Choosing the right caulking for your commercial build is important because commercial caulking services include many parts of your property. Repairing control joints, wet glazing curtain wall windows, and repairing water leaks are just a few. Caulking and sealants are used in commercial building restoration applications to seal off gaps and cracks that allow moisture, air, and pests, to penetrate a building’s envelope.
The types of caulking used for your high-rise office building, healthcare facility, hotel, historic structure, business park, multi-family complex, or other commercial structure depends on your building’s needs and structural makeup.
Commercial Building Caulking Lifespan
There are two main types of caulking typically used to seal commercial buildings: silicone and polyurethane. The chemical differences in each make their lifespans different. A polyurethane sealant generally lasts anywhere from five to 10 years, depending on the amount of sun exposure and temperature fluctuations it’s subjected to. On the other hand, silicone sealants typically last at least 20 years, with most manufacturers offering 20-year warranties.
Staining and Mold
Investing in commercial building restoration services does more than simply avoid unnecessary maintenance costs. By preserving the exterior and extending the life of caulks and sealants, it also extends the useful life of your building.
Dirt, mold, mildew, and other contaminants tend to accumulate and grow in areas where old caulk exists. Safe and proper cleaning of your commercial building as part of its regular maintenance program gently lifts mold, mildew, and dirt off its surface, including its caulking. Since all caulk has an expiration date, though, there comes a time when you need to replace the existing caulk with new caulk.
Silicone vs. Polyurethane Caulk
Both silicone and polyurethane caulking products fall into the category of what’s referred to as elastomeric material. They’re both used to fill gaps and keep out water and air. And they both allow for expansion and contraction. Despite these similarities, they also have significant differences, which make them suitable for different applications. The most significant difference is in how the two materials break down as time goes by. Polyurethane is an organic material and silicone is inorganic. That matters because inorganic materials like silicone are less reactive to UV light from the sun. Polyurethane, however, more quickly reverts to its natural state and becomes ineffective as a sealant.
When choosing a sealant, there are two main considerations: performance criteria and life-cycle costs. Presto Restoration believes silicone caulk is typically the superior product for a commercial property’s facade. When replacing a commercial structure’s outdated or damaged caulking, we use two Dow Corning sealants, both of which meet all federal and ASTM specifications:
- DOWSIL™ 790 Silicone Building Sealant provides outstanding unprimed adhesion to masonry. It’s particularly effective for sealing expansion and control joints, precast concrete panel joints, curtain wall joints, and more. It’s an excellent choice for building joints that experience extreme movement and suitable for new and remedial construction.
- DOWSIL™ 795 Silicone Building Sealant is highly resistant to weather, UV, and temperature extremes and weatherproofs materials such a glass, aluminum, painted metal, EIFs, steel, concrete, granite, and other stone. It’s available in a range of colors to match or complement any commercial building’s appearance.
Proper Commercial Building Caulking Replacement
If you’ve inherited a structure with polyurethane sealant, or if you’ve already applied it but want to transition to silicone sealant, Presto recommends completely removing all the existing urethane caulking. If any urethane sealant still remains when you apply silicone caulk, the newly applied caulk can deteriorate faster than normal and destroy the seal. Since it tends to cost much more to replace failed sealant than it does to install the new caulk correctly in the first place, it’s essential to do the job right.
Presto Restoration’s Commercial Caulking Expertise
For over 25 years, Presto has been providing commercial caulking and sealant services to commercial building owners across the country. The buildings and surfaces we’ve serviced include:
- High rises, including condominiums
- Mid rises
- Stadiums and domes
- Churches
- Hospitals
- Multi-family apartment complexes
- Hotels
- And more
We offer nearly 75 different services to our clients and are a leading expert in exterior building restoration and maintenance. We’re also the only commercial restoration company with its own line of products. Our highly-skilled technicians are trained to tackle even the most complex jobs, providing the commercial caulking and sealant services your building needs to keep moisture and air out of the exterior envelope and where it belongs.
Contact Presto Restoration for a free consultation today.
Call us at 1-800-785-9927 or Request A Quote.
