Caulking precast panel joint

[@Joeyjojo895]

Súper great work- I have a question- how did you get started doing this? I am with a painting company and we are considering getting into this as a part of abilities including paint. Just want to know where to even begin. Seems pretty straight forward but I want to learn to do it right.

[@MochileirodasGalaxias946]

Good Job , mate ! I've just started doing this and at my first time it was messy. I Struggled with then gun strigger .It was bit trick to find the right speed on the trigger and the right amount of silicone on the joints. Why were you using a piece of foam rather than the spatulas( knives) setup ?

[@Commercial_constructions]

thanks mate you will learn by time don't worry , foam is fast and easy i can use knife as well but time consuming

[@WayneEspinoza-d5i]

Nice Job and thank you! Can I use Titan Foam Backer rod which is circular and is it effective to use a gun that is not battery powered.

[@Commercial_constructions]

I do lots of caulking electrical is easy and yes as long as you Stricht is right way

[@williamgeorgelopezjunior8533]

This just blew my mind. You do the same with typical 5/8 or 3/4 backer rod instead of spatulas as well?

[@paulmatousek9002]

Can you please tell me where you get that backer rod

[@jerodbosh7630]

Thanks for your videos, any info on how to charge for this service? I’m bidding a 200,000 sq ft fedex building with 42’ walls

[@Commercial_constructions]

Thanks for you comments let give a private message I can give you a quote

[@714_KingHector]

I caulk with 5 guns , 4 buckets of material, 2 booms and three guys. Two guys shoot the caulk one maneuvers the boom up or down. I just tool it. I could do 4 joints in 30 minutes.

[@Commercial_constructions]

Good on you

[@julioortiz2052]

Big mess u don’t have to cover the old think only the joint

[@leekreeger9885]

Absolutely no.that is just bad.rod isn't deep enough and the way you are smoothing it out just no

[@austinnelsen7327]

Dude no offence but the way you tool the caulking is just hilarious learn to some wooden sticks with soap or metal ones trust it will look way better than that smeering that your doing

[@Commercial_constructions]

non taken , i can use those tools as well but the foam is way faster and easier for fire rated caulk will have a video on that as well ....

[@flybynight4928]

Don't matter what you tool it with as long as it pushes it in the joint and is appealing to the eye after the fact..whatever is clever ..... your not suppose to use soap to smooth a caulk bead ...

[@genecarden780]

@@flybynight4928 he actually has no idea what he is doing or how sealant works. If he did he would be using backer rod. It gives the proper profile. Allowing the sealant to oerform correctly.I have been a professional caulker for over 45 years and this guy would be fired in 15 minutes. He does substandard work and is an embarrassment to our trade. But you are right. Even this garbage is better than using soap.

[@genecarden780]

Why do you continue to make videos showing your lack of competence and lack of understanding if sealants. If you worked for a competent caulking contractor you would be fired on the spot.

[@terrain1058]

Have you got a video of the correct method? I would love to watch.

[@genecarden780]

@@terrain1058 sorry I’m old and tech challenged. It just irritates me how many ( most ) KZbin videos on sealants are total garbage. And because homeowners don’t know any better( not their fault) they waste hundreds of dollars each year. First, especially on a “ tilt up” one of he most important things is properly cleaning the joint. At a minimum it needs to be wire brushed then cleaned with a dust brush immediately before caulking. Second backer rod MUST be used. Not rectangular foam. Only a cut rate contractor with absolutely no understanding of how sealants work would double up rectangular foam. And only an unskilled worker would smear the sealant with scraps of foam. Again using the proper tool used correctly will give the proper profile. If a manufacturer sees this the guarantee will be void. This guy and his company are a joke. I have been a professional caulker of over 45 years. I’m one of the guys they call in to fix this garbage. Often at great cost of the original incompetent contractors.

[@williamgeorgelopezjunior8533]

@@genecarden780his way clearly works. What’s your problem dude? Tell us what “you” would do … start to finish . If you’re so great. And so yeah you’ve been around … I guess? Union? Where? I’m in the city… I work with panels and this looks like a good shortcut … I’ve seen way worse shortcuts

[@genecarden780]

