My exterior walls on my 12 year old house are sided with Eastern white cedar shingles with 15# tarpaper underneath, 5″ reveal. I have flat casings on my windows, cedar 2×2’s on interior corners, 2×4’s at the exterior corners. Good flashing throughout. We did not caulk the gaps where the shingles meet the vertical trim boards (cedar, windows). I cannot find a definitive posting anywhere to tell me if this is wise or not. Is there a universal position on whether this gap should or should not be caulked? If caulking is “required”, what kind of caulk and how should the caulking be done?
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Replies
I am in upstate New York's Adirondack mountain region, and many of the high end vacation "camps" are built with cedar shingles as the exterior wall finish. I've not seen any that were caulked where shingles meet trim, nor have I heard of any problems or issues arising from the lack of caulk.
Just so long as there is tarpapper behind the joint with laps facing down to shed water that might blow in if the shingles shrink back.
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" good flashing thruout" ...hmmmmm
your 15# felt is the primary rainscreen
usually we double this by folding it and make a "spline" at all vertical joint areas like your 2x2 inside corner.. your window casings.. your corner boards
if your 15# felt is in good repair and is performing the function of these splines, then there is zero reason to caulk your vertical joints.. the caulk is never a substitute for good flashing details
the only reason you would caulk these joints is if your were going to paint.. the caulk would give you a paintable surface.. do not caulk these joints if you are not going to paint.. it will only trap water in the joint
I don't know about the Cedar Shingle and Shake Bureau, but the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association no longer recommends caulking clapboards to the trim.
Andy
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