How to fill in caulk or wood filler?

Gwen Smith

4 years ago

Good morning

We trying to figure which best way to fill in gaps from old house?

Home Depot day use caulking I thought wood filler who correct?

Gwen

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Comments (4)

ci_lantro
4 years ago
Caulk. Because caulk is flexible. Wood expands and contracts with the change in temps and humidity levels. Also, because these are stairs, you have changing weight loads which will cause some movement in the wood.

Wood filler is rigid and will crack when stressed.
cat_ky
4 years ago
Caulk, and I see you have gaps along baseboard. Dont fill them in, in case the flooring needs to expand, or contract. There is base shoe moulding that you put there, and nail into the baseboard itself to cover that.
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If there is a finish on the table, it may need to be cleaned out of the groves in order for whatever you use to fill them will adhere to the wood. And, if there is a finish on the table, paint thinner will not hurt the finish---unless the only finish is wax. Paint thinner will not disolve shellac or laquer, and will not degrade varnish or polyurethane.
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As above. Retrofitted weep vents might better channel the flow and certainly look better.Rytons Retro Weeps Just inspected a home this morning, repossessed and under restoration. Three-year old build. Here's how they handled the issue:Note weeps above window and below sill. (Messy caulking between the two sill pieces is unnecessary; every window was done that way.) *************Lipped brick installation Lipped brick. I must say I've never seen that. (Or maybe I have but didn't notice.) But if the brick supplier doesn't offer it, I can only imagine the upcharge by the masons!
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Izzy Mn
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
They just did a segment on this very issue on This Old House. Of course they took stairs all apart to fix the gaps.
kudzu9
4 years ago
As others said: caulk. If you tried wood filler, you would end up with having to sand here and there and it becomes a mess. And cracks would open in the future.

Use latex caulk and immediately smooth the caulk line with a moist-to-damp paper towel. This will make it very neat, and remove any residual caulk that has spilled over onto the wood surfaces. Once you tape and paint it will look just fine.

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How to fill in caulk or wood filler?

Comments (4)

ci_lantro

cat_ky

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Izzy Mn

kudzu9

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