Caulk Siding Nail Heads

Steve shows how to fix rusty nail heads for painting projects.

Caulk siding nail heads.

Manufacturers caulk and sealant recommendation sheet s 100b issued july 2000 application. Use top quality caulk outdoors where it needs to withstand extreme temperature changes and remain flexible for 30 to 50 years. A latex primers and paints will stick well to it. The shingles are asphalt backed and this asphalt forms an adequate seal around the nail.

Sand the nail heads. Oil based primers and paints will also but the caulk will dry softer than the oil based primer or paint so if someone presses on a covered nail head with a fingernail the oil based primer or paint will prolly crack. Siding nails should not be caulked another item that needs room to play is siding boards themselves. See all paint colors warning.

Nail holes in interior walls can generally be filled with shrink free spackling by overfilling the hole slightly then sanding smooth once it s dry. Any lower and you might see a few nail heads poking through the bottom of the next board any higher and your siding is likely to be loose and. To remove nail head rusting from surfaces. Apply multiple primer coats to the nail heads.

Hardie plank siding has a nail line across the top of the board that is 1 down from the top and nails are supposed to fall between and 1 from the top of the board to give the best hold. I must admit i ve seen many builders that do not seal the nail heads. How to paint over a rusted nail stain. The claim was that nails have to pass through a minimum of two layers of shingles.

James hardie believes it is good building practice to seal the joints to prevent moisture such as wind driven rain and snow from penetrating the wall cavity. I heard an opposing opinion recently. Nail head rusting. Apply a rust inhibitive or stain blocking primer to the nail heads and surrounding area.

Nail holes in exterior surfaces just as with cracks or gaps can be dealt with using a good caulking. Before caulking joints between dissimilar materials make sure that the manufacturer recommends the caulk for both materials. When james hardie siding products butt into wood based materials a 1 8 gap will. The nails holding up the siding should not be caulked.

I ve always considered it necessary to caulk any exposed nail heads on a shingle roof there shouldn t be many. Caulk the nail heads with acrylic caulk. Holes in wood trim are best filled with wood filler. Caulk is a substance designed to seal a joint between two surfaces and to fill small holes.

How to fix it.