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Posted: 31st August 2023 | Author: Adam Brown
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Whether you’re building something as big as a house or just performing a simple DIY task, chances are at some point you’ll need to fit together two dissimilar materials. It can be hard to get a good fit when this occurs, which can lead to leakage between the materials - whether that’s air, water or even household pests. To solve this problem, we need something that will plug the gap.
Sealants, also sometimes called mastics, are materials used to block or seal gaps between building materials. They’re commonly used in bathrooms and kitchens, particularly around wet areas such as sinks, showers and bathtubs. Sealants are also used around the edges of windows or glass doors to help insulate the house and keep the cold outside air from getting in. But these aren’t the only uses for sealants - wherever one building material needs to join to another, sealants are often involved.
Sealants are so versatile because the term is actually a catch-all label that applies to multiple similar but not identical materials. Different types of sealant have different applications within the construction world, and it’s important to choose the right one for the job. If you don’t, you might not get the results you’re looking for.
There are lots of different types of sealant, but here are a few of the most commonly used types.
Silicone sealant is a popular choice as it is considered to be a general purpose sealant. This means that, while it’s not perfect for every job, it works for a wide range of typical construction applications. This is because silicone sealants adhere well to most materials. As well as this, silicone sealants are highly water-resistant, making them appropriate for bathroom projects, as well as other tasks both indoors and outside. Silicone sealants are commonly used for seals around basins and sinks, and they’re also favoured by plumbers for fixing cracked pipes.
Certain sealants can become very rigid after application. In some cases, this is a benefit; in others, subtle movements over time can result in the sealant cracking and no longer doing its job. Silicone sealants, on the other hand, remain flexible, which makes them a great fit for those projects where you need to allow for a small degree of movement over the years.
On top of that, silicone sealants are resistant to shrinkage. This means you won’t have to reseal the gap in a year or two when the sealant has grown too small to do the job effectively; instead, silicone sealant will stay the same size for as long as it is in place. One of the only downsides to silicone sealant is that it can’t be painted.
Decorators’ caulk, as the name suggests, is better suited to being decorated. It has a range of applications, such as sealing skirting boards or filling in notches on wooden furniture to create a smooth, level surface. Once dried, decorators’ caulk can be painted over to ensure a uniform aesthetic that’s pleasing to the eye.
So if decorators’ caulk can be painted and silicone can’t, why wouldn’t you choose decorators’ caulk all the time? Well, decorators’ caulk has two potential downsides. The first is that it isn’t as flexible as silicone sealant, so it could crack and damage if the seal needs to be malleable. The second is that it doesn’t get on well with water. Because of this, decorators’ caulk isn’t preferred for bathroom fittings, and is typically used on a building’s interior rather than its exterior.
Nevertheless, decorators’ caulk is extremely popular for home renovations as once it has been painted, it’s all but invisible. It’s also very simple to use, particularly with the assistance of a sealant gun. You can add new caulk on top of dry caulk, so if you find you’ve missed a spot, you can easily fill in the gap with a second layer.
Expanding foam is a can-based polyurethane that was originally intended to be used as thermal insulation. However, it also works well as a sealant. It comes out of the spray can as a thin liquid which then quickly expands to 30 to 60 times its original size. It hardens in this larger form and stays that way.
Due to its impressive growth properties, expanding foam is particularly useful for sealing areas that are hard to reach or quite fiddly. You don’t need to apply much foam - it expands to fill the gap it's in, effectively sealing it up. Expanding foam can be used both internally and externally, and it’s especially useful in areas where aesthetic considerations aren’t at the forefront of your mind, such as lofts or basements. It’s not typically used for ‘on show’ areas, as it’s much harder to get those clean, smooth lines that silicone sealants and decorators’ caulk produce. But if you need a big crack filling and you don’t mind how it looks, expanding foam is the way to go.
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The Author: Adam Brown
With a background as a Mechanical Engineer, I started Nationwide Supplies alongside my brother with a vision to modernise what seemed a stuck-in-its-ways industry in the builders merchant sector. Since 2011 it has been my goal to source quality products at the correct prices to be able to offer a saving to customers along with high quality customer service which offers quick delivery and superior technical knowledge in the industry.
