, but also cause moisture to penetrate into the gaps, and bugs to crawl out of the gaps and other problems. At this time, using caulk and sealant to fill these gaps can perfectly solve these problems, so how to choose the right caulk and sealant for home improvement?
The function of the caulk is bonding, sealing, and beauty seams, caulk can also be called decorator caulk.
There are two kinds of commonly used caulking materials: sealant and caulk. Sealant and caulk are used to fill the gap between building materials and used as a sealing measure to prevent the entry of water and air.
Caulk is used to fill the gaps and redundant spaces between objects, assists in waterproof sealing, and has the functions of beauty seam, dustproof, insect repelling, heat preservation, and noise reduction. After curing, the caulking become rigid and no flexibility.
Sealant is used to fill the configuration gap, is not easily soluble in water, and has a certain degree of cohesion. It is generally a solid soft glue, which has a certain degree of elasticity after curing.
- Quick drying, easy to apply, non-elastic and become rigid after cured
- Can be polished and painted, low VOC, no odor
-High abrasion resistance, washable and easy to clean
- Can be used on rough and smooth surfaces
- Poor stretchability, suitable for wide and narrow fixed gaps,
- Poor resistance to cold and heat, only can be use interior decoration
- Highest movement capability, strong elasticity after curing
- UV resistance, weatherproof, can bear extremely cold and hot weather (against extreme weather) the temperature range is -40~300℃
- Water resistant, heat resistant, long service life, recommended for outdoor use
- Unpaintable, unpolished.
- Odor, non-water-soluble, difficult to use (it is recommended to use soap water or stick it with tape when using sealant)
- Silicone sealants can only be used on smooth surfaces
Common home decoration caulks include acrylic caulk (slightly elastic), butyl rubber caulk, PU foam caulk and grout caulk (ceramic tile caulk, tile beauty seam).
Acrylic caulk: a water-based acrylic gap filler caulk, environmentally friendly and paintable, a good flexible caulk, low shrinkage, no crack, it is user friendly for interior gap sealing with no odor or organic solvent.
Uses: To seal indoor gaps between wood floor, window and door trim, skirting boards, crack repair on the wall, caulking space between wall and baseboard and etc.
Recommend product: antas 153 acrylic gap filler is often used for fixing the gaps prior to painting
Butyl rubber caulk: Solvent volatilization curing type butyl construction waterproof caulk with excellent water resistance and aging resistance.
Uses: It can be used for caulking and sealing of sunroom, roof, window frame and wall expansion joints.
Recommend product: Antas-133 Butyl caulking sealant
PU foam caulk：with ideal performance of noise and heat isolation, bonding, waterproofing, PU foam caulk can be widely used in filling cavities, cracks, gaps and in insulation in sandwich panels and wood walls.
Uses: for large gaps or places that need to be fixed, such as doors and windows, wall holes, component fixing between window frames and window holes, and cabinet filling and fixing
Recommend product: antas 218 PU foam spray is polyurethane foam filling and sealing material that has ideal moisture-proof, dust-proof, insulation and bonding effects. It can be widely used in the filling and bonding sealing of building door and window edge joints, building holes, expansion joints and other purposes.
Ceramic tile caulk: epoxy resin type products, excellent bonding performance, mould resistant, good flexibility, moisture and corrosion resistance, aging resistance, ceramic tile caulk is specially used for the caulking of tile gaps, scrub-resistant and wear-resistant, it can maintain stability and color effect for a long time in places that are often scrubbed.
Uses: grout caulk can be applied to wet surfaces, such as living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and other tiled floors and walls
Recommend product: antas 651 tile and stone epoxy grout sealer is very useful for tiles regrouting and DIY.
Common home improvement sealants are: silicone sealant (silicone caulk), MS sealant.
Silicone sealant can be divided into neutral sealant, acetic silicone sealant.
Neutral sealant is used for ceramics, metals, mirrors, and glass, with a light smell and no corrosion;
Acetic silicone is used for wood and glass (except mirrors), with a sour smell, strong adhesion, fast drying, but it has certain corrosion. It will corrode mirror metal and marble. We wrote an article about neutral vs acetic silicone, check it if you want to learn more.
Uses: exterior and interior doors, windows and window frames, siding and trim, etc. where places require waterproof sealing.
Recommend product:
antas 172 Neutral silicone sealant is the most commonly used in glazing, roofs, gutters, mirror, windows and doors
antas 186 Acetoxy Sealant is an acetoxy cured silicone sealant for windows, doors and fish tank.
MS sealant: modified silane (MS) or hybrid sealant are better alternative to traditional silicone or polyurethane sealant. For instance, MS sealant have superior adhesion to porous substrate than silicone while it has better UV durability and less substrate moisture sensitivity than polyurethane.
Recommend product:
Antas 635 MS Nail-Free adhesive is a fast cure high bond adhesive, and the bonding strength can be developed within 24 hours for holding up to 20kg/cm2, which is suitable for installation of hook, racks, lamps, door stops without damage the wall.
Antas 636 all purposes MS kitchen and bathroom sealant is paintable and has high excellent anti-microbial and mildew proofing performance, which is the best choice for kitchen, bathroom and balcony caulking and sealing in environments where mold is prone to grow.
Areas that need to be caulked throughout the house can be divided into 3 parts:
For wet areas: Bathroom, kitchen, sinks, countertop, wash basins and shower screen
We sugget to choose anti mildew sealant
For dry areas：living room, bedroom
We sugget to choose caulk or sealant
For sun-exposed area：outdoor window, balcony，sunroom，skylight
We sugget to choose neutral sealant or weather silicone sealant.
We can choose the suitable caulk and sealant according to the areas of use. If you are not sure which caulk or sealant can be chosen, you can send email to us. Jointas free technical support will provide you with free sealing solutions that will save your more time, energy and money. Send inquiry now!