Should You Seal The Bottom Of Siding

Holes occur over time when seals crack around plumbing fixtures on your siding allowing mice entrance into your home.

Should you seal the bottom of siding.

By sealing gaps in your walls and siding you can successfully secure your home from outdoor pests. A full seal is important because any space that is missing sealant is more susceptible to water damage and chemical bleeding. I would be hesitant to seal the siding to the foundation. Inexpensive and simple to do sealing your siding only requires a little time to locate the cracks.

If you prefer to caulk before painting you should still paint the cut ends first. While my experience is more with vinyl siding sealing the siding to the foundation would deny any moisture that developed behind the siding from driving rain between seams in the siding condensation behind the siding ect an exit at the bottom. All cuts in lp siding require paint to seal out moisture and old caulk can let moisture in over time. Caulking the bottom.

It protects the sheathing from rain snow and pests. It is sometimes called t1 11. It comes untreated so you have to paint or stain it after installation if you want it to last and provide maximum weather resistance. How to seal plywood siding.

Also avoid caulking tongue and groove siding boards together. The sheets are grooved so that the edges will seal when you nail them together but you need to install flashing caulking and trim along the top and bottom edges and around windows and doors to keep water out. While paint does tend to somewhat glue these pieces together caulking them is never advised and can cause permanent damage. After the paint dries apply caulk and then paint the rest of the siding.

This way you can completely seal the cedar front to back top to bottom and around all edges. The bottom of the starter strip the part the bottom panel hooks on to should be at least 1 in. For best results seal before applying the siding to the wall.