LESLIE: Now we’re heading to South Dakota where David is on the line. What can we do for you today?
DAVID: I just had my 120-year-old house sided with new vinyl siding. I got relatively new vinyl windows. And I’m curious, do I caulk between the J-channel and the window frame on the outside?
TOM: No, you don’t have to.
DAVID: OK. That’s not necessary?
TOM: Nah, it’s not necessary. It should be watertight the way – if the installers put it in correctly, it should be watertight as it is. If they need – if it needed to be caulked, they would have done that. I know it looks like there’s a big gap there but that’s pretty typical. And you generally don’t have to caulk between the back of the J-channel and the side of the window.
DAVID: Yeah, I was just worried about if it rains from a certain angle it’s going to, you know, wick down through that gap and then run behind the siding?
TOM: Usually, that’s pretty tight and it won’t happen. I mean there’s no reason you can’t caulk it but I don’t necessarily think you have to do it.
DAVID: OK. That’s all I wanted to know.
TOM: OK. Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
Where the vinyl siding meets the inside of J channels around my windows and doors is very wide and was not done efficiently and seems to cause drafts in winter or heat in the summer. In some areas there is at least a ¼ – 1/3-inch gap. My question is can I caulk around the windows a doors where the siding should meet the inside of the J channels?