@@williamgeorgelopezjunior8533 His way does NOT work. Sure he can install the sealant and make it look ok, but it WILL FAIL PREMATURELY. First of all precast panels have to be wire brushed, at a bare minimum.I will give him the benefit of the doubt and say maybe he did this before he started filming. They should usually, but not always, be primed. You CAN NOT use flat foam as backer in a through joint like this. One of the most critical factors in sealant life is the proper profile. The sealant HAS TO BE THINNER in the middle than at the bonding surface. It has to be hourglass shaped “) (“ and requires proper backer rod to achieve this. This is very basic to sealant installation. EVERY major manufacturer says to only use backer rod as a filler behind sealant. For very good reason. Using flat foam SEVERLY shortens the life expectancy of the sealant and voids the warranty. Due to the size of projects we do ( often $20000-$30000 or more in materials alone, on high rises in the San Francisco Bay Area )we are very often required to give 20 year guarantees. In order to get 20 year manufacturers warranty the sealant has to be inspected and tested by the manufacturer or his rep. When not installed over proper backer rod it will fail the tests every time. The concave shape to the underside of the sealant is critical. These are not my ways of doing things. They are industry standards, developed by the manufacturers through millions of dollars in testing for over 60 years or more. The manufacturer would take one look at this and write a letter to the owners voiding the warranty. This is substandard work using substandard materials. Yes I am Union.I have been a journeyman since 1977. I have been a foreman and a superintendent. I often get called in to repair substandard work like this. I have worked for a group of architects and attorneys that would sue contractors for substandard work on behalf of the owners. My job was to prove what caused the failure. One of the biggest problems with the sealant industry is people think they know more than the manufacturer. They don’t. Try reading a tech manual sometime. I suggest Dow Construction Sealants Technical Manual. This is a very detailed manual and 90% of it applies to all sealants.These large manufacturers spend millions of dollars testing their products to determine the best way to install them and these set the industry standards.If you do not follow the tech manual as closely as possible the manufacturer won’t honor the guarantee. The first 2 questions the manufacturer will ask is “ did you prime?” Followed by “ did you use proper backer rod ?” Do a simple google search for proper sealant joint design. While I don’t think google is THE answer, in this case my google results are exactly what EVERY manufacturer says. Again it is very basic to sealant installation. If you don’t nderstand the basics you should not install sealants.

[@williamgeorgelopezjunior8533]

@@genecarden780 thank you for a very good explanation. And I apologize for my rudeness earlier. You’ve totally got me sold the way you explained it. I work for a major panel company on the east coast. The crew has been slimming down for the winter so I have been doing more caulking… so I was watching as many videos as possible to boost my skills so I didn’t have to kidnap my partner at work as much. Over the years I haven’t had to caulk so much …with the exception of penetrations and terminating avb mostly. The hourglass explanation makes sense when you were talking about the profile of the backer rod. Although the way I’ve seen most backer rod put in by some people it doesn’t really take that shape because of the way they “mash” it in. It more looks like some middle school students glass blowing project his first day of class, not so much an hourglass. 🤣… Also, I just worked on a 9 story garage this past year. the waterproofers owned the concrete so I only got to interact with and watch their handiwork a bit due to the work my company was bogged down in. The priming obviously makes sense …almost similar to priming certain porous tiles before grouting them for a comparison …of some sort I guess? However as far as the 20 year thing goes, not as far as the priming … but as far as forming to the shape of the backer rod I will say the 795 makes up for a lot of human error only because of this explanation to follow. The Last 2 weeks we ripped down a whole acm panel system on a building that was erected 20 years ago. Only in 2 sections and the building is mixed media (granite, curtain wall, acm… you get the gist) but the failure in what we took out was that the acm was installed right down to terminate with the sidewalk. This is Boston …so that is about 20 winters years of salting sidewalks when snow and ice hits. So the bottoms of the panels basically rotted and curled out. Bad design …. Maybe would’ve lasted longer if the acm was 3-4 feet off the ground terminating into granite brick or what have you. Anyway, the caulking however held up great over the years is all I wanted to say. I can’t say much for the backer rod though because it’s not the backer rod we use today … it was dry disintegrated foam. It reminded me of when the back of my mother’s 76’ impala seats got holes in them and the sun heat up the yellow foam cushion inside and all you would see is dry dust in the air. I can’t believe they let anyone use that foam and then expect it to last years …. But that being said that caulk was still solid between the joints of the panels we ripped out (about 30 count or so : 2’ x 8’ panels typical dimensions and others) … so yeah 795 makes up for human error for sure because… we definitely found a lot of other problems with the construction of the wall behind the panels … that our company would never let fly… it may be the 795 that made the rest of the system last as long as it did. I have watched a fellow union carpenter out of the west coast for Albion …(by the name of Brian Melcher I believe?)…On some of his videos for Albion … that guy’s techniques are definitely legit. Anyway, thank for your quick well detailed reply and have a happy holidays, Christmas, and new years !