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Appreciation post: My brother-in-law said 'just caulk it' about a window leak and I'm still mad
He was over for a barbecue last weekend and saw me trying to figure out why my living room window was letting in a draft. I was pulling off the old trim to check the flashing, and he just laughed and said, 'Man, you're overthinking it. Just run a fat bead of caulk around the outside and call it a day.' That's the kind of advice that costs you thousands later. I found the real problem was a failed seal in the window unit itself, plus some rotted sheathing behind the siding. If I'd just caulked over it, the water would have kept getting in and rotting the wall from the inside out. It took me two full days to fix it right, but now I know the house is solid. It really makes you wonder how many quick fixes are hiding bigger issues. Has anyone else had a well-meaning friend give you terrible DIY advice that would have made things worse?
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thomas_martinez18d ago
And here's the thing nobody mentions, if you caulk a leak that's coming from a bad window seal, you're basically trapping moisture inside the wall cavity to rot everything out faster. That quick fix your brother-in-law suggested would've turned a weekend project into a full wall replacement six months from now.
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