Replies

1. 
   IMERC | Oct 26, 2006 08:44am | #1

   Hmmmmmm.... sir.. can you do a larger font please...

   don't calk.. let the edge breathe.. you don't want it wicking up moisture and ruining your work..

    

    

   Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

   WOW!!! What a Ride!

   Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

1. 
   user-209584 | Oct 26, 2006 04:51pm | #4

   I can do a smaller font but if it's all the same to you I'm gonna pass on the becoming  a Sir part ;-)

   The house is 50 years old, wooden with a crawl space & for the most part was not wet. Some of the exterior doors & windows blew out & the rain blew in. I think the house has settled as much as it is ever going to & the wood is dry. My goal is just to keep the air in & the bugs out

   Bobbi

1. 
   DanH | Oct 26, 2006 06:39pm | #9

   Yeah, in a 50-year-old house it might make sense, though would probably have been better (certainly easier) to caulk the floor/plate joint before rocking.I have heard of some folks who actually set the rock on a bead of caulk along the floor.
   Seven blunders of the world that lead to violence: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, politics without principle. --Mahatma Gandhi

2. 
   Piffin | Oct 26, 2006 09:05am | #2

   I understand the percieved need to caulk the dickens out of everything in sight after surviving Katrina...

   But a few tubes of caulk won't keep her sister at bay! ;)

   If you weere to caulk theere, and it hardened, then the lumber shrunk in the wall framing from drying, it would want to let it settle, but the caulk would stop the SR from settling so you could have nail pops etc from the pressure

    

    

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1. 
   basswood | Oct 26, 2006 03:11pm | #3

   I've been caulking or spraying foam in the space between the drywall and subfloor on my projects for several years now...so far no nail/screw pops.After the foam sets up, I use a jamb hand saw to trim the foam flush with the wall.I think it reduces air leakage and blocks a common source of noise and bug infiltration...anything to keep Boxelder bugs and ladybugs out.

1. 
   Piffin | Oct 28, 2006 01:34am | #11

   I use spray foam there too. This was about caulk 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   user-209584 | Oct 28, 2006 02:20am | #13

   I use spray foam there too. This was about caulk

    

    

   That was my mistake. I did ask about caulk not really thinking about how big the gap was or about being able to use the foam.

    

   Looks like I will have plenty of time to seal all the gaps ~ went today to p/u the 5 doors I was going to hang this weekend & they aren't the right ones.  Guess I will be building window sills instead.

    

   Thank you all for the input. I really do appreciate it. When I finally get done I'll post pictures of my progressBobbi

3. 
   rjw | Oct 26, 2006 05:20pm | #5

   The cavities inside walls can be "little chimneys" and pull air from around the perimeter of the wall in a thermosiphen.

   I often see stains in carpeting where sooty candles have been used where the carpeting "filters out some of the soot.

   I don't know whether there are any significant energy coinsumption effects, though. I suspect not, but maybe out weatherization guru will jump in.

   ---

   Youth and Enthusiasm Are No Match

   For Age and Treachery

4. 
   FLA Mike | Oct 26, 2006 06:28pm | #6

   Your house sounds like mine.  Built in 43 though.  Do you have plaster or drywall? 

   I foamed the area your talking about in my house, since it was not airtight at all.  Hardwood over diagonal plank subfloor and there are tons of openings for critters to get in.  I'd foam it all, I use a hacksaw blade to trim the foam, it bends if needed and gets into little spots.

   Then I put in base, cap, and shoe.  Before installing the base I ran a bead of caulk along the floor to bed the base in.  Then I caulked the top of the base against the wall before putting the cap in.  I'd say that's pretty tight and probably overkill but you shoulda seen the bugs and lzards in this place when I bought it.   

   I don't know for sure if you want your drywall resting on the floor, if that's the case.  I'd prefer a gap of 3/4 to 1-1/4".  I don't know all the cons or pros but I see it as a potential moisture wick. 

   But you do whatever you want, I may have done it wrong...  

    

    
1. 
   BillHartmann | Oct 26, 2006 06:31pm | #7

   If anyone is worried about settling they could use the DAP latex foam caulk.

2. 
   user-209584 | Oct 26, 2006 06:54pm | #10

   The house is just a little wooden cottage type. I have drywall & the gap between it & the floor probably varies between 1/8 & 3/4" so it never touches the floor. I'm thinking maybe the foam would be a good idea.

   Just trying to keep the ctitters out & not have $400 utility bills.

   As for the lizards ~ I have ya beat. Had baby possums. Found out when I gutted the kitchen there was a hole in the wall behind the stove that backed up to the bathroom wall & that my tub was sitting on the floor joists surrounded by absloutely nothing. Was a possum playground  :-) 

5. 
   DanH | Oct 26, 2006 06:36pm | #8

   Generally the drywall is nailed to a bottom plate and that plate to the subfloor. This produces a reasonably good air seal. But caulking the joint would improve the seal marginally.

   It wouldn't lead to moisture wicking -- any decent caulk is impervious to moisture, and there shouldn't be any substantial moisture on the subfloor anyway. Nor would it lead to nail pops, since any force (which would be miniscule anyway) that the caulk places on the drywall will be at right angles to the drywall nail shanks.

   Caulk is no more likely to crack in this joint than any other, so long as the joint is reasonably clean and you're not caulking against an unpainted cut edge of the board.

   Net: No harm, might do some good. But if it's a big swinger then probably there's a problem with the rest of construction (eg, lack of adequate air sealing on the outer envelope).

   Seven blunders of the world that lead to violence: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, politics without principle. --Mahatma Gandhi
1. 
   Piffin | Oct 28, 2006 01:36am | #12

   "Generally the drywall is nailed to a bottom plate "Yeah sure 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